In coincidence with market research firm NPD Group’s monthly count of video game sales in the US, Nintendo of America said in a Thursday announcement that it has recently topped the ‘50 million units’ milestone for the lifetime sales of the company’s popular DS handheld.

As per the Nintendo, the official life-to-date global shipment figures for the DS were 146 million units as of March this year.

Revealing that the Nintendo DS line of hardware’s overall sell-through to customers was now over 50 million units in the US, Nintendo said that hitting the new milestone was a notable achievement, given the fact that it has come at a time when the DS, as well as its biggest competitor PlayStation Portable, are facing increased competition from games on smartphones and tablets.

Initially launched in Japan and North America in 2004, the sales of Nintendo DS witnessed a slow start in the beginning, but the numbers later picked up enough momentum to make the handheld a big hit --- thanks largely to its unique dual screen interface, which features a one-touch screen.

Ever since the launch of the original DS launch model, the hardware of the handheld in the US has undergone a number of iterations in the form of the DS Lite and DSi XL. Furthermore, Nintendo launched its 3DS – boasting glasses-free stereoscopic capabilities - in the US market in March this year; and the September figures show that the new device has gained a noteworthy foothold in the country.