The Art Academy titles released for the Nintendo DSiWare service last year have had a strong following, with many gamers regularly using the application to paint their own pictures and share them with friends. In Japan and Europe, Nintendo saw the appeal for the game and decided to turn it into a retail game, which hit Japan last week.

In its first week, the game managed to sell 21,000 units, but suffered from sellouts throughout the country. According to sources, the game managed to move 89.85% of its initial stock, which makes it appear that Nintendo and retailers greatly underestimated the demand for the game.

Art Academy is set to be released on the Nintendo DS in Europe this August. A North American release has not been set.