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[Raziel]

I pointed out what would happen with the 3DS. They should've listened.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=422236&page=4

 

[Rourkey]

Wow really candid, so different to how the other companies have handled miserable sales data in the past. They are doing the right thing its no use the hardcore saying they are happy with the console despite the low sales, low sales mean no games..

 

[Wolfe]

And like AA, 3D is not going to be a defining reason for the mainstream audience to pick up the system.

Completely agree, and unlike AA 3D is actually a deterrent to some that can't view it due to reasons such as eye strain or headaches etc. That's more an issue with Nintendo's marketing though as obviously you can turn the 3D off but I doubt a lot of the mass market even realizes that.

 

[Cygnus X-1]

that can happen if it's THAT appealing, and that was what was happening with the DS and Wii actually.

Dear Mael, are you kame-sennin's layer for instance?

Anyway answering even your post above, I've never pretended to have to monopole of the truth. We have a different vision on the same subject. No problem for me. You're free to think whatever you want. There is no right and wrong. Just different opinions.

 

[Plinko]

I just realized how Street Pass and Spot Pass would improve Animal Crossing. I don't enjoy the games at all, but it would be cool for your friends to be able to send you gifts or do something in your town without you being present.

You know what I would like? The ability to "Street Pass" actual friends on your friends list through online. I still haven't gotten one "Street Pass" yet and I've had the thing since launch.

 

[Plinko]

For example, Animal Crossing has a chance to evolve to a point in which is can be a great competitor of games made by Zynga. Till now Nintendo just kept making remakes of the original Animal Forest on GC and that's pathetic. I'm glad that Go to the City failed to sell as well as Wild World, so that this will force Konno to make a much more elaborated sequel with more added value.
Still skeptical though...

So far all it looks like they've added is swimming. We haven't seen much on the game, though. Probably my most anticipated 3DS game.

 

[Lord Ghirahim]

Yep, the region locking is what prevented me from getting it day-one. I'll probably pick up a Japanese unit now, though, and maybe a US unit down the road if meaningful western titles are ever released.

I imported one... So now I own a region-locked system with digital purchases tied to it... and no warranty. Fun!

 

[Emitan]

You know what I would like? The ability to "Street Pass" actual friends on your friends list through online. I still haven't gotten one "Street Pass" yet and I've had the thing since launch.

Agreed. I almost feel like Nintendo's systems need a different OS when they leave Japan. So many of the features are worthless or underused in the west. If the US had good public transportation I'd actually use my 3DS and PSP outside the house.

 

[Mael]

Dear Mael, are you kame-sennin's layer for instance?

Anyway answering even your post above, I've never pretended to have to monopole of the truth. We have a different vision on the same subject. No problem for me. You're free to think whatever you want. There is no right and wrong. Just different opinions.

Considering he's making better posts than I do, I'll take that as a compliment. We share views but I don't think we ever crossed path before that thread (I think I read some of his post when I lurked before).

And I think that on this topic matter there is right and wrong.
Or more accurately your argument can be sound or flawed, I really think that your argument is flawed and misrepresent the events has it happened.
There's one universal truth in the video game business, what the market wants IS what sells more.
What businesses want is to improve their bottom line, that's the very definition of why we even label corporations as such.
As a corporation, it has a legal obligation to do its best to legally earn as much as they can.
So Nintendo's best interest, as a corporation, is to have as much customers as possible.

What is clear is that they can improve their situation by releasing products that the market wants. Such products are NOT the products that they released on N64 and GC.
However on Wii the products they released put a craving in the market for their business venture.

To put it simply whether a game is good or not (in the term used on GAF) is irrelevant to Nintendo, what they care about is whether or not it's creating customers or not.
In short if they're good products or toxic products.
Wii had good products while N64 and GC had toxic products, it's irrelevant to even talk about the system themselves as they're viewed in the light of the games anyway (kiddy gc was labelled kiddy because the games were labelled kiddy and so on).

I don't think I can put it better unfortunately.

 

[Vinci]

NDS and Wii were miracles because for once they analysed what the market was and how to grow the market and reacted accordingly instead of doing whatever the fuck they wanted.

