Iwata admits to poor 3DS software lineup, blames health scares for lower sales

Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said back in February, “the real test of any system is whether the games and applications draw you in and keep you engaged. Through the launch window and beyond, Nintendo 3DS delivers.” In a recent shareholder q&a, Nintendo of everywhere President Satoru Iwata admits they were wrong about the whole “through the launch window” part.

[Inside_out]

.
3D is definitely bad for the eyes on an adult and any child under the age of 9 should be nowhere near this crap as it will hurt the still developing children's eyes. This is a FACT...3D has been around for ever. Why do you think it's never went anywhere. :/

This is old news and all the disclaimers won't change the fact that these garbage companies are willing to sacrifice the health of the most defenceless segment of the world for the almighty dollar...no surprise.

[handheldwars2]

And dude, its not under the age of 9, its 6.

"these garbage companies are willing to sacrifice the health"

*facepalm*
http://files.redux.com/imag...

[bruddahmanmatt]

Unhealthy food loaded with fat, sodium, empty calories and all kinds of other crap sells all over the damn place despite the blatantly obvious risks to a person's well-being, so don't tell me that something which could have a minor affect on one's vision (and which can also be disabled on the device for that matter) is preventing the 3DS from selling. If something doesn't sell it's because of one or a combination of the following:

1. People can't afford it (i.e. it's too expensive)

2. People don't need it (i.e. it serves no purpose)

3. People don't want it (i.e. it's a POS or a competitor does it better)

Me thinks it doesn't take a genius to figure out which one of the above applies in the case of the 3DS. No one enjoys shovelware.

[qface64]

you say FACT allot but you don't actually have any..

when it comes to 3D in general the debate is actually split
some say its bad for your eyes in the long run while others say its not and can even be beneficial at younger ages

[rexbolt]

your wrong it does not harm my eyes what so ever wht harms my eyes is call of dutys grafics

[Heartnet]

aww that made chuckle :)

[Army_of_Darkness]

Fact!! Cigarette tobacco companies don't give a shit about your health!!!
Fact!! 3D looks awesome when implemented right! ... Ok. That's all i gotz folks!

[TBM]

for me when i tried it out my eyes wigged out immediately, and i know people will use/say the usual response just turn down the effect. but it would defeat the purpose of what its namesake is intended for and that's 3D.

i can only handle 3D on big screens tv, theaters so for me it wouldnt make sense for me to purchase the 3DS; i'd just stay with the DSi Lite.

[Machioto]

your comment made laugh ,"wig out”!

[rexbolt]

well u have a point there bet 3ds main focus is games not 3d

[Solidus187-SCMilk]

YO, I heard jerking off is bad for the eyes too but I will take my chances.

[Silly Mammo]

Yeah but can you live with the hairy palms? ;0)

[No_Pantaloons]

If you're going to say "FACT" you should at least give to a reputable source.

I think more than likely it IS bad for most people in general. Certainly for extended periods like many people play for.

However he's trying to deflect the weak sales on other factors. McDonalds is very unhealthy, yet people have no problem buying it. I don't think the "Scare" is what stopped them from getting 3ds, its they don't see much they want or are willing to pay release price for.

[zero_gamer]

And cellphones give us brain tumors right? Oh wait.

These health scares are irritating. I have been using the 3DS and have yet to even get a headache let alone eye damage. HELLO THE 3DS HAS A FUCKING SWITCH TO TURN OFF THE 3D!!! Nobody is forcing you to use 3D to enjoy the system. It's your own damn fault for not doing something that simple.

Blame video games for seizures why don't you.

[Peaceful_Jelly]

playing games on crappy HDTV with lag and bad contrast ratio is also bad for the eyes but people didn't care back in 2005. =/

[FFXI101]

Not really...I think just the 3DS.

I have no problem watching 3D movies in the theather and I just got a 51" 3DTV I have not feeling dizy or uncomfortable by watch tv on it or play games.

I did, however, feeling uncomfortable after playing the 3DS at Bestbuy for few mintues.

[Optical_Matrix]

The 3DS launch line up was terrible. I bought Street Fighter, which really lasted me a week at best because I'd already bought Vanilla on PS3, as well as Super on PS3 AND 360...and with AE edition in coming, it didn't really interest me. Ocarina of Time 3D is out now which is all well and good but Nintendo dropped the ball on that launch line up.

[zerocrossing]

The only reason there is any mention of health concerns is because there is no scientific proof stating that 3D is or is not harmful to your eyes. Granted as a precaution kids under 6 should keep well enough away from 3DS or just not play for extended periods of time, These scare campaigns do more harm than good.

The 3DS launch line up did kinda suck though...

[Heartnet]

Yeh but if 3D did harm a childs eyes Ninentendo would be sued the F*** out of without the warning lol

[Sprudling]

You forgot the "in the US" part. Nowhere else in the world are people suing for everything and nothing.

[MrSpace]

They should of hand Zelda, Mario Kart and maybe StarFox as launch titles

I can't wait for Animal Crossing, I hope they change it up abit this time.

[user8397144]

I think people is waiting on the Nintendo 3DSiXL Lite.

[Lovable]

LOL Good one brah...

[kramun]

Maybe like they will be waiting on the Vita lite.

[LOGICWINS]

"Maybe like they will be waiting on the Vita lite."

So ur proposing that any gamer who hasn't bought a 3DS is automatically in the market for Vita?

Ummm...huh?

