About Nintendo's decisions on the New 3DS for America

To the people saying that not including the charger isn't a big deal, would you feel the same if they didn't include the power cord with a home console?

I just want to know how consistent we're being.

The don't come (free of charge) with any of the servers I've purchased.
The PS1, PS2, Gamecube, Saturn, PSP, and Vita didn't come with a memory card.
Until lately PCs charged extra for an Operating System.

Many electronics prior to Li-ON didn't bother packing in batteries.

add-ons are fucking annoying , but are definitely nothing new.
 
You haven't once proven that Nintendo is taking a huge monetary hit by including a power cable in the US. So it's not on anyone to prove you wrong until you can actually prove you're right.

It's a discussion, of course I'm not proving anything, I don't work for Nintendo. Your response every time is "Everyone else includes a charger, it's anti-consumer!" which isn't even close to being on topic.

Feel free to add some more detail to your posts. How much do you think it costs them to manufacture the power cable? Run the logistics and supply chain to get it into every box? $0.50, $1, $5? How much do you think they make on selling each one? Think it's a viable strategy to make more money? If you think overall they are only losing out on $1 million than i'd agree that it's a dumb move. But I think it's more on the tens of millions scale which more than makes up for the heartache of dealing with complaints and lost sales.
 
To the people saying that not including the charger isn't a big deal, would you feel the same if they didn't include the power cord with a home console?

I just want to know how consistent we're being.

Depends. I think the Wii and Wii U use the same cable, if Nintendo omitted it on another compatible console, not a big deal. Certainly I wouldn't care at all if they dropped the HDMI cable.
 
The PS3 was never sold with an HDMI cable.

I find this whole thing quite interesting from a cultural perspective. When this happened a few years ago in the EU, we moaned about it but shrugged it off as a minor inconvinience. But Americans have taken it very badly. To the point of boycott threats. It's facinating to me.

But it came with component cables, and mine did come with hdmi if I remember correctly. The reason Americans are pissed is because not only are they jotting the new 3ds they also have buy a separate charger.
 
It's a discussion. Your response every time is "Everyone else includes a charger, it's anti-consumer!" which isn't even close to being on topic.

Feel free to add some more detail to your posts. How much do you think it costs them to manufacture the power cable? Run the logistics and supply chain to get it into every box? $0.50, $1, $5? How much do you think they make on selling each one? Think it's a viable strategy to make more money? If you think overall they are only losing out on $1 million than i'd agree that it's a dumb move. But I think it's more on the tens of millions scale which more than makes up for the heartache of dealing with complaints and lost sales.

The 3DS can be powered/charged with a USB cable. 50 cents max to mass produce those. And you're describing making less money as a loss. They're not losing money by including something required to power the product that everyone else includes. They're simply making a little less.
 
They probably made this decision because the US SNES did not have the colored buttons like the JP/EU SNES did. So they decided to just forget about the whole thing.

Yeah, probably not.
 
I don't care if it's "nothing new".

Not including a means to charge the device you just purchased is unacceptable and worth raising a stink about as long as it's happening.

If that's how they want to do things.. because they think most people will already have a charger, then they need to slap an enormous sticker on the box saying "DOES NOT INCLUDE CHARGER. CHARGER MUST BE PURCHASED SEPARATELY"

I would estimate that half of people who bring home a N3DSXL will have either not been informed about no charger in the box, forgot to buy the charger, or won't have the charger in stock at the store they bought it from and have to deal with it. There are almost zero electronics devices on shelves that do not come with a charger.
 
The don't come (free of charge) with any of the servers I've purchased.

Holy mother of god, this comparison is slaying me.

Many electronics prior to Li-ON didn't bother packing in batteries.

Because alkaline batteries...oh and you know what, fuck that. I showed my point, I'm out! :lol

Good luck guys.
 
You haven't once proven that Nintendo is taking a huge monetary hit by including a power cable in the US. So it's not on anyone to prove you wrong until you can actually prove you're right.

More importantly, where are people getting this gorilla math that if an adapter costs $5 on Amazon, Nintendo must be losing $5 by including one in the box? These things probably cost $0.50 to mass produce.

Nintendo would have created less ill will by including one but charging more for the whole box. The amount of negative word-of-mouth that Nintendo just created is going to cause more monetary damage than the cost of including the charger.
 
I always thought it was silly not to include the AC Adapter for other regions, and I still feel the same way. Is it that hard to throw in an AC adapter or raise the price of the handheld by $5 or $10? I know many people will just buy one cheap off the internet, which will save them money, but some people are going to go for convenience and spend the extra $10 to get the AC Adapter.

Will it clearly say on the box "AC Adapter Sold Separately" or some to that extent? I can easily see people opening the box and getting upset that the handheld that they got is basically a pretty paper weight until they go and buy the charger needed. I wonder if people will get confused and assume the lack of AC Adapter is a mistake, rather than something intended by Nintendo.