Um... yes and no. Blue Ocean developments are often pretty intuitive - ie. it's really hard to outline through data or research or analysis whether your attempt at a blue ocean strategy is dead-on or dead in the water. Asking your possible audience, "What would get you to play video games?" would likely result in an answer that isn't meaningful beyond wanting them to be cheaper. It's also the reason why other companies had so much trouble working within the Wii market - there wasn't historical data or areas for analysis that would help them create a consistent strategy for it. It's not that there weren't patterns, they just existed outside the normal parameters for measurement.

In a sense, Nintendo analyzed what they saw as a problem - "People are not playing games" - and came up with a possible solution for this problem. Yes, they tested it by having various people come in off the street and play around with it, noticed that they found it compelling, but the germ of the idea came from Nintendo itself.

The problem with the 3DS is that Nintendo tried to do something similar. They likely tested it with people off the street. Those people thought it was awesome and all the other adjectives we heard during the E3 where it was first shown. But in this case, it was a false-positive.

This happens. I think the reason I'm so dismissive of Nintendo in the case of the 3DS is that I've always felt 3D was sort of negligible for most people, so it just annoys me that it was their focus.

RE: Japanese Manga Publishing

What I mean by that is that I want games to be made that can be enjoyed by anyone, even the most unlikely of audience's. If there's some income tax accountant who wants to play a game in which he's trying to determine extensive accounting fraud and 'save the day,' there should be a game that lets him do that. The Japanese manga market is like this: It offers so much enormous variety that virtually anyone can find something that relates to them on a personal level. This is the direction I'd like to see gaming go in, but most extensive experimentation seems to be handled predominantly by indie developers and small companies without the pull to really showcase their work to a larger audience.

But that's where I'd love gaming to go. The Hollywood model is unsustainable, IMO, and I don't tend to like the games made in line with it. So there's personal bias in my part, but I'd like gaming to reach the same levels of penetration worldwide as the manga market has in Japan. That is, everyone.

 

[CoffeeJanitor]

Every console has its story. Generalization of every system is not much logic.

Wii's success is primary due to its innovative nature. The system at launch did have a new interface and thus a new gameplay, and the right software to use it: Wii Sports. It was easy, immediate, straightforward for everyone. And multiplayer.
The system then continued its success on a double basis: games for the casual market, like Wii Fit or Wii Play or Just Dance and games loved by the hardcore, but that can also appeal to everyone.
And that's the key point: in the end, which hardcore-only games really succeeded? Not so many, right? And make no mistakes: Mario is not hardcore. Mario never was just a franchise for gamers only. Otherwise its so-wide success would never be explainable. Especially 2D Mario, which are easy and cans satisfy gamers and not.
The trick of the Wii was to open a new world to the casual market with certain games and then these people, after playing these new IPs could have been interested in other games that appeal both gamers and non-gamers. It is this hybrid combination that made the console successful.

Considering "hardcore" doesn't mean anything, I fail to see what you're talking about.

 

[blu]

I like that he apologizes for damaging gamers' trust. Marking up the price hugely based on little more than positive audience reactions at E3 is what damaged my trust, along with the obstinate resistance towards making timely adjustments with the Wii and its software. The decision to bring the 3DS price in line with market realities however instills the most trust I've had in Nintendo since early media of Galaxy was released.

I keep repeating myself on this point, but I really hope that this new willingness to play ball carries over into their Wii U plans.

Agreed on all accounts. What Iwata did here was publicly admit they screwed up with the launch price, and apologize in his typical way of 'honestly speaking' (which he's darn good at).

The drama and hilarity that stem into this thread are golden, though.

 

[sakipon]

I imported one... So now I own a region-locked system with digital purchases tied to it... and no warranty. Fun!

Yup, same here. I'm living on the edge.

The price drop may lead me to buy a local version of the system sooner than planned, though. We'll see. The import one will be my main console in any case, as due to the region lock thing I'm wanting to support the local Nintendo market as little as possible.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: If Nintendo wants to be fully relevant over the next five years, they need an App Store development environment that's similar to Apple and Google's. There should be dozens of 3DSWare titles released every week, if not every day, with new releases coming day and date with the iPhone and Android counterparts.

