The last-week-released details by Nintendo about the first half of its current fiscal year underscored the success of the Nintendo 3DS; with the company revealing that it was shipping nearly 19-21 million units of its handheld consoles every 12 months post 3DS, as compared to the shipment of 14-18 million handheld units every 12 months before the outrageously successful Nintendo DS was released.

The figures shared by Nintendo revealed that at this time last year, the company's global shipments for the 3DS - which had been launched for less than three quarters at that time - stood at only about 6.68 million units. However, the figures soared to 15.04 million units in nearly 10 months.

According to Nintendo, the combined total shipments for the 3DS and 3DS XL during the last 12 months - including the 2011 last quarter - have touched 15.51 million units; thereby showing that the handheld console's previous `peak shipment' figure has witnessed a modest 3 percent increase.

While the surge in the shipments clearly reveal that the 3DS is currently shipping at its highest volume thus far, it is also important to note that the present level of 3DS shipments has been achieved because of the introduction of the 3DS XL and the sales frenzy created by its launch.

The figures released by Nintendo are an indication that even with the increasing growth of the mobile gaming market, the company's core market is still intact, and it continues to make advances in that arena!