With the holidays behind us and a new year begun, video game companies can get back to the important work of boasting about how great they are. Reporting a "great holiday season," Nintendo reveals that over 4 million Nintendo 3DS handhelds have now been bought in the US, while Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 have raced past the million sales mark to become the fastest-selling titles in their franchises' histories.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword has also now shifted over one million units--the 45th Wii game to do so, Nintendo boasts.

All in all, Nintendo sold over 12 million hardware units in the US in 2011, with the aforementioned 4 million 3DSs, 4.5 million Wiis, and 3.4 million of the various Nintendo DS models. That makes 39 million Wiis in the US, and 51 million DSs.

"One of the strongest software lineups in our history helped Nintendo have a great holiday season and to close 2011 with a full head of steam," NoA executive VP of sales & marketing Scott Moffitt said in the announcement, as a marketing man would.

"Not only have the new Mario and Zelda titles already broken records, but with strong reviews and satisfied customers sharing their positive experiences, all three are also shaping up to be the latest long-tail titles from Nintendo. Couple that with a massive first- and third party lineup in the first part of the year and the prospects for 2012 are extremely promising."