Personally, my iPhone is not in direct competition with my other systems, and frankly, I can't see a day where it ever will be, but if the system truly is for some people, Nintendo is going to need to follow the App Store model at least in part, or get left behind, as third-party developers might decide not to produce full retail 3DS titles.

 

[Teppic]

I want two things from the 3DS.

1. Region free gaming.

2. An account tied to my downloaded purchases.

This price cut does nothing for me.

 

[kame-sennin]

N64 failed because it was less than a dollar to print a game on ps1, while exponentially higher on n64, as well as much exponentially smaller sizes for the games, and nintendo taking a bigger cut of the games profits compared to sony.

Nothing in your response takes into consideration the customer response to software. If, like the Wii, the N64 had a small library of incredibly appealing software, it would have sold better. I'm surprised anyone could argue otherwise; the Wii and N64 are perfect counterpoints.

I don't think you're appreciating the difference between "good" and "novel". I never said the market has "shit taste", and I wasn't implying that it does. A game can be both good and novel. But let's not kid ourselves that Wii Sports made the Wii into a huge success because it's good. It IS good (in my opinion), but that's not why it sold so well. It sold so well primarily because it was new to so many people.
So what I'm saying is that Nintendo is now too focused on replicating that novelty-based success. It was clearly a much better short-term strategy than their old "quality games" philosophy. Whether it's a better long-term one is obviously questionable at this point.

First, I apologize for putting the words "shit taste" in quotes without making it clear that I was not quoting you. I was preemptively addressing arguments that I've heard on this board many times. I should have been more clear.

As for the novelty factor, I partially agree with what you're saying, but only insofar as that is what Nintendo believes. Nintendo does believe that novelty and surprise are what drove the Wii and DS, and that they must replicate that with Wii U and 3DS. But I stand by my opinion that the Wii sold based on its entertainment value. And, I believe its entertainment value derived from the fact that all of their successful games had an accessible interface built around arcade gameplay. That is the exact strategy they used with the NES, SNES, GB, and DS (which had many successful non-touch games). The N64 and GC, on the other hand, did not focus on pick-up-and-play or arcade gameplay, and I believe that was the number one weakness.

no way the people that bought a DS to get Mario Kart, Pokemon or NSMB would be coming back

The beginning and the end of Nintendo's problem, this gen and every other unsuccessful generation.

 

[Mael]

I want to pull out of this thread but I guess it's to interesting for me to pull out;

Um... yes and no. Blue Ocean developments are often pretty intuitive - ie. it's really hard to outline through data or research or analysis whether your attempt at a blue ocean strategy is dead-on or dead in the water. Asking your possible audience, "What would get you to play video games?" would likely result in an answer that isn't meaningful beyond wanting them to be cheaper. It's also the reason why other companies had so much trouble working within the Wii market - there wasn't historical data or areas for analysis that would help them create a consistent strategy for it. It's not that there weren't patterns, they just existed outside the normal parameters for measurement.

I don't think they did this as bluntly as you put it, I think they just analysed how and why people were playing, what makes them react and such.
How the market reacted to various games and all.

In a sense, Nintendo analyzed what they saw as a problem - "People are not playing games" - and came up with a possible solution for this problem. Yes, they tested it by having various people come in off the street and play around with it, noticed that they found it compelling, but the germ of the idea came from Nintendo itself.

Indeed and I'd add that it was possible because it meshed well with how they work.
I mean I read on Itoi's site(http://www.1101.com/index.html) an interview with him and Iwata and it was enlightening to see that when they were doing games they balanced it perfectly by putting someone out of the process and seeing them react to various traps they made and asking questions and all that. So yeah I don't think it would have been possible with another company...unfortunately

The problem with the 3DS is that Nintendo tried to do something similar. They likely tested it with people off the street. Those people thought it was awesome and all the other adjectives we heard during the E3 where it was first shown. But in this case, it was a false-positive.

This happens. I think the reason I'm so dismissive of Nintendo in the case of the 3DS is that I've always felt 3D was sort of negligible for most people, so it just annoys me that it was their focus.

