Is the 3DS Worth Buying at Launch?

Is the 3DS going to be worthy of your money on launch day, or should you wait to pick one up?

[MrMccormo]

That's a question I've been asking myself. I want a 3DS, but the announced lineup is thin.

[ABizzel1]

No

The price, the library of games, price drops, and the inevitable remodels are not worth jumping in at launch for any console.

The price of the launch consoles are too high. After a year or 2 the price drops by $50 - $100, which brings me to my next point.

The library of games may be good at launch, but after that it takes a year to get at the most 5 good games onto the platform of which you may only like 2 of the 5 games geners. Waiting a year or 2 allows you to be slightly behind the library which means you'll almost always have something to look forward to in your favorite genres while you try to catch up to the current releases, which brings me to my next point.

Price drops. Waiting a year or 2 will drop the price of the hardware by $50 - $100. Also the price of games drop by 30% - 50% within a years time which is another savings for the cheap gamer, (3DS games should still be $34.99 they are not render games in 3D the screen is, so development cost should not increase) so waiting a year should drop the price of games to $19.99 saving you $15 per game. Which brings me to my final point.

Remodels come out for Nintendo's handhelds like freaks on a Saturday night. There will be at least 4 revisions of the 3DS which add more features or a bigger screen, etc... Why pay $250, $300, or whatever it cost for basically the Prototype of what they really want to make.

So waiting a year or 2 is not a bad idea for consoles and handhelds.

You don't have to pay full price for a Prototype, and you'll save a lot of money in the long run and get a better and more reliable version of the hardware.

[Cloudberry]

.
Some (if not, most?) people would probably waited for the inevitable (?) pirated version... : /

[ryuzu]

All good points but there is one small issue.

If a manufacturer doesn't sell enough units, no one makes games, the system doesn't sell and therefore no one makes games etc etc until the system is pulled.

And there are a few good examples of this in the gaming sector alone. Someone has to make the initial investment or the platform dies.

r.

[ABizzel1]

@ryuzu

That's only a worst case scenario. And when hardware doesn't sell as expected then the price drop(s) will happen sooner, which would be beneficial to both the company and the consumer.

Nintendo is notorious for their products being developed at a cheaper price than they sale at retail, but that's how you keep your business successful make cheap sell high. A $199 price wouldn't hurt Nintendo's revenue at all, and IMO that should be the launch price for the 3DS.

[King-Leonidas]

i dont know about you guys but im gonna get Snake Eater 3D with it

[Jio]

The lineup looks great and the price is not bad. I will not go 1 year before they release the 3ds lite, instead I want to enjoy the great lineup like Zelda, and Metal Gear Solid

[FiftyFourPointTwo]

Is MML3 a launch game? If yes then I'd buy one at launch.

[Stealth20k]

Yes it is, for the portable gaming machine of the future?

Hell yes

[KillerPwned]

YES! lol with the awesome line up how can it not be worth it, its nintendo to!....Tho the price eh that is the only thing i am worried about.

[PS360fanboy]

Depends on the price...but it looks like it's going to have one of the best launch line-ups of any console, ever:
- Mario Kart;
- MGS3ds;
- 2 Resident Evil titles;
- Dead or Alive;
- Kid Icarus;
- etc..

[Stealth20k]

Non of those will be launch but the support for the machine is as absurd as the snes,ps2,ds before it

[whitesoxfalife]

i dont play no portables at all but i migh get this for my two daughters when they do come around but still not day 1 tho more in line as gifts on b-days for them

[divideby0]

handhelds over 250 = fail

300 for the DS... no thanx and same for PsP2

[divideby0]

wow.. I am surprised that 300 bucks + game + accessory.. that gamers are willing to spend 400 bucks + for a handheld..
economy must be turning around or something.. than again, when it comes down to plopping down the 400 bucks, I bet many think twice

[zackacloud]

aaaaaa

nope of course i am waited psp2 however, i learned to not buy a consle from the first year because there will be better version next 1 or 2 years

psp did

ps3 did

xbox 360 did

ps2 did

ds did

ps1 did

GBA did

Wii did not (as i know) but there motion plus for remote

[PS360fanboy]

None of those had a "better version" in 1 or 2 years.