As for the lack of standard/regular New 3DS; I understand the the ol' XL has sold extremely well. A lot of people find the original XL to be easier on their hands, and it helps that the handheld is bigger, which is a plus for many people, and has a better battery life than the original 3DS. I know I liked the feel of my boyfriend's XL and I might of picked one up if it was not for the news of the upcoming New 3DS line.

That said, I do think there is some market for the standard/regular/small New 3DS. It may be smaller than the market for the New 3DS XL, but it still exists. I wonder if it would of been possible for them to release the smaller model, but only have it online or release it in much smaller, limited quantities in comparison to the XL. Granted, I do not know much about business or Nintendo of America's numbers.

It is also weird and annoying that every other region is getting both versions.
 
I would estimate that half of people who bring home a N3DSXL will have either not been informed about no charger in the box, forgot to buy the charger, or won't have the charger in stock at the store they bought it from and have to deal with it. There are almost zero electronics devices on shelves that do not come with a charger.

No those people will come home with a n3DSXL and a charger because the salesperson and the box will remind them to. Consumers rarely buy just one thing; why do you think shelves near the cashiers are filled with accessories? Why do you think Monster cables get sold with that new TV someone bought? Do you want fries with that?
 
I don't like that the charger isn't being included anymore, but American GAF is always complaining how the USA needs to be more like the rest of the world ... so here you go, how do you like it?


As for the regular n3ds not coming thanks to NOA, I'm very fucking disappointed. I'm going to be in Japan for a couple weeks in June so I was going to buy the console here (US) and then shop from a wide array of faceplates there (Japan). I could still buy a regular n3ds when I'm in Japan - I can handle the games/language difference for the kind of games I like - but I've got a shitload of 3DS games already and I wouldn't be able to use them in a J console. So, I'm stuck with getting the n3ds XL like everyone else here.
 
Will it clearly say on the box "AC Adapter Sold Separately" or some to that extent? I can easily see people opening the box and getting upset that the handheld that they got is basically a pretty paper weight until they go and buy the charger needed. I wonder if people will get confused and assume the lack of AC Adapter is a mistake, rather than something intended by Nintendo.

I'm willing to bet my avatar that there will be a notice on the box that says it does not come with an AC adapter.
 
More importantly, where are people getting this gorilla math that if an adapter costs $5 on Amazon, Nintendo must be losing $5 by including one in the box? These things probably cost $0.50 to mass produce.

Nintendo would have created less ill will by including one but charging more for the whole box. The amount of negative word-of-mouth that Nintendo just created is going to cause more monetary damage than the cost of including the charger.

Exactly.

Nintendo could have made the system $220 with AC adapter included and people wouldn't complain at all.

Them removing it just for the sake of having a "$199.99" price is stupid due to the mess/confusion it will cause.
 
The 3DS can be powered/charged with a USB cable. 50 cents max to mass produce those. And you're describing making less money as a loss. They're not losing money by including something required to power the product that everyone else includes. They're simply making a little less.

Hey a discussion! We're getting somewhere.

I think mass producing a micro-USB cable is probably where you're thinking but the different connector is going to be the bottleneck. They can't just go with the lowest bidder as a manufacturer of micro-USB cables. They have to get someone to make their connector in bulk. It's also not just the cost of mass producing it, there's overhead on getting it in the actual box (shipping to the facility, quality control, having a line for it, etc) not much but maybe 10%. Thinking about it more I'll go on the lower end with you but consider more $1+. Now they could not be dicks and put it in there and only lose $10 million. Or they could save $10 million, and then make $50 million by selling it. Still being dicks.

Your last part is just semantics and a straw man argument. Who cares what I called it, point being they are missing out on possible profits and reducing their profit margin by including a cable. And again what everyone else does has nothing to do with their decision from a financial perspective beyond potential lost sales due to angry customers.

Nintendo would have created less ill will by including one but charging more for the whole box. The amount of negative word-of-mouth that Nintendo just created is going to cause more monetary damage than the cost of including the charger.

That's where I disagree. Don't forget they are now selling their charger at a premium and making a killer profit margin. For whatever it doesn't cost them to put in the box they are making that much more by selling it for $10 new on their site. How much does the n3DS make profit per sale? $50? They'd have to lose 1 out of every 5 customers if they are selling a $10 cable to each purchase. 1 out of every 10 if you want to say only half the people need a cable or buy it elsewhere.
 
Your post is so incoherent I don't know what you're trying to say exactly but I can tell you're an apologist for the decision not to include a charger in the box. I'm sorry man but there's no defending this decision; it's inconvienient for consumers and a cheap move on Nintendo's part. I'm not going to boycott the company or anything silly like that over this but they deserve to be called out for this lunacy.

I don't know what your point is but you are a person filled with prejudices (see what I did here). I think it is necessary in the future to leave out plastic garbage that everyone already has. There is no way in defending wasting our planet with more shit than necessary. But companies like Nintendo also need to give us the money they save in form of a cheaper price. and yes, they deserved to be called out, but in an appropriate way... And you need to be called out too...for trying to categorize me as an apologist ;)
 
No those people will come home with a n3DSXL and a charger because the salesperson and the box will remind them to. Consumers rarely buy just one thing; why do you think shelves near the cashiers are filled with accessories? Why do you think Monster cables get sold with that new TV someone bought? Do you want fries with that?

