IGN - History Says the 3DS is Doomed

With the announcement of the Nintendo 3DS getting a price drop, Nintendo hopes to turn around the lackluster sales of the handheld and get back on track. There's just one problem: That has never worked for Nintendo

[Soplox]

Yeah the 3DS isn't bad itself but the really bad launch line-up, the so high price killed it and the lack of good games(remakes doesn't count). It will die sooner than later. It wont have the same success that the DS had.

[handheldwars2]

It could still sell as much as PSP in terms of lifetime sales if quality software support is continued, which is great.

[longcat]

Nintendo overpriced their 3DS to take advantage of early adopters and fans.

Now that that is over, they have resumed a normal price point and feigned apologies to their loyal fans.

All this doom and gloom rubbish is unnecessary. Its just some capitalism people

[Micro_Sony]

Like I said in my previous comment - The main reason the DSI sold so well was because of pirates and the R4 card.

The only thing that can save the DSI is a price drop to $100 and if Nintendo Kills the DSI completely. I am perfectly fine with my DSI and dont see any reason to switch.

[Misterhbk]

@pedrobear

Did they also overprice it so that they could force their executives to take pay cuts? So they could lose money?

when you choose to take advantage of someone its usually so that you can profit somehow. Obviously losing over 300 million is the exact opposite of that. I'm not saying Nintendo is doomed in any way, but to say that they wanted to do this is just as stupid as saying they're doomed.

[longcat]

^^^

Nintendo saw the opportunity to maximize their profits based on their previous success and the reception the 3DS received.

They did not expect the console to fall this flat so soon after launch.

there is nothing wrong with what they did, but i think they overestimated the public exuberance for their product. They made some other mistakes as well, including software lineup and not differentiating the 3DS from the DS adequately

Salary cuts are to appease investors. If they get back on a high...then salaries go up again.

[NukaCola]

The drop waws too high. It may boost the 3DS sales for a moment, but the sofware is still weak and this new price is murder to the rest of the DS models prior.

[Livin_in_a_box]

IGN is owned by FOX which is owned by News International which is indeed owned by Rupert Murdoch.

But I don't personally think the price cut is going to entice a huge wave of people to buy the 3DS. I know it won't entice me to rush out and buy one because there still isn't a great software lineup to warrant the purchase, and that's what I think Nintendo need to sort out. Rather than cutting the price, they need to get the good games out there and stop remaking old games that most Nintendo fans will have already played to death without adding new, exciting features or big graphical overhauls (even though that isn't really possible with the 3DS with its limited resources, compared to Vita anyway).

What I think it's main problem is is that too many people see it as just another DS but with 3D, and that's just not enough to warrant a new (successful) console. I can see another iteration of the 3DS coming in May 2012, but whether that will get the sales that Nintendo are desperate for- who knows. Hey, maybe Nintendo had this price cut planned since before it was released. And anyone who claims that Nintendo will now be taking a loss from the new price is most likely incorrect; they were manufacturing the units at $100 each when it released and I doubt that figure is just going to mysteriously increase as the handheld gets older.

[HardCover]

I don't quite see why people think Nintendo planned this out.

It's pretty clear to me that they simply don't want to fall flat on their face once the Vita comes out. Sony packed a LOT into the $250 price tag, and all the 3DS did at that price was one small gimmick. Unless Nintendo knew Sony was going to choose $250 and whatnot, then it's not even up for discussion.

And why would Sony let Nintendo know any of that? They wouldn't. Nintendo is simply trying to pick up the pieces before the entire sky falls. People thinking it's nothing but greed are just oblivious to the fact that businesses are NOT INFALLIBLE.

But yes, Nintendo is trying to make money right now. That should be clear beyond a shadow of a doubt. But to think this is all one giant marketing gimmick + exploitation.... that's silly.

[lil Titan]

wow didnt know its "trolling" when what im saying is true

[miyamoto]

So many similarities on what is happening with the PS Vita versus the 3DS.

Nintendo was forced to launch first like Dreamcast with not so stellar hardware technology & no killer app in its line up. With a killer PlayStation machine looming on the horizon.
Its so unlike the SNES which was the more powerful machine than the Genesis & had Super Mario World as a killer app launch bundle.

I thought they learned their lesson with the SNES and the Wii.

With Nintendo's traditional approach & conservative attitude there is no doubt in my mind the same fate that happened to the N64 & Gamecube will befall the Wii U.

