[Via : Gamasutra]

Nintendo has announced handsome high year end figures for the DS. Previously reported totals neared 10 million units, which Nintendo attributes to strong European Sales. "

following Nintendo DS's launch in Europe in March, almost three and a half million Nintendo DS have been sold."

Nintendo announced they have "

sold 13 million Nintendo DS units worldwide, including sell-through numbers to date in Japan, North America, Latin America, Australia and other territories."

In Europe, sales of the Nintendo DS can partially be attributed to games such as Nintendogs, which has sold 1.6 million copies in Europe alone since launch in October, and Mario Kart DS, which has sold 800,000 copies in Europe since its November launch.

As a result of these updates, Nintendo'?s stock has increased by 5.2 percent on the Osaka Securities Exchange. Most likely "helped by the announcement that the Nintendo DS console has now completely sold out in Japan. An official apology on Nintendo'?s Japanese website indicates that the next major restock will occur towards the end of January." The last figures on the DS this previous week has shown hardware sales in Japan topping 597,628 units.