The 3DS Is In Serious Trouble (Gamerlive.tv)

Nintendo tried to something innovative and incredible with the Nintendo 3DS, but a lot of shortcomings have it in serious trouble. Can the big N bounce back? Perhaps.

[Technical World]

Could you think of dumber things to compain about?

Region Locking? The DSi actually does the same thing along with the 360 like you said. Niether of the two have problems selling to others. Just wait to play your games and get over it!
Delays? This one I can kind of understand because some great games are being delayed but that isn't the fault of Nintendo and it actually makes zero sense since some of them are still coming out this year in Japan.
Too many in stock? First off they've probably shipped more than they did with the Wii so they wouldn't have the same problem. I live in a really tiny town and my Gamestop barely has any on top of that along with the Best Buy in the next town over so really?
Technically Viable? What?!?! The DS is more technically viable than the 3DS? You realise if you have that much of a problem keeping you hands still than you can turn the 3D off.
I know the price and the launch were some dumb things on Nintendo's part and are serious problems untill they make up for it in games but some of these are rediculous.

[dedicatedtogamers]

The 3DS is in trouble. There's no doubt about it. People are just stating the obvious.

Games are being cancelled and delayed. Sales are stagnant. The "heavy hitters" like Ocarina are failing to ignite interest (and before anyone claims Ocarina was not supposed to be a heavy hitter, Nintendo themselves labeled it as a "system seller" in several interviews).

Plus, there are the numerous hardware issues and the public's overall "meh" reaction to 3D itself.

How can any honest gamer say that the 3DS isn't in trouble right now?

[Stealth2k]

Because everything youve said is either irrelevant or false

1) games get cancelled or delayed on all systems

read between the lines

capcom has cancelled the last 3 megaman games on systems not named the 3ds . So it stood to reason they would cancel this one. It has nothing to do wit the 3ds. It has everything to do with capcom. And we have solid dates for shinobi which got a 2 month delay which most games get. Metal gear according to kotaku has only been delayed in australia.

Last remnant on the ps3 was cancelled. Is it the ps3's fault or is it squares? Same deal

2) OOT has sold extremely well and has moved systems even though its 15 years old and has gotten amazing reviews. Most games dont go up in sales 2+ weeks later but thats what happened with OOT.

you want a heavy hitter? Wait for mario kart, mario 3ds, kid icarus,FF,dq, pokemon games during the holidays.......... You think thats a coincidence? Theres a reason why every major data service has said the 3ds will be the top selling system in japan this year.

3) Sales are as good if not better than the ds. Its been in first place in japan. The ds was never first ever the first 2 years. And is selling better than the ds did in america as well

The ds only sold around 50k a month in the US for the first 2 years.

How can an honest gamer says trolls arent having a field day?

[klecser]

Every "argument" you just leveled is true of most new consoles and lacks business sense. Companies release games when they can be profitable, because most games have about a two week window to sell. Games get delayed because their original launch windows are falling in windows in which they won't sell optimally. If Nintendo needs more time to give their titles high quality they should do so. That means that many people won't buy the 3DS until those big games get released and it means that some third party titles shouldn't be released until more people have the system. Its called business strategy. They maximize their profit while still having a good product that will keep people.

[dedicatedtogamers]

I don't think the 3DS is going through "business as usual". We are seeing something unprecedented here.

Sure, the DS had a slow start, too. But that's partially due to the fact that it was doing the whole dual-screen, touch-screen thing. Developers love the 3DS. Developers understand the 3DS. It's the customers that don't see the point of the 3DS.

And let's be serious for a second: the 3DS is the sequel to the DS, the freakin' DS! The highest-selling videogame platform of all time! So, yeah, the standards are a bit higher. You'd expect people to be rushing out the door to get the DS's successor, but they aren't doing that.

Nintendo pulled a PS3 here. Sony hit one out of the park with the PS1, and do you know why the PS2 was also a success? It's because the PS2 kept the same philosophy as the PS1 (inexpensive, floodgate of games). But then the PS3 didn't follow the same rules and it hasn't done as well.

3DS will be the same thing. Yep, Nintendo made the Gameboy, the GBA, and the DS, and all were very successful handhelds. But the 3DS is not following in their footsteps. The 3DS is going in a "new direction" according to the words ripped right out of Iwata's mouth.

[Technical World]

The only reason people think the 3DS will fail is because for some reason everyone wants it too. How many 3DS articles do you read that say, "3DS Predicted Top Seller," or ,"3DS Will Beat Vita," because I doubt it. Everyone is writing doom stories and only about this system. The DS didn't have this much attention to it's sales. Have you checked where the sales were for both systems a few months into launch? Didn't think so.

[klecser]

Has your opinion changed with the price break? I'll admit that I was surprised that it was so much but it should draw a flurry of buying. Buying with less profit, sure, but with the unit costing 101 to make they could still get a slim profit margin on it.

[MoveTheGlow]

I don't see this either as the 3DS being in crisis or causing a buying frenzy after the price drop. This looks like a holding pattern - it turned out that third-party developers are holding off or cancelling their 3DS games because of the lack of market share at this time.

