Nintendo was quick to announce that more than 500,000 Nintendo DS units have been sold in North America since the new dual-screen console's launch nearly two weeks ago.  Many domestic and import retailers still have trouble keeping up the pre-orders alone, and those who aren't already in the waiting line for the console shouldn't expect to pick one up until early next year thanks to the back-order situation.

The good news is that Nintendo already intends to pump out even more DS units than they originally planned.  This isn't likely to clear the existing shortage in the short term though, since the DS is also due to launch in Japan today, meaning Nintendo now has the Japanese market to cover as well and this could stretch supplies further.  Import retailers for example are suggesting customers to pick up Japanese DS consoles in case North American versions remain elusive, although the DS is has no regional lockout and the Japanese version purportedly has auto wake-up, so this shouldn't be a bad trade.  In spite of this, Nintendo remains confident that they will sell another half million units before the end of the year, at least in North America:

"With Nintendo DS sales moving faster than anticipated, some locations have reported sellouts, and Nintendo predicts the initial North American supply will be depleted within days. As additional shipments are rushed to stores by this weekend to meet the demand, Nintendo expects to sell 1 million Nintendo DS units in North America alone by the end of 2004 - a mark that took Apple’s iPod 19 months to achieve.

Nintendo’s other hand-held system, Game Boy Advance, also soared during the holiday weekend. Nintendo sold more than 800,000 Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Advance SP units during the past week. The combined 1.3 million Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance units sold last week set a new one-week sales record for hand-held systems. And the Game Boy Advance line remains on track to be the best-selling hardware line of the year."