The imminent handheld becomes the most pre-ordered video game console ever on Amazon UK...

Amazon's UK branch has confirmed that the Nintendo 3DS has become the most pre-ordered console in the web retailer's history. Orders currently exceed the previous record held by the PS3 by 20 percent.

For comparison to Nintendo's other recent consoles, pre-orders are 56 percent higher than they were for Wii and 255 percent higher than the DSi.

An Amazon UK spokesman noted that it was particularly unusual for a handheld system to enjoy such high pre-order levels, outdoing all preceding "play-at-home hardware".

The news came as Amazon UK became the latest retailer to drop its price of the 3DS to �187.