In the event Nintendo launched the new DSi without very much of a fanfare. Even so the handheld has become the fourth fastest-selling console in UK history.

That’s the big news according to gamebiz stat-munchers GfK-ChartTrack this morning. Just the news, mind you - nothing in the way of actual numbers, alas. Instead we’re left to interpret the size of the DSi’s debut based on the success of previous hardware launches. To wit we learn that the DSi has only been outdone by the opening weekends of the Playstation Portable, Playstation 3 and Wii. Perhaps more telling, the DSi shifted more units in its first faltering few days than the original DS and it’s apparently way ahead of the DS Lite. Er, gosh.

“It’s a very impressive opening couple of days considering the lack of launch software,” GfK-ChartTrack’s Chris Poole tells trademag MCV.

"It's difficult to tell if the momentum will continue into the week, as much of the sales would have been pre-ordered. There was also a slight spike in DS software."

Well, let’s wait and see eh. The DSi is certainly a slick and desirable unit, though, and it’s worth picking up if you don’t already have a DS. Otherwise it’s probably best that you hang on to the old unit until the proper next-generation of Nintendo handhelds arrives - this one is only supposed to be an “evolution“ rather than a “revolution” after all.