The Nintendo 3DS got off to a rocky start when it launched early last year, but it has quickly picked up steam.

That steam is most apparent in its home country of Japan as Nintendo announced today that the 3DS has sold 5 million units in the country since its release. This makes the 3DS the fastest selling game console in Japan.

Nintendo have provided a handy graph that shows the sales growth of their last four major platforms in the country to just show how fast the 3DS has been selling in the past few months.

For a bit of perspective, the 3DS reached 5 million units sold in less than 52 weeks. The DS reached that milestone in 56 weeks and it took the Gameboy Advance 38 weeks to reach the magic 5 million mark.

The U.S. branch of the company, Nintendo of America, announced in January that U.S. sales of the 3DS had surpassed 4 million since its launch last March. The price drop to a more appealing $170 in the middle of last year probably helped spur sales of the handheld.

The company said that they hope to increase growth through the release of new software. With Monster Hunter 3G already tearing up charts in Japan, it once again proves that software drives hardware sales. The recent release of Super Mario 3D Land and Resident Evil Revelations in the U.S. are proving to be major drivers of hardware sales on our shores.

Nintendo has always proven that through software and innovative hardware, they can guarantee a hit. It remains to be seen if the Vita, which launches this week in the U.S., can latch onto the same success.