There are a lot more than 103,524 old people in Japan right?  Maybe it takes them a while to shuffle to the games store  (^_^) 
 
I look forward to the western release.  I will shuffle quite fast to the shop for one.

That's pretty impressive for a system that's mostly an option rather than any form of an upgrade. I guess they were right to think the market wanted something like this after all. What a brilliant company... I wish I had bought stock in the GC days...

Japan is moving very quickly to a hand-held age. Consoles and console games barely sell or get made over there, they are all going to the hand-helds. Pretty soon, all console games might be Western while all hand-held games will be Japanese.
 
Remember that the DSi XL is pretty much a backwards PS3 Slim.

Er, that's quite a stretch, but yes, Japan certainly likes handhelds this gen. Not that it means they'll stop making console games as the Japanese sell their games to the worldwide market also, not just Japan, and the handhelds aren't dominating as much elsewhere. Not to mention plenty are still profitable on home consoles even just going by their market alone and not waiting for worldwide results. Nintendo, Square Enix, SEGA, Konami, etc, are Japanese, I don't think they're considering developing solely for handhelds though, though I'm sure they wish home games sold more.

Uh huh...

just wondering, what are the specs compared to the old DS?

These are the only differences: 
 

•  The DSi LL has a larger capacity battery, which is no surprise as it lists a longer battery life.
• The LL has a unique board. This is because the button switches are on the board and thus the board would have to match the system's larger size.
• The circuit board for the D-pad has been made sturdier, now held in place by seven screws.
• The wireless LAN module is also different from DSi. It's made by Mitsumi and has model number DWM-W024    

Surely all of Japan must have a DS by now?!

I'm surprised how fast that thing is moving. Nintendo are doing well.

" I'm surprised how fast that thing is moving. Nintendo are doing well. "

 
 Here are the Japanese hardware sales figures for the period from November 16th to 22nd.  Source: Media Create. 

1. Nintendo DS - 137,674 - (28,339,241) 
2.  PSP - 37,326 - (13,224,925) 
3.  PlayStation 3 - 34,752 - (3,859,969) 
4.  Wii - 32,844 - (8,745,174) 
5.  Xbox 360 - 4085 - (1,167,695) 
6.  PlayStation 2 - 2024 - (21,592,628)     

Hm, weird that Wii reached PS3 already (Famitsu's estimates have them closer than MC), before the launch of New Super Mario Bros Wii there.

Japan really loves its Nintendo.

"@Al3xand3r: Wii has been fluctuating closer and then further away from PS3 for weeks now.  I'm surprised Wii hasn't had a single week with more sales than PS3 for this long now.  PS3 probably is outselling Wii in Japan this year."

|System |  This Week  |  Last Week  |        YTD  |         LTD  |
------------------------------------------------------------------
|  NDS  |    137,674  |     38,785  |  3,219,606  |  28,339,241  |
|  PSP  |     37,326  |     45,197  |  1,866,822  |  13,224,925  |
|  PS3  |     34,752  |     38,498  |  1,237,501  |   3,859,969  |
|  WII  |     32,844  |     26,764  |  1,266,197  |   8,745,174  |
|  360  |      4,085  |      4,124  |    338,258  |   1,167,695  |
|  PS2  |      2,024  |      2,031  |    193,099  |  21,592,628  |
------------------------------------------------------------------
| DSiLL |    100,553  |             |    100,553  |     100,553  |
|  DSi  |     32,070  |     33,749  |  2,649,075  |   3,880,434  |
|  DSL  |      5,051  |      5,036  |    469,978  |  17,772,783  |
------------------------------------------------------------------
|  PSP  |     32,752  |     38,770  |  1,812,720  |  13,170,823  |
| PSPgo |      4,574  |      6,427  |     54,102  |      54,102  |
------------------------------------------------------------------

Not surprising, at this point any DS is bound to sell tons.

" @Al3xand3r: Those PSPGo numbers are absurd. "

I can't believe the Go was even made... man. Sony is probably kicking themselves for thinking that up.

Kind of want to get one of those for when I'm just playing at home. :/ Wish I had that kind of disposable income.

" Kind of want to get one of those for when I'm just playing at home. :/ Wish I had that kind of disposable income. "

Get your cargo pants ready, it's hitting our part of the world on March 5th. 

" Get your cargo pants ready, it's hitting our part of the world on March 5th.  "

I think I might get one. I never saw the advantage of moving from the DS Lite to the DSi, but the XL's bigger screens really appeal to me. That, and I'm pretty sure my DS Lite is gonna die one of these days - I tend to fall asleep with it on my bed and accidentally throw it on the floor during the night.