Nintendo has responded to the November NPD results by praising its record-setting month, but with almost 3 million hardware units sold last month you can hardly blame them.

Nintendo claimed the top two spots on the hardware chart, representing over half of all videogame systems sold in the US in November. The DS sold almost 1.7 million units in November, setting a record for the most handheld videogame systems sold in the month of November and beating the previous record of 1.57 million held by the Nintendo DS in 2008. Meanwhile the Wii sold over 1.25 million units in November, making it the fastest-selling home console to reach the 23 million install base in the US.

Nintendo also performed well on the software side of things, with four games published for Nintendo consoles in the Top 10. New Super Mario Bros. Wii finished at number 3 with 1.4 million units after launching on the 15th of November. The publisher’s internal sales figures show that the new Mario title has already passed the two million sales mark when December sales are included. Wii Sports Resort charted at number 6 with 580 000 copies, Wii Fit Plus at number 7 with 490 000 copies and Mario Kart Wii at number 10 with 310 000 copies.

Nintendo also revealed that six of the Top 10 best-selling games of 2009 until November play on Nintendo systems. Wii Fit features at number 2 with 3.5 million, Wii Sports Resort at number 3 with 2.4 million, Mario Kart Wii at number 4 with 2.2 million, Wii Play at number 5 with 2.1 million, Pokemon Platinum at number 6 with 1.9 million and New Super Mario Bros. Wii at number 10 with 1.4 million. Wii Fit Plus is also a favourite among gamers with 1.1 million units sold as of the end of November.

“Nintendo products top Amazon.com’s Most Wished For and Most Gifted lists for video games, and Wii remains at or near the top of the most-searched for video game terms on Yahoo!,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “As families and friends gather for the holidays, Nintendo games offer the best shared experiences.”