I think that they took e3 like it was 2006, I mean in 2006 people could really attend and it was less closed than it was now, so they might have been fooled by the crowd reaction which was more from the enthusiast press than anything. In this case they didn't do their research right, they shoudl have sent a tour across a country and see how people really reacted or something.

RE: Japanese Manga Publishing

What I mean by that is that I want games to be made that can be enjoyed by anyone, even the most unlikely of audience's. If there's some income tax accountant who wants to play a game in which he's trying to determine extensive accounting fraud and 'save the day,' there should be a game that lets him do that. The Japanese manga market is like this: It offers so much enormous variety that virtually anyone can find something that relates to them on a personal level. This is the direction I'd like to see gaming go in, but most extensive experimentation seems to be handled predominantly by indie developers and small companies without the pull to really showcase their work to a larger audience.

But that's where I'd love gaming to go. The Hollywood model is unsustainable, IMO, and I don't tend to like the games made in line with it. So there's personal bias in my part, but I'd like gaming to reach the same levels of penetration worldwide as the manga market has in Japan. That is, everyone.

Ok, I get it....I like want your vision to carry my children.
I kid not, that's actually something I'm despairing will ever happen, with Nintendo dropping the Wii like it's a cursed item I feel that dream is crushed.

 

[Mael]

I apologize in advance if it's a double post but I think this deserve its own post :
http://www.1101.com/iwata/
I found the precursor to Iwata's Ask I think and they're still as relevant now as they were then.
Seriously it's enlightening, if game design is ever meant to be a science that must be a starting point

 

[SappYoda]

Coming soon to GAF:

· Is hanheld gaming doomed?
· Will Vita be the handheld gaming's saviour??
· Apple wins.

 

[Version 3.0]

As for the novelty factor, I partially agree with what you're saying, but only insofar as that is what Nintendo believes. Nintendo does believe that novelty and surprise are what drove the Wii and DS, and that they must replicate that with Wii U and 3DS. But I stand by my opinion that the Wii sold based on its entertainment value. And, I believe its entertainment value derived from the fact that all of their successful games had an accessible interface built around arcade gameplay. That is the exact strategy they used with the NES, SNES, GB, and DS (which had many successful non-touch games). The N64 and GC, on the other hand, did not focus on pick-up-and-play or arcade gameplay, and I believe that was the number one weakness.

I would say it's both: the novelty got people to pay attention and want to try it in the first place (without which no sales occur), and the fact that it was entertaining and accessible made the sale. And throw in a whole bunch of sales off of pure herd mentality.

 

[Lonely1]

If I had to, I would bet that the Wii U is the foundation of the next Nintendo Handheld. But the Architecture chosen doesn't fit, perhaps some kind of streaming solution?

 

[Mael]

I would say it's both: the novelty got people to pay attention and want to try it in the first place (without which no sales occur), and the fact that it was entertaining and accessible made the sale. And throw in a whole bunch of sales off of pure herd mentality.

Not that I disagree with you on that but do you examples of entertaining, accessible games with no novelty? I also think that with this mentality one can get why Arcades were so important.
Without novelty, people wouldn't even try the game and then the game HAD to be entertaining to the point that the player NEEDED to keep playing or else the game failed.

 

[Osietra]

The problem for the 3DS is Apple. Nintendo didn't predict the behemoth it would become (who did), and even with this price slash, it's going to seriously struggle when up against the fact that you can buy your child an iPod touch for a comparable price, and just pop in how ever much money you feel like, and let them pick'n'mix away on the app store.

The ebb and flow of the threes fortunes in this last decade or so has been fascinating, and I hope for more drama when Microsoft enter the portable market with real commitment, which is an inevitability.

Didn't buy a 3ds, will wait for the Vita

 

[Mael]

The problem for the 3DS is Apple. Nintendo didn't predict the behemoth it would become (who did), and even with this price slash, it's going to seriously struggle when up against the fact that you can buy your child an iPod touch for a comparable price, and just pop in how ever much money you feel like, and let them pick'n'mix away on the app store.

