Nintendo of America has revealed that the DSi, its third iteration of its twin-screened handheld hit, sold 1.7m units in its first three months on sale in North America – the best performance from a Nintendo machine in recent times.

The original DS sold just under 1.38m in the same time frame and the DS Lite just over 1.07m. Even the Wii could manage just 1.52m, making DSi’ achievement’s all the more impressive.

Total DSi sales now stand at 6.86m worldwide.

“As for what’s on the way, as you know, we have a number of strong hand-held games coming up before the end of the year, including Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky and, of course, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks,” NoA’s Denise Kaigler told IGN.

“No matter what kinds of games you like, there should be something to enjoy on this list. On top of that we’ll also have a regular flow of Nintendo DSiWare titles available for download.”

Nintendo’s Japan office recently announced that DSi sales in that territory have just passed the 3m unit mark after nine months on the market.