According to Kotaku's translation of Japanese games magazine Weekly Famitsu, New Super Bros has sold 936,734 units in its first week on sale in Japan.

This means that New Super Mario Bros has thoroughly stomped on the head of the previous record-holder, Super Smash Bros Brawl which sold a mere 816,000 copies in its release week.

The numbers fuel EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich's, predictions on Gamasutra that the Shigeru Miyamoto's latest instalment of their moustachioed plumber's adventures could outsell 2 - on one format - in its lifetime.

Speaking last month Divnich said: "While in the short-term the version of Call of Duty: may surpass New Super Mario Bros., in the long-term New Super Mario Bros. will easily become the best selling title released in 2009 with expected lifetime exceeding 15 million units worldwide."

By Ewan Aiton