Nintendo Disappointed in 3DS Sales Drop-Off

Let’s say you walk into your local video game emporium on the hunt for a Nintendo 3DS. Maybe it’s for your sweetie, your nephew or your own 3D-crazy self. Expecting the worst, you go up to a helpful sales person and hesitantly ask if they have any 3DSes in stock. “Why, yes,” he answers. “What color would you like?”

Huh? Isn’t this thing supposed to be selling like ice water in Hades?

Sure, the 3DS debuted with a record-setting first week with 400,000 units sold, but it was still very easy to find. Initial statements by Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime claimed that Nintendo had adjusted its supply chain in accordance with what the company learned after months and months of Wii shortages. Then, it came out that the 3DS was outsold by its older sibling the DS during the first weeks of availability, largely on the strength of blockbuster Pokemon: Black and Pokemon: White.

Well, according to Nintendo’s top man, their newest handheld is indeed under-performing and they’re not happy about it. At a recent investor meeting, president Satoru Iwata acknowledged that sales are not where they want them to be, saying, “The initial sales were healthy; however, the sales speed slowed down from the third week after its launch which is not what we had expected for the start-up transition.”

Iwata said that it’s hard to market the 3DS’s main selling point, the stereoscopic capability, even in person. At retail locations where it’s been made available to try out, would-be consumers can still have the adjustable 3D slider at a setting that’s not ideal for them and walk away being less than impressed. He also indirectly noted that their launch software might’ve been a bit weak, too:

There might be consumers who are interested in Nintendo 3DS, but they are unable to find software which they want to play, and they are in the “wait-and-see mode,” so I would like to inform you of the launch dates of software titles in Japan.

Among the games Iwata mentioned were The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and Star Fox 64 3D, both remakes of old Nintendo 64 games. Meanwhile, if you measure the 3DS launch cycle against that of recent successful game hardware like Kinect, the challenge facing Nintendo is apparent. Like the 3DS, Kinect was marketed on technology and novelty. Unlike Kinect, though, the 3DS’ appeal may be a slippery one to define. Here’s hoping that Nintendo delivers a gameplay experience that shows off the 3DS magic in a way that sells units.

http://heywhatthehellisthis.wordpress.com cycogod

it’s expensive junk that gives you a headache. back to being last nintendo. your junk hardware gimmicks only go so far. drop the hardware sales and make software otherwise you’ve already lost.
thebonafortuna

No surprise here. Sorry, but regardless of what Nintendo says, the effects of 3D without glasses haven’t been studied long enough for me to invest in buying one of these for my (hypothetical) children. People can argue that all they want, but that’s going to be a common reaction from parents.

Add to that the fact a lot of people don’t care for 3D, and you’ve rooted out a lot of potential customers before they’ve even tried it.

I hate to say this, but Nintendo should be careful how innovative they get with their next home console. Third party developer support never got on board with the Wii, and software sales struggled mightily because of it. If they get crazy with the new console again, the experience publishers had with the Wii will likely keep them from embracing the Wii’s successor. Furthermore, I don’t think Nintendo can rely on all the support and sales from the non-traditional gaming crowd to buoy the success of the Wii successor. Hope I’m wrong.
http://chrissomerry.wordpress.com chrissomerry

It seems other commenters don’t agree with me here, but I love my 3DS. Already clocked about 30 hours into Samurai Warriors Chronicles, 3D effects have no side effects what so ever (although it is abit weird having a mental recollection of a scene in a game and being able to remember the internal depth as if it were real life).

I think the launch titles are the real sales killer, as most were either weaker brands or niche titles (like prior mentioned Samurai Warriors – Koei-Tecmo’s games tend to be love or hate type of games). I know many are waiting for the remake of Ocarina of Time, and for a new Mario too.

Regarding the 3D effect, I think the main problem is indeed as Iwata said – people go to play it, and the 3D slider effect is in the wrong position (not suitable for them), or the game has a 3D effect inconsistent in strength with other titles in their library so when they do go to play it they don’t want to change the 3D depth (I don’t blame them, it could theoretically get fiddly no doubt). I think Nintendo in their advertising need to stress this MUCH more, that there are options other than full out turning the 3d off, and I think they need to go to devs and say “hey, stop being so darned inconsistent with your 3D effects!”

Also, the 3D, if adjusted correctly (I stress this greatly), and if the dev has their head screwed on right (e.g. the prerendered cutscenes of Samurai Warriors are jarring), it’s like looking at something as you would naturally. A big problem for newcomers would be looking at it in an unnatural way (eg crosseyed), looking at it side on (because it’s impossible for that to work, even if you line it up right everything looks like a weird sort of cut-out prop), or not looking directly at the 3D images (normally, we expect to see a 2D screen, so we automatically focus our eyes at the screen, not ahead or behind it).

Overall, if you know how to use it, its a lovely console, the screen is quite nice even in 3d-off mode (about the same size as my PSP’s screen, albeit brighter and thanks to the 3D depth it looks even bigger in 3D). But games I think are a big problem at the moment, as Nintendo’s being too friendly with ubisoft in not providing them with competition in the launch title space.