Edit:

I also don't like & understand how Nintendo abandon their casual but loyal DS fan base for the mature games. Nintendo popularized the casual games craze bandwagon of 2008 that Apple,Google,Microsoft, etc, are now making huge cashing ins.

If any company should be making even more profit on casual games it should be Nintendo by now. What a wasted opportunity. They should have stuck to their guns.

And with the pricing didn't they learn from the Sega Saturn & PS3?

[MoveTheGlow]

Juuuuuust wait until the holiday season is over. The main DS customers that need to get behind the 3DS aren't us. They're kids and casuals, and they don't think like us with all this "third-party support," "3D is a gimmick," etc. They think about the mascots, the names, whatever. If they don't flip over the lower price point and pretty strong first-party stuff at the end of the year, then we'll really talk.

[miyamoto]

But will this flagship price cut enough to save the whole Nintendo company?

Anyone who believes that Nintendo will still make a profit on every 3DS sold needs to look at how Nintendo also cut its fiscal revenue & profit forecast by a whopping 80%!!! on top of huge salary cuts on all Nintendo executives.

Nintendo needs to act fast and save itself from a total melt down like what happened to Sega.

[TheSadTruth]

This article says N64 was $199 at launch, I remember paying $399...

[sarshelyam]

You paid too much! That or you're a bit batty...either way, you remember incorrectly.

[Micro_Sony]

`WTF you either got hosed or live in Australia.

[ApexHell]

199 here

[LastDance]

Sounds like an Australian price mate ;)

[jessupj]

lol, it's funny when people start recognising Australian prices.

[Amphion]

This is just a classic case of Nintendo being overconfident in their brand and their product. This is what happened to Sony and PS3 when they launched the system at $600 with terrible games and claimed that everyone will line up to buy it because it had the PlayStation name attached to it.

Nintendo can still work their way out of this is mess but it won't be easy. mobile devices will eat a huge portion of their market whether we like it or not. One thing I am sure of is that 3DS will never be as huge as the DS was, but that may not matter. It will be a niche gaming platform with some good games. Also expect the 3D aspect to improve dramatically with future iterations.

[gamingdroid]

Which reminds me of what Ken Kutaragi (father of Playstation) said:

PS3 is “for consumers to think to themselves ‘I will work more hours to buy one’. We want people to feel that they want it, irrespective of anything else.”

Which reminds me of this when criticized:

“I believe we made the most beautiful thing in the world. Nobody would criticize a renowned architect’s blueprint that the position of a gate is wrong. It’s the same as that.”

[Kamikaze135]

Sounds like the PS3..though that seems to be doing MUCH better than it was back then.

[miDnIghtEr]

Exactly

[subtenko]

If this system really becomes the next dreamcast, I'll feel sorry for Nintendo and the people who bought it. This is never a good thing, I wish Nintendo would have thought this out more..

Agree or Disagree if you Agree

[saladthieves]

!(Agree or Disagree if you Agree);

[gustave154]

Wtf so i am forced to agree with you?

[subtenko]

@gustave154, no, simply dont click either one ;)

I've already caught the disagree trolls with it already. Since people get disagree with what ever they say, I put that,lol. You could win a billion dollars and in all seriousness say your gonna share some with all of n4g, you'll have disagrees (even if you really did it)

on topic again, I hope you 3ds owners end up winning in the end and not have a discontinued handheld. Nobody likes wasted money (well, with the exception of some people out there I guess..sorta)

Agree or Disagree if you Agree

[FaulkinPunch]

Wow, you clearly don't get it Sub4Dis.

btw subtenko, I 'disagreed' with you. xD

+1

[StbI990]

Dude your pull is cool, aint needed explain shit for it.

That is just a good result of being at n4g... best counter disagree ever.

[fullmetal297]

Don't count the 3DS out just yet. PS3 was in the same boat in 2006 and manages to still be in the competition to this date.

[yewles1]

Didn't they say the same thing about the PS3? Just sayin'...

[longcat]

Yep, No-one had ever had a successful $600 console before sony showed up.

[JellyJelly]

It wasn't a success until they cut the price though.

[CaptainMarvelQ8]

30+ million consoles were already sold by the time slim was announced.How is that not a success?

[longcat]

@jelly

No-one ever had a successful console that LAUNCHED at $600.

Price drops did not save the others

[Ducky]

Did anyone ever have a $600 console launch to begin with?

