To the surprise of nobody, Super Smash Bros. is a popular franchise. The series has been highly regarded by both consumers and critics ever since it debuted on the Nintendo 64, which is why many expected the latest iteration to be a success as well. However, it doesn't appear that the Big N was ready for just how popular the newest entry would be.

Selling over one million copies in its debut weekend in Japan alone, Super Smash Bros. for 3DS was deemed a rousing success. Even after making its way into the hands of that many 3DS owners, demand failed to dwindle – which is why the game is now said to be sold out throughout the land of the rising sun.

In its third week of availability, the weekly sales of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS dipped down by a whopping 321,363 to hit a total of 109,811. As Japanese sales tracking firm Media Create reports, the game would have sold a great number more if it weren't for the fact that consumers can't find it in stores.

While it's true that anyone can download the new Smash from Nintendo's eShop, a large number of sales originate from brick-and-mortar retailers. Nintendo will likely be sending out more copies just as quickly as it can (especially in the wake of posting a year of losses), but it should be picking up the lull in sales in its native country with the title's International release this past Friday.

Overall, the newest Super Smash Bros. game has managed to sell through 1.37 million units in Japan. It goes without saying that those numbers are impressive, but it'll be interesting to see if the Wii U version will manage to find a similar level of success. Considering that the install base for Nintendo's current home hardware isn't anywhere close to being on par with its handheld, it's hard to imagine it will.

That said, our review of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS pointed to the 3DS hardware as holding back the latest game, and it even resulted in the removal of the Ice Climbers from the roster. Add in GameCube controller support (which easily trumps the CirclePad on 3DS), and it wouldn't be ridiculous to expect current and potential Wii U owners to be chomping at the bit in anticipation of the game's high-def arrival later this year.

Did you or will you be picking up Super Smash Bros. for 3DS? What do you think of it thus far? Get at us in the comments!

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Super Smash Bros. for 3DS is now available exclusively on the Nintendo 3DS and 2DS, with a Wii U release expected in Holiday 2014.

Follow Riley on Twitter @TheRileyLittle for more news on Super Smash Bros., as well as everything else in gaming.

Source: Media Create (via Siliconera)