[Terarmzar]

I bought the ps3 at launch and as far as i know it actually does even more than the current ps3 out there now.
all ps3 now are downgraded if u ask me.
now if its apple were talking about they screw you over if you bought there original model ( Ipod Touch)

[Trunkz]

Yes, will totally buy at launch :D

[DaBadGuy]

Yup.

Love my Ocarina of Time and I'm looking forward to MGS3D. Hopefully they will at least release the Naked Sample over DSware or something at launch to give us a taste.
Kid Icarus looks awesome as well.

I'm not interested in the PSP2. I have a DS and a PSP and rarely use the PSP so unless PSP2 does something revolutionary I'll be sticking with just a 3DS this time.

[despair]

way too expensive for the hardware, if it was actually worth the price then I could understand but from the specs its clear that Nintendo intends to make a healthy profit from each 3DS sold and that's partly due to consumer blind excitement and partly from their ever growing greed.

When the handheld cost more than the console its time to wait for a price drop no matter how many great games it might have. Encouraging this kind of exploitation just hurts the fans not the developers.

[tweet75]

if you wait one year it will probably have dropped in price and/or a new model will be out and most of the games will be much cheaper. So I say wait.

[StarScream4Ever]

Line up is great, but the pricing... I'll wait a year or so when Nintendo makes a price drop or a slimmer version.

[rezzah]

No, unless Golden Sun come out with it. If not then Im waiting until I see Golden Sun on the Shelves.

[live2play]

but we (USA) cant answer this question exactly BECAUSE we dont know our launch line-up yet
i for one AM getting it
i wold wait overnight outside a store of i have to!!

[live2play]

if any of these title are at launch its a MUST pick up for me
paper mario
mario kart
star fox 64
ocarina of time
kid icarus

[R_aVe_N]

I don't think it is worth it to pick it up at launch. You would be better off to wait and force them to do a price drop. The games pretty much look like rehashes of the same old thing. That was pretty much what the DS was at first as well. I would say wait awhile for the real games to start dropping then decide from there if it is worth it.

[NewsForMe]

The launch lineup it a bunch of remakes, no thanks.

[Trroy]

I won't get one until their games lineup includes at least a couple decent NEW games that I haven't played before.

Too many good games out there, for me to bother with replaying games I've already experienced. I game for the new story and gameplay experience, not the "wow" factor of seeing the same thing, but in "3D" on a tiny screen. 3D yeah.. neat. Worth investing 100s of hours to replay games I already played? Nope.

I'll probably wait on a price drop as well.

[silkrevolver]

It has a great line-up and so many great games in the pipeline. And some people are complaining that the games aren’t new games... and I understand that... but the New Paper Mario is new, and that’s all I need. (=

[Trroy]

I thought the Paper Mario was a 3D remake of the N64 Paper Mario?

[silkrevolver]

It’s a new entry.... at least I’m pretty sure it is. At the very least, it has added some things.

[SuMtOnE]

should i wait for a slim version plus xtra large screen?

[firefoxprime]

Of course the 3DS isn't going to come out with completely brand new games! If your complaining about that, then you clearly dont have a grasp on "business". Nintendo is releasing ports, remakes, sequels. WHY? Simple. There is already a fanbase for "every single game" in the 3DS lineup. Pure fact. Fanbase= ppl already like the title your releasing. MSG? R.Evil? MML3? There are dozens of those games, and a Fanbase to go with each of them. Basically Nintendo, and the "Developers" are playin it safe. After the developers get there cash from all those remakes, ports, and sequels....THEN "2" things will happen.

1. Developers discover 3DS is a great outlet to make some cheddar.

2. Developers (including Ninty), will create new games for the 3DS. Its that simple.

Recap: Developers are very cautious about spending alot of money on a system that hasn't proven its worth yet(in "their" eyes). Therefore we'll have to wait a 1 year or 2 for brand new games.

Developers are cautious to make new games for a new system. Also we as gamers are cautious to buy a brand new game that we know "nothing" about. So that's why were getting remakes, ports, and sequels.

[theafroman]

i can think of 300 reasons not to buy it yet

[Vegeta9000]

It's mainly nothing but ports as of now with a 3D gimmick slapped on it. It would be better to wait for the inevitable redesign and/or price drop.