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While North American Wii U unit sales during the console's first full month of availability failed to match those set by its predecessor in December 2006, revenue generated from sales in the first 41 days after its November 18 release came in at $300 million, topping the original Wii's $270 million at the same point post-release.

The news went down well with investors, with Nintendo's stock climbing 5.6 percent to close at 9,070 yen, its biggest gain since September 18, Bloomberg reports.

"The US sales report prompted investors to jump on Nintendo," said Makoto Sengoku, a market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Securities. However, he added that "the gain may be short-lived unless it can sustain sales momentum."

Nintendo also said last night that it sold more than 1.25 million 3DS units in the US in December.

Company president Satoru Iwata suggested earlier this week that Wii U sales "are not bad, and I feel it's been selling steadily", although he admitted to unbalanced inventory levels after the company failed to anticipate the amount of demand for the premium version of the console.