The ebb and flow of the threes fortunes in this last decade or so has been fascinating, and I hope for more drama when Microsoft enter the portable market with real commitment, which is an inevitability.

Didn't buy a 3ds, will wait for the Vita

Why the hell would the 3DS problem be Apple?
If the iphone was so big a threat WTF did the DS not crash and burn before? How the hell did the PSP manage to hold its own against it in Japan? WTH is the DS still selling so well after the successor is released when every time a new DS was sold the old one failed in the market nearly instantly (and in some case with a price increase!).
If children are the primary market for DS/3DS how does that even begin to correlate with the market nature of the iphone where it's way harder to make a gift for children?
Why is the problem Apple more than the PSP when in Japan PSP is eating its lunch already?

 

[H_Prestige]

Why the hell would the 3DS problem be Apple?
If the iphone was so big a threat WTF did the DS not crash and burn before? How the hell did the PSP manage to hold its own against it in Japan? WTH is the DS still selling so well after the successor is released when every time a new DS was sold the old one failed in the market nearly instantly (and in some case with a price increase!).
If children are the primary market for DS/3DS how does that even begin to correlate with the market nature of the iphone where it's way harder to make a gift for children?
Why is the problem Apple more than the PSP when in Japan PSP is eating its lunch already?

Because iphone/android market is still growing. Did you think something else would come along one day and DS/PSP sales would instantly drop to zero? This is a gradual process. It's already underway and will continue to erode the dedicated handheld market. The 3DS will not reach even an iota of the DS' sales no matter how perfectly Nintendo executes. The market will not allow that anymore.

 

[Futureman]

Why the hell would the 3DS problem be Apple?
If the iphone was so big a threat WTF did the DS not crash and burn before? How the hell did the PSP manage to hold its own against it in Japan? WTH is the DS still selling so well after the successor is released when every time a new DS was sold the old one failed in the market nearly instantly (and in some case with a price increase!).
If children are the primary market for DS/3DS how does that even begin to correlate with the market nature of the iphone where it's way harder to make a gift for children?
Why is the problem Apple more than the PSP when in Japan PSP is eating its lunch already?

iPod Touch.

You can get a decent last gen model for used $150. Full access to app store.

 

[Keyouta]

A change in marketing and new games is all that the platform needs if they want better sales.

Because of their many DS iterations, consumers are confused. Amirox uses the picture where the 3DS is bundled with the DS in some marketing banner. That sure is a good way to differentiate your product. /sarcasm.
The also shouldn't focus too much on the 3D aspect, it is essentially holding off sales with parents not being informed about it. (Which also needs to change somehow, seriously, train clerks or salespeople to inform consumers that the 3D effect is not necessary.) The name is a problem too, but nothing can be done anyway. This 3DS has a host of features compared to the DS, advertise them!

As noted by the new European ads, it is slowly stepping in the right direction.

I, for one, would like to see ads in NA that go through the handheld generations from Nintendo:
1989 - GAMEBOY
1998 - GAMEBOY COLOR
2001 - GAMEBOY ADVANCE
2004 - NINTENDO DS
Have a voiceover telling the audience of each platform and the milestone advancements they brought to people around the world. Then:
"Introducing the next generation: powerful graphics, always-on-wireless, blah blah features and cool stuff." Along with a game montage or something. (And introduce the new price point.)

That will clearly tell people watching that the 3DS is new. Anyway, just thinking out loud.

 

[Mael]

Because iphone/android market is still growing. Did you think something else would come along one day and DS/PSP sales would instantly drop to zero? This is a gradual process. It's already underway and will continue to erode the dedicated handheld market. The 3DS will not reach even an iota of the DS' sales no matter how perfectly Nintendo executes. The market will not allow that anymore.

Except that the market dried for DS not because of Apple but because Nintendo shifted its focus away from it. How is that hard to understand? 3DS will not reach DS sales but that's only because Nintendo failed while making a bad product.
We can go with the what if but that's not happening.
The mobile market is eroding the dedicated handheld market in the same way that the Saturn/PS1/N64 eroded the Arcade market. Meaning NOT AT ALL.
Correlation =/= Causation.

iPod Touch.