The highlight of my Black Friday trip to Best Buy was the mother who refused to leave the store with an Xbox One because she was informed after the fact by her son that a membership to XBL was required to play the included game (Advanced Warfare). That kid did not get his new console that day because some company was nickel and diming his mother. Good times.
 
I can't speak for certain, but I was always under the impression that the XL was getting more popular simply because it was better overall. Better screens to a degree (wasn't perfect), and the system as a whole felt less fragile. Form factor may have come into play, but it feels like Nintendo read the market wrong. It isn't that we didn't want the regular 3DS' form factor, we just wanted the system that had nicer things in it.

I was personally hoping to stick with the 3DS size, so this announcement is pretty disappointing to me. No charger included is also silly when most consumer electronics come with them and a good chunk use standardized formats instead of proprietary connectors. I was thinking about using the N3DS as a way to push myself back towards the huge amount of 3DS games I still need to buy and play, but now i'm leaning more towards passing on that.

C'mon, NOA.
 
It's probably due to demographic and sales studies from the first 3ds gen.

This. Plus the people paying up for extra power are usually the types that'd pay up for a larger screen.

I feel I'm on the rare side here but I don't mind any of these choices as I need to replace my scratched XL and get a new AC Adapter that's been busted for a while.
 
No those people will come home with a n3DSXL and a charger because the salesperson and the box will remind them to. Consumers rarely buy just one thing; why do you think shelves near the cashiers are filled with accessories? Why do you think Monster cables get sold with that new TV someone bought? Do you want fries with that?

I don't see that happening at all. In the US, electronics come with the AC adapters. All of them. That's what people are used to.

When they shop for electronics, it's usually at a big box store and they ask the employee to get something out of a locked case. It's then brought to the register and purchased. I'm sure in some cases the employee will say something about the charger, but you can't count on that.
 
To the people saying that not including the charger isn't a big deal, would you feel the same if they didn't include the power cord with a home console?

I just want to know how consistent we're being.
No, I'd feel differently, but I'm OK with that. I think what I don't like more than anything are companies that still insist on proprietary connectors when they're used mainly just for charging or occasional data transfer. Just make them micro-USB and be done with it. Being able to use the same cord on my handhelds as the majority of devices around me (DS4, XBO controller, Moto X, Nexus 7, etc.) would be of MUCH more use to me, but that's just subjectively/personally speaking.
 
Are you saying cars only drive on full tanks of gas?
Did you buy your car from this guy?

Used-Cars-trailer-still.jpg
 
Lol you have to be fucking kidding me, people are saying they won't buy a N3DS because it does not include a $5 charger?! Really?!
 
Hey a discussion! We're getting somewhere.

I think mass producing a micro-USB cable is probably where you're thinking but the different connector is going to be the bottleneck. They can't just go with the lowest bidder as a manufacturer of micro-USB cables. They have to get someone to make their connector in bulk. It's also not just the cost of mass producing it, there's overhead on getting it in the actual box (shipping to the facility, quality control, having a line for it, etc) not much but maybe 10%. Thinking about it more I'll go on the lower end with you but consider more $1+. Now they could not be dicks and put it in there and only lose $10 million. Or they could save $10 million, and then make $50 million by selling it. Still being dicks.

Your last part is just semantics and a straw man argument. Who cares what I called it, point being they are missing out on possible profits and reducing their profit margin by including a cable. And again what everyone else does has nothing to do with their decision from a financial perspective beyond potential lost sales due to angry customers.

No it isn't semantics. It's business. Including something that actually loses you money just to include it is completely different than including something that makes you less money. In the first scenario you've lost money on every sale that has to be made up elsewhere. In the other scenario you've simply made less money.
 
Exactly.

Nintendo could have made the system $220 with AC adapter included and people wouldn't complain at all.

Them removing it just for the sake of having a "$199.99" price is stupid due to the mess/confusion it will cause.

Plus nintendos not in some amazing position to start throwing weight like this around. Keep your customers happy. Not shit all over them with an incomplete package.
 
No AC adapter is a terrible anti-consumer move. I thought we moved past this shit when we moved away from using AA batteries on our handhelds.
 
This thread shows why companies keep making anti-consumer decisions. There are always people out there that defend them then no matter what.
 
I just ordered my charger off of Amazon. It did not feel right at all. Nintendo has a consumer friendly image that this severely tarnished. A lot of parents might buy this for their kid that won't be able to use this out of the box without a charger.

"A lot" is an understatement, try most. It's so inconceivable for a $200 product to not include required accessories for basic operation, that even if they made the whole front of the box a NO CHARGER INCLUDED! BUY ONE! warning, most people would still probably assume it's Mini/Micro USB and will charge on the computer or phone/tablet adapter.
 
Nintendo's marketing machine will ensure many more years of profitability. But AC adapter come on Nitendon't do this to us. Just make the damn price 209.
 
Top Bottom