Dendy and allowed the sale of games and consoles. A total of units were sold in Russia and the former Soviet Union. Leading the industry (1987–1990) In Japan, the Famicom had sold about units by January 1986, helped by the success of Super Mario Bros. (1985), and increased sales to more than units with 95% of the home video game market by early 1987. In North America, the NES sold units in 1986, out of worldwide sales of that year. By 1988, the console had sold units in Japan and was projected to top in the United States by the end of the year. The NES widely outsold its primary competitors, the Sega Master System and the Atari 7800. The successful launch of the NES positioned Nintendo to dominate the home video game market for the remainder of the 1980s. Buoyed by the success of the system, NES Game Pak produced similar sales records. The console's library exploded with classic flagship franchise-building and best-selling hits like Super Mario Bros. (1985), The Legend of Zelda (1986), and Metroid (1986). Toward the 1987 Christmas season, sales of the NES had dwarfed those of Teddy Ruxpin and all other original products of its American distributor, Worlds of Wonder. In October 1987, Nintendo of America president Minoru Arakawa discontinued the NES distribution contract with the failing WoW in favor of Nintendo's own growing clout, while hiring WoW's sales staff awaythe same sales staff previously offered to Nintendo by Atari in 1983. The Legend of Zelda (1987) was the first NES game to sell over cartridges (non-bundled) in the United States. At more than 40 million copies, Super Mario Bros. was the highest selling video game in history for many years. Released in 1988 in Japan, Super Mario Bros. 3 would gross more than $500 million, with more than 7 million copies sold in America and 4 million copies in Japan, making it the most popular and fastest selling standalone home video game in history. By mid-1986, 19% (6.5 million) of Japanese households owned a Famicom; one third by mid-1988. By 1990, over units were sold in the United States, present in 38% of American households, compared to 23% for all personal computers. The NES had reached a larger user base in the United States than any previous console, surpassing the previous record set by the Atari 2600 in 1982. In 1990, Nintendo also surpassed