Since its November 21st, 2004 launch, the Nintendo DS – and its sexier, lighter, brighter redesign – has outperformed just about everyone's expectations and predictions. Nintendo's latest portable gaming system has sold million of units worldwide and continues to perform extraordinarily well. That's especially true in Japan, where used DSs were recently considered more valuable than a new Sony PSP or Microsoft Xbox 360. The recently released DS Lite, which features a smaller form-factor and brighter screens, is also proving hugely popular world wide. With killer apps such as Brain Age, Phantom Hourglass and Pokémon Diamond / Pearl selling millions of copies as well (much to the delight of publishers). Many of us were skeptical of the system's innovative features; two screens, a touch screen, and a built-in microphone seemed weird to some, but Nintendo and many other developers have shown what the system is capable of, and millions of players around the world couldn't be happier with the results. Let's take a look at some interesting sales numbers and facts that the Nintendo DS have produced:

1. Nintendogs is the best-selling DS game series, with more than 14 million copies sold worldwide. The dog-sim game is the most popular casual game available for the system; many new gamers entered the market because of the simplicity of play and, well, everyone loves puppies.

2. New Super Mario Bros. is the best-selling single DS game to date, with at least 9.5 million copies sold worldwide. The game was first shown at E3 2004 and released almost two years after.

3. On January of 2006, Nintendo issued an official apology to Japan; the Nintendo DS was completely sold out in the Land of the Rising Sun, and potential customers were losing patience, so Nintendo apologized and did their best to keep people happy. As it turns out, Nintendo was hard at work producing DS Lites!

4. Pokémon Diamond / Pearl sold a million copies in the United States during their first five days of availability. Both games sold a combined total of five million copies after three months of their Japanese release, making them the fastest-selling Pokémon games ever.

5. Majesco announces that it has sold upwards of 1.6 million Cooking Mama games. This total figure includes the sales of the original title (which comprises of 1 million of the total number of games sold).

Brain Age, Nintendogs, Phantom Hourglass and New Super Mario Bros. continue to sell well and remain atop sales charts worldwide. Pokémon Diamond and Pearl are also doing extremely well, and upcoming titles such as FF: Ring of Fates and Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword are sure to feature similar results. So you see, the Nintendo DS really does print money! :D