SMS out sells GTA3 and Halo

Super Mario Sunshine launches at record pace, and boosts hardware sales!
The world's favorite plumber has returned with a bang! During its first 10 days of availability, Super Mario Sunshine for Nintendo GameCube is already a smash hit, selling through more than 350,000 games. This is a total not achieved by any competitor, including Xbox's popular Halo or Playstation 2's Grand Theft Auto 3 until a month or more on store shelves.

The immediate popularity of Super Mario Sunshine, which chronicles the chubby plumber's attempts to clean up a lush tropical island, is also creating a significant demand for its host system. During its first week, Nintendo's retail partners cited jumps in Nintendo GameCube hardware sales averaging 50 percent, with some accounts reporting that system sales had more than doubled.

"This launch is historic - promising to break longstanding records," says Peter MacDougall, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Nintendo of America Inc. "So far, sales rates for Super Mario Sunshine are running 36 percent ahead of even Super Mario 64 six years ago-and that game went on to sell more than 10 million units worldwide."

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