You can get a decent last gen model for used $150. Full access to app store.

So now you're telling me the used market for an old product is the reason that the 3DS is not appealing?
So....Wii sales dropped because the ps2 used is 50 bucks then?

 

[Osietra]

Stuff

The problem is that perhaps the app store is a dream for parents with game hungry kids, and balk at the idea of coining up money for not only a hand-held, but expensive games to boot.

It's not a phone issue either.

 

[Mael]

The problem is that perhaps the app store is a dream for parents with game hungry kids, and balk at the idea of coining up money for not only a hand-held, but expensive games to boot.

It's not a phone issue either.

Actually the parents balk at the idea of having to buy the hardware more than the software.
Seriously, no one likes to pony up cash for something that can't do anything on its own.
the expensive games only put the 3DS in a bad position regarding other handhelds, it's ludicrous to claim that people can't tell the difference between mobile games and handheld games.
Might as well claim they don't see the difference between pc games and console games too.

 

[Saint Gregory]

I think you guys are, as usual, looking in the mirror and seeing yourselves as the average consumer. Just because you want desperately to turn little Jimmy into an Apple-phile doesn't mean the average Joe wants the same. The average consumer is still buying DSes and sometimes even GBAs if they can find them in Walmart for their kids.

 

[tim.mbp]

4 months (till the end of the year) or bomba! Will Iwata's gamble work or not?

Ugh. Now I'm thinking I shouldn't buy anymore 3DS software until I know Nintendo won't pull the plug on the platform.

 

[Ulairi]

iPod Touch.

You can get a decent last gen model for used $150. Full access to app store.

For $170 you can get a 3DS and get full access to Mario, Pokemon, Zelda, Metroid, Kirby, Nintendogs, classic games, etc etc etc. The App Store content is not superior.

Gamers should be cheering for both Nintendo and Sony to succeed inspite of Apple despite of peoples boners for Steve Jobs.

 

[D3rmotbubz]

Game over yeeeeaaaaahhhh!

 

[P90]

Let me get this straight, Iwata is hoping people will buy the 3DS purely on the new pricepoint and not because of the software?

If the software was there the price wouldn't have been an issue.

$249 is not a mass market price for a handheld, plain and simple.

 

[sakipon]

Ugh. Now I'm thinking I shouldn't buy anymore 3DS software until I know Nintendo won't pull the plug on the platform.

Well, if everyone would think like this, the future indeed wouldn't be very bright...

Anyway, they aren't killing the system, they're just calming down the investors.

 

[Mael]

$249 is not a mass market price for a handheld, plain and simple.

Yeah and people told us that consoles mass market price was below 200....which is why Wii flew off the shelf for 3 years at 250 bucks....
With the right software, hardware change hands. without the right software, it's just an expensive paperweight

 

[phosphor112]

I pointed out what would happen with the 3DS. They should've listened.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=422236&page=4

I like you.

Also, quoting for ownage. Yes, I said ownage.

 

[CarbonatedFalcon]

What I would like to see is a push for the 3DS like the Wii initially had. It really is something you actually need to see and dinky demo stations at the local Best Buy (with bad demos) aren't cutting it. Set up booths in malls like they had with the Wii this holiday season with something actually GOOD (sorry Pilotwings and Steel Diver) to try out. The early Wii demo stations had a lengthy Zelda demo FFS.

It hasn't just been a matter a of price (though that has been HUGE), but the marketing has been poor compared to the Wii.

 

[Sohter.Nura]

I dunno. The 3DS had a lot of things going for it initially, but the 3D was really what was going to carry it. I don't think that has caught on very well.

Or maybe that's not the problem... maybe the problem is that there is no software that really showcases the product's qualities.

 

[Vinci]

Because iphone/android market is still growing. Did you think something else would come along one day and DS/PSP sales would instantly drop to zero? This is a gradual process.

The DS just sold almost 400,000 units in June. So yeah, that's pretty damn gradual.

 

[Tenck]

Not if they kill it in four months. That timeline is suicide. In four months, their stock will be non-existent, and the only way they'll regain the trust of investors is by going third-party. Giving a timeline like this was the dumbest thing Iwata could have done.