[LOGICWINS]

Exactly. People have caught on to Nintendo's game.

[Kamikaze135]

Oh idk...I know the reason my friends, people in my family or I haven't bought it yet is because there aren't any games worth owning the system for. Zelda is an old game, I have the superior Street Fighter game on my PS3, Dead or Alive seems nice, but not worth it alone for the 3DS, Resident Evil Mercenaries is a joke, and the rest of the games are "meh".

[NYC_Gamer]

weak software line up

[MGRogue2017]

Nintendo could always fix those "health scares" with a 3DSi or 3DS XL

... They've probably already thought of that.

[DNAbro]

the 3D is the health scare. how can you fix it?

[tweet75]

I blame lack of desirable software and too high of a price for an "updated Ds"

[GodsHand]

But, it prints money!

[charmer]

i have to agree with iwata cause the re-release of zelda alone has already increase 3ds sales by quite a bit and the holiday lineup is strong

[AWBrawler]

This man has a brain!
Give him a trophy (Or achievement if you're a 360 fan)

[Raven_Nomad]

It was lack of software and I also believe people in general avoid anything and everything 3-D. I don't think simply because it can be bad for you, but throughout the last fifty years it's been a fad and never really catches on for long.

Look no further then recent movies that were released in 3-D, people are going out of their way to avoid those showings and opting for cheaper movies without that feature.

[AWBrawler]

what theater are you going to? 3D is getting big. Avatar was 3D as well as other big name movies

[FFXI101]

I have a friend who prefer 2D over 3D when we went to see the "Green Lantern" cause is cheaper.

Personally I don't mind either, cause we are not really saving much money anyway(pop corn, soda, even a bottle water is cuasing a lot) but if the movie is what I'd like to see I'll watch it in 3D.

That being said, the 3D line is still(at lest my case) longer than the 2D.

[tigertron]

I'm sorry, but the health scare thing is aload of crap. If that were the case, then why are big 3D films like Transformers and Pirates doing so well?

The thruth of the matter is that the 3DS has just got a terrible games library right now. I'm sure it will get more sales once it gets better games.

[Sprudling]

First of all, the 3DS uses a very different kind of 3D tech. It's called parallax barrier, while theaters use polarized light/glasses and 3DTVs at home use shutter glasses.

With glasses there's no way to look at the 3D "wrong". With glassless tech you can. If your eyes are not in the perfect spot in relation to the screen you'll be doing it "wrong", and this causes strain on your eyes.

I'm not saying this is why the 3DS sells badly. I don't think it is.

[lizard81288]

or it could be that its expensive, didn't come with all its features, and a poor launch line up, the games that looked good got pushed back. Eshop also sucks. Nintendo put Urban Champions on it as a 3D classic. That game is considered on of the worse games on the NES, and probably could easily fall into the top ten worse games of all time.

but naw, it can't be any of those things, its the 3D right?...

[FlashXIII]

The poor sales is because Nintendo took a risk on technology that hasn't been publicly accepted. Doesn't help that Hollywood is abusing it for a few extra bucks.

[lashes2ashes]

my eyes feel weird when i use 3d on my 55 inch tv but the 3ds does not seem to bother me at all. the game line up for the 3ds is crap right now. thats why its not selling well.

[MasterCornholio]

The only mistakes that i have seen Nintendo make with the 3DS was the 250 euro price tag and the lack of good games at launch. In my opinion they should have priced it at 150 euros same as the DS at launch.

While i do agree with Iwata that there was a health scare. I dont believe it affected sales as much as the price tag and lack of games. Also the system launched in March so its understandable that they didnt pull XMAS numbers with it.

My Bunghole has spoken

[Louis_Guzman]

OMg Brah mah Is William Hurt $0 b@Dlee aFt3r usin' da ThreeDs iTz Liek Fryl0k N dat 1 eps of ATHF warez da MoonItz had dat dAt rOckbelt an sayd Youz g0t double vizion DuD3 lULZ! nINTENDOZE d00MED.

[ndl1531]

yea so i just got my 3ds with zelda and i love it just a few issues . first the volume swich feels super cheap . why not use buttons like the dsi ? then the 3d swich also moves when in your pocket etc . ( also cheap ) wish there was an option to dim the bottom screen but not the top . for a system so expensive i would expect better quality . but somehow i think nintendo is doing this intentionally for the inevitable next incarnation of the sistem . also i cannot stand the 3d effect it just hurts my eyes . i went into parental controls and completely swiched it off . dont get me wrong its great when it works but you have to stay completely still for it any slight movement and the effect is ruined . all in all im happy with my purchase zelda is awesome and like i say you dont have to deal with the 3d i swiched it off and it looks great anyway im loving it .......p.s.....the launch lineup was horrible if i wasn't dying to play zelda i would have never got one . but hoping new great games come soon

[divideby0]

psst,,, its sad that a remake has to be the best game during the launch window....

just meh games and the price point of the new PSP.... deterred a lot of buyers

[charmer]

truthfully sony's 3d tv push and release of vita will boost the sale of the 3ds alone and with the great lineup they have coming it will really take off by the end of the year......sony's push of their 3d tv with glasses will only help consumers to take a look at the 3ds more and not vita actually

[Rhezin]

EXACTLY, there's even a phone out now with glasses-free 3D. It's only a matter of time before those nice pretty 3D tvs (with the glasses) WILL BE OBSOLETE. heheh hahaahha AH HA HA HA HA HA!