The spiritual and direct successor to the handheld gaming throne of the Nintendo DS, the 3DS has certainly not failed to impress the crowds with its hype. Sporting a screen that displays 3D images without the need for special glasses, the device looks to be the pinnacle of handheld gaming graphics and might even transcend the current market. If its success this weekend is any indication, it might be on its way to do just that.

The Wall Street Journal’s Digit’s blog is reporting on the numbers gathered from the research arm of the Japanese magazine publisher Enterbrain,

The research arm of Japanese videogame magazine publisher Enterbrain said the 3DS sold 371,326 units on Saturday and Sunday. Separately, Nintendo said it had shipped out 400,000 3DS units to Japanese retailers ahead of the launch, although the company said the shops could stagger sales if they so choose.

Japanese consumers certainly flocked to stores in droves over the weekend to be among the first to shell out 25,000 yen ($305) to buy a 3DS, which plays 3-D games without requiring special glasses to create the illusion of depth.

As reported, the Nintendo 3DS launched amid concerns that it might have adverse health effects for young children—namely the 3D display could affect their vision. As if being told repeatedly by your parents that sitting in a dark room, too close to the television set playing Grand Theft Auto happened to be bad enough, handhelds now might pose a risk. Still, even that didn’t dampen the Japanese enthusiasm for buying the game as soon as it came out of the gate.

During its launch in Japan in 2004, the Nintendo DS sold about 440,000 units over a four-day period—a metric that most likely has already been far outstripped by the Nintendo 3DS.

The handheld device won’t hit stores in the U.S. until March 27; so our readers in the States will still be champing at the bit for a few more weeks. Unless you want to get it from eBay! According to the WSJ article, someone already sold one for $390.00 USD + $50.00 USD shipping. A bit more than what we expect to see on the shelves, but own the Japanese version a month early.

Apparently the best selling video game for the new platform happens to be “Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask,” a video game of staggering popularity that turns out to be an amazingly addictive puzzle and brainteaser series. While I’m a huge fan of Zelda games and would agitate for those games, Professor Layton is also high on my list.