This is the worst prediction I've read on Gaf today.

 

[Futureman]

For $170 you can get a 3DS and get full access to Mario, Pokemon, Zelda, Metroid, Kirby, Nintendogs, classic games, etc etc etc. The App Store content is not superior.

Gamers should be cheering for both Nintendo and Sony to succeed inspite of Apple despite of peoples boners for Steve Jobs.

I agree. I only have two consoles... an XBox 360 and a 3DS. Believe me I want the 3DS to succeed real bad.

The only reason I mentioned iPod Touch was because the guy seemed offended that someone was saying Apple are Nintendo's biggest threat, and his post only mentioned the iPhone.

The iPod Touch is the device that will give the 3DS a run for its money.

 

[Phoenician_Viking]

Yeah and people told us that consoles mass market price was below 200....which is why Wii flew off the shelf for 3 years at 250 bucks....
With the right software, hardware change hands. without the right software, it's just an expensive paperweight

I agree. Software is what makes or breaks the system. Appealing easy to use multi functional hardware can still do decent numbers though.

 

[M-PG71C]

Gotta love the internet, that's how I feel about this whole thread.

I think this is a positive movement and I'm actually pleased with how Iwata is handling it. He's not burning early-adopters and hes being aggressive with the price point.

Clearly management has made mistakes but they are moving forward to contend with the market the best way possible. They need to market it differently though. They do need to show there is a clear difference and it is a successor.

I think the doom and gloom in this thread is a bit over the top, but its expected. You can almost anticipate who's going to come in and act like a teenager with a zit.

 

[IchigoSharingan]

I agree building momentum is important, but they need to give 3DS a strong identity. Atm, looks like consumers are confused.

This is true. Just looking at the handhelds alone is good evidence. The differentiation between the handhelds isn't apparent. A huge no-no for design.

GB > GBA > DS were quite different from each other.

Nintendo has seriously fucked up in differentiation lately. The Wii U reveal alone was a monstrous disaster.

 

[chaosblade]

A phone is just a data contact. They could release a 3G capable 3DS if it was that big of a deal, just like Vita.

Not really the same thing. I wouldn't be surprised to see Nintendo go with something like the Xperia Play as their next portable. The 3DS will probably do reasonably well, but it's certainly the beginning of the end for dedicated gaming portables for the mainstream market.

Even if Nintendo doesn't go with a phone, their next portable should at least be more like an iPod Touch than the DS/3DS. Something that you can get a lot more out of than games by design, from day one.

As for his other comment about combining portable and home console, I've already posted my support of that (even though it will probably never happen).

 

[425kid]

Just an anecdote (meaning this may not be true in the grand scale, but it is true for those around me)

All the kids that I know used to bring their DSes everywhere, but none of them have 3ds, although most of them either have an ipad or play with their parents' iphone. These kids got an ipad because they want it, they have no interest in 3ds or psv.

For those playing their parents' iphone, well that's simple, they have something for their kids to kill time while they go out, so they don't see the point to buy another device to shut them up. Some of them have the money, but they buy ipad instead. For one the parent wants an ipad themselves, the bigger part is the kid wants an ipad and not a 3ds.

From what I observed/been told by the kids is they don't really care what games they play as in it does not have to be prettiest or most fun, it just have to be new and what all their friends is playing. The kids usually just play free stuff and rarely the parent will spend a dollar or two. So for parent and kids, iOS fit their needs better, parents don't have to spend much on games and the kids always have new games to play.

fake edit: to relate to the topic at hand, i think the very casual market is gone for nintendo, but that does not mean they are doom, because i don't believe it is always all or nothing and nintendo sell to a bigger market than just the very casual. I just think iOS have taken a significant chunk of the market.

 

[ZeroGravity]

Love the overreaction. It's like an endless cycle. People are going to feel so silly a year from now, probably less.

Can't wait to finally be able to get a 3DS now. Future looks bright.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

I promised myself I wouldn't buy it until Kid Icarus...

I just saved myself enough money to buy the game and then some...