Japanese video game maker Nintendo says it has sold just over 200,000, or 50 percent of stock, of its new Game Boy Advance SP handheld devices in its debut weekend in Europe last week.

Nintendo has a lot riding on the pocket-sized gaming device, which carries a suggested retail price of 129 euros (£80) in Europe. The product launched in Europe on 28 March.

Its flagship console GameCube is losing market share in the US and Europe to Sony's PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox, making a strong showing from GBA SP all the more important.

GameCube's weak performance has weighed heavily on the Nintendo shares. Nintendo closed up 0.84 percent in Toyko at 9,640 yen. It is down more than 17 percent on the year.

The company has set an aggressive target for its handheld gaming units, forecasting sales of 20 million Game Boy Advance machines for the business year starting on April 1, an increase of one third from the current business year.

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