Trumpeting the success of their incredibly popular DS handheld (which sold over 470K in the U.S. in April – nearly 16K per day), Nintendo announced today that the DS has connected more than 5 million unique users on its Wi-Fi Connection service since the platform launched back in November 2005. While online gaming has yet to take off on the Wii, the Wi-Fi Connection on DS has totaled over 200 million gameplay sessions.

There are now almost 65 games across the globe that can be played on the Wi-Fi Connection, Nintendo said. The five most popular on a worldwide basis so far have been Animal Crossing: Wild World, Mario Kart DS, Metroid Prime Hunters, Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl.

"Nintendo DS gamers globally use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection as an easy, fun place to find fellow players, all without paying anything extra for the service," commented Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. "The milestones represent millions of hours of fun and camaraderie despite miles between players."

Citing "internal Nintendo demographic tracking studies," Nintendo also noted that the DS has been popular with demographics beyond the stereotypical young male gamer. Nintendo's data shows that in less than 18 months, DS purchases have increased by 42 percent among women, 127 percent among people 30 and older and 212 percent among people 35 and older.

This is the same kind of approach that Nintendo is trying with the Wii – to reach a far broader audience than the core gamer. So far, the strategy would appear to be working. The Wii was the best selling console in April with 360K units sold in the U.S., bringing its total to 2.5 million in America – almost half the installed base of the Xbox 360 after just six months of being on the market.