Nintendo has boasted of a successful 2013 for the 3DS today. It tallied game sales for the year at 16 million across retail and the eShop, a 45% increase over the 2012 total. Though it didn't share specific hardware sales numbers, it did note that the lifetime sales of the handheld system passed somewhere beyond 11.5 million systems in the United States alone.

The software success makes sense, as this was a pretty big year for 3DS releases, between games like Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Pokemon X and Y, and Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. Nintendo pointed out a few upcoming releases it expects to be big as well, like Bravely Default and Yoshi's New Island, which got a release date only today.

Last April, Nintendo noted that both Wii U and 3DS missed their sales targets for the 2012 fiscal year. This shows a positive shift for the 2013 calendar year, but we'll have to wait for the full fiscal results this April to see how the company is doing on the whole. Since this is focused squarely on the 3DS, it doesn't address Wii U sales.

"Nintendo 3DS is a powerhouse with games and experiences that appeal to all kinds of players," said marketing VP Scott Moffitt, in the announcement. "We're not slowing down in 2014. With more games featuring fan-favorite franchises on the way, the best days of Nintendo 3DS are still to come."