People in Tokyo have been queuing up outside stores since early Friday to buy Nintendo's new gaming console Switch.
Nintendo, whose online store crashed on the first day of Switch pre-orders in January due to overwhelming site traffic, has put out two million units for sale in Japan, Australia, the United States, Canada and Europe.
On Friday, hundreds of people gathered outside stores in Tokyo to buy the new console, which went out of stock in some shops shortly after sales began, according to media reports.
Switch is Nintendo's first gaming module since the 2012 launch of Wii U, which sold around 14 million units.
Owing to excitement surrounding the launch of Switch, Nintendo's shares registered a 3.65 per cent rise by the end of Friday's trading session at the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
However, initial skepticism after the product's Japan price - 29,980 yen ($A349) - and specifications were announced on January. 13, had led to a heavy fall in shares of the Kyoto-based firm.
Switch is both a home console - when connected to a television set through a dock - and a portable device.
With this hybrid concept, users can start playing a game on their television sets and continue playing it even after disconnecting it from the dock.
Apart from the console, Nintendo also released 20 videogames, including the eagerly-awaited "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of Fire".
Following the roaring success of its smartphone game "Pokemon GO" and the launch of "Super Mario Run" in December, Nintendo now hopes to revitalise its gaming console business in what is a highly competitive market.
