The most anticipated portable gaming device this year was a success during its first day of sales over at Japan. Reports are coming in that the 3DS sold 400,000 units on its first day alone and the initial supply has already run out.

People lined up outside major stores in Japan as early as Friday night for the Saturday morning release of the device. An estimated 300-900 people were seen outside these stores before the opening hours which is usually at 7:45 AM or 10:00 AM.  By noontime most of the stores have sold all of their units and at the end of the day not one unit was left in the stores.

Nintendo estimated that they will be able to sell 1.5 million units in Japan alone by March 31 and with the way the first day sales went, they will be able to reach their target or even surpass it. Stores that have sold out their units are currently taking pre-orders for units which would arrive today.

The North American release of the 3DS will be on March 27 and judging by the popularity of the 3DS as a pre-order device at Amazon then we could expect its success in Japan to be replicated in the U.S.