So, Nintendo cuts the price to make its first holiday run more successful, they roll out first-party games before Dec. 25th hits, and they try to keep their early adopters occupied during the gap in-between with some free (very good!) games. That doesn't look like serious trouble to me, that looks like a nice adaptation to how the early tech buyers' market responded.

Basically, I'm saying that after the holiday, we'll see where we are. The 3DS shouldn't be having its vital signs checked until Q4 2011 is over with and the numbers are in.

Then again, this article came out before the price drop and all that, so... hey, maybe NOA read the piece, woke up the guys in Japan, and cooked up a strategy in seconds flat! hehe

[etowntwo]

It's too expensive ..... Thats the only problem I see with it.

[Serjikal_Strike]

I bought mine at Best Buy 2 weeks ago and it was the last one on the shelf...

so I would guess its selling pretty well..
DoA on the 3ds is pretty badass..FYI

[Shinuz]

I don't know if its in trouble or not, but i know that i'm really not interested in the 3ds.
I already have a DSLite and Psp and ill wait for the PS Vita instead.
Anyway knowing Nintendo they'll probably release another version in a couple of months.

[Cerberus29]

I bought one the second week it was out, then it sat and collected dust. Once Ocarina of time came out I played it some more. but after about a week of playin that I beat it and haven't touched it since.

[Stealth2k]

welcome to the first year of any system

The snes, ds,ps2 were all like that. Systems that ended up having the greatest libraries of all

[dedicatedtogamers]

The SNES wasn't like that at ALL. You think that Castlevania IV, Actraiser, F-Zero, Gradius III, Super Mario World, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, and Super R-Type (just to name a few) was a bad first year?

PS2 had Timesplitters, Midnight Club, SSX, Tekken Tag Tournament, Unreal Tournament, Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance, Zone of the Enders, Fatal Frame, Burnout, and many more in the first year.

DS had Harvest Moon, Bomberman, Castlevania, Kirby Canvas Curse, Mario 64, Meteos, Phoenix Wright, Nintendogs, Sonic Rush, Trauma Center, Advance Wars Dual Strike, Animal Crossing, Brain Age, and M&L Partners in Time in its first year.

So you're actually comparing the 3DS's first-year library to the DS, PS2, and SNES? You might want to rethink that.

[maniacmayhem]

Wow, the 3DS has been out for a year already!?!

I didnt know that.

[dedicatedtogamers]

@ Maniacmayhem

No, but we know what games are being released within the first year. Try harder.

Besides, I was directly replying to Stealth2k's (false) statement of "welcome to the first year of any system"

[tiffac]

This is the reason why I don't buy a console during its first year, usually the games that I want to play are far and in between of each other ^^

[tiffac]

Nintendo doesn't need to worry about the 3DS because once the next Pokemon installment gets release on it then expect this handheld to fly off the shelf. Of course you can also say that the current economy is at fault and people are just waiting for a good deal this holiday and if Ninty does a price cut next year when the PSV is still young then they have a good chance to steal the thunder back to their favor.

Ninty is just being patient during the 3DS 1st year.

[C0MPUT3R]

Yay pokemon! /s

[divideby0]

I honestly dont know anyone who bought a 3DS AND I have never seen one outside of the stores...

[Technical World]

It's only been out a few months. Did you see a DS in everybodies pockets four months after it's release?

[klecser]

I think this article is indicative of a different problem that is easily fixable by Ninyendo. I realize that Nintendo tries to sell all of its systems with a marketable "gimmick" and this one has 3D. The problem is that there is so much more to the 3DS than just the 3D that may not be made clear to the public. The 3DS is offering current generation console graphics on a handheld. The cartridge can hold 2-4 GB with rumored 8 or more possible in the future. People seem to think that the 3DS is "just a DSi with 3D" and that is completely false. Trolls are having a field day with this because for some reason they'll do anything to prevent people from having fun in ways other than themselves have fun.

[k-dillinger]

yea 3ds is not doing well and thats clear as day but the ninty fanboys are just here for damage control dont mind them now who wants to talk about the ps vita since we can clearly see its gonna topple the 3ds the gen.

[Technical World]

Obviously this is coming from someone who hates Nintendo so it's no different than Nintendo Fans so be quiet. And what makes you think the Vita will dominate? The fact that the PSP destoryed the DS? Oh wait a minute....... Chances are now the Vita will do even better than the PSP but I don't see Nintendo being toppled by a portable Sony.

[gypsygib]

I'd be interested it it had 2 analogs, cheaper price OR more power. 250 bucks for gamecube graphics is lame.

[C0MPUT3R]

Nail on the head.

[ndl1531]

i recently bought my 3ds like a couple weeks ago on the zelda hype alone and it didn't hurt my pocket too much since i traded in some games and paid 150 out of my pocket with zelda included but i didn't do my research on it and now i come to find out that most games are many months away still. dammit kinda sux but keep in mind for those of you that also have a 3ds you all still have the whole ds library to keep you occupied while the heavy hitters come and im sure there will be a frenzy when mario 3ds comes around the holidays believe me