The number is a combination of sales for the original DS, the improved DS lite, and the third-generation Nintendo DSi, already on sale in Japan and set to release in the U.S. on April 5th.

"We are hoping to be accepted and loved by everyone by delivering novel entertainment and surprises so that there will be not only a Nintendo for every household but a Nintendo for every person," said the company, which also makes the Wii home console.

Nintendo, the creator of iconic characters like Donkey Kong, Samus Aran, Link, and of course Mario, said it took 11 years and 2 months for the GameBoy, Nintendo’s original handheld console to reach 100 million in global sales.

The GameBoy series was introduced in 1989, and reached global cumulative sales of 118 million. The Game Boy Advance, which followed, sold another 81 million, according to Nintendo.

The other big dog in portable gaming, the PSP from electronics and entertainment company Sony Corp., has done well but is nowhere close to the DS numbers.

Sony Computer Entertainment, the Tokyo-based company's gaming unit, said the PSP's cumulative global sales totaled 50 million as of February. The PSP also went on sale in 2004.

Compared to Sony, which appeals more to hard-core gamers, Nintendo has found a niche with easier-to-play games that appeal to newcomers to gaming, including the elderly and women, such as Wii Fit and Brain Age.

The DS comes with a touch panel, making it possible to play many games without having to deal with fast paced, complex button-mashing.