[Micro_Sony]

PS3 did not fail but it did sell at a loss for a long time which only hurts the stock holders and not us gamers.

[Kamikaze135]

@FatOldMan

3DO was $700
Neo Geo was $600 + $250 per game
PS3 was also $600 but $60 per game

http://www.gamespot.com/for...

[JellyJelly]

@CaptainMarvelQ8 - It had several price cuts before the Slim was released.

I never said it wasn't a success, I said it wasn't a success at $600.

[rambi80]

Apple pippen was $600 as well

[DARKrage34]

@JellyJelly

...more like when the games showed up.

Uncharted really got the ball rolling for the Playstation to sell well... plus the creative help of LBP and other dedicated devs who took time to 'understand' the cell processor allowed the system to rise outta the early struggle.

RIP lazy ass porters...

[RedDead]

I wasn't touching the Ps3 at 630(euro's) I got 8-Gb for 400 with Mgs4 free

[Mnemonic-DK]

@FatOldMan

The Commodore 64 ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wik... launched at $595 back in 1982 - and it went on to become one of the most succesfull home computers of all time.

[N4g_null]

Do you not remember the automatic price cut in japan before the thing even came out? The ps3 and the vita will suffer like all console if there are not games that people like or see as a value. Luckily the ps3 had blu ray. I'm not sure what the 3ds or vita has that warrants a buy with out games.

Plus the 3ds line up is still fighting the dsi line up. Also the first DS did horrible for like a year or two before the games came out. Also the studios canceling games are not really must have games. Capcom is a mess right now. EA has no in house talents in handheld gaming so that does matter.

All I know is Mario kart better be fun and Mario better be challenging. Don't like the way they are shaping up but kid icu is looking good.

[gamingdroid]

I wouldn't that successful when you went from dominating the market with over 100 million consoles to a grinding halt.

Playstations saving grace was subsidizing early adopters of Blu-Ray players, since the PS3 was a whole $400-500 cheaper than a stand-alone player.

The other factor was, Sony came out of a user base with a 100+ million users (or so) of loyal customers.

That said, the product really wasn't expensive (clearly as they lost money on each unit and quite a bit), but the market had settled on $400 console price due to Xbox 360 that did more gaming related activity than the PS3 at the time.

@Mnemonic-DK

Back then, a PC cost $3000 if not more easily (and not inflation adjusted) so a C64 at $600 was a bargain.

[Mnemonic-DK]

@gamingdroid:

$595 in 1982 is more than $1400 today but that just makes it all the more impressive that the C64 became popular!

And I know how expensive hardware was at the time - I remember paying $270 for a 3½" floppy drive and $1550 for a 10 mega-byte!!! harddrive for my Amiga 500 in 1988... ;)

[HaloSpartan]

uh ps3 did fail,it's last...

[CGI-Quality]

Failed at what though? Going from first with the PS2 to last with the PS3 may be the most substantial problem it had (not to mention, costing Sony a fortune before and after release). However, it's providing such a solid line-up of games, "failure" really isn't the proper term.

[ape007]

says HaloSpartan

[user8397144]

Yeah and its been outselling the 360 worldwide for quite a while.

[Christopher]

So, the new definition of "failure" is not being #1?

Damn, they need to update that in the dictionary.

[N4g_null]

Wow so is Sony shooting for 3rd and the title of selling better world wide yet always stay third? You know that doesn't even make sense. It's been 3-4 years of selling better world wide yet it hasn't past the horrible 360 that doesnt even have 1st party games any more lol.

I remember Sony saying they would be number one alOng with a laundry list of other hype inducing qoutes, like next gen doesn't start till Sony starts it lol. Well it's started and they are still not number one.

Maybe they are only out selling the 360 by 26,000? If so then that's going to take a while to break even a million.

Yet Sony fixed their problem with games. Which is the reason why we all play console instead of pcs. It's the games we want. Pure tech for the sake of it is not worth it to many. Which is why halo is ms crutch till Sony or gasp nintendo makes a better social shooter. Imagine a fps like brawl using all of their characters!

[BIGBOSS08]

360 fanboys are really gonna miss using this by the end of the year when ps3 dumps 360 to last place, whcih will make the 360 a total failure. last in sales and no exclusive games aswell with a year head start and even 16 months in some places. now thats REAL failure.

[user8397144]

But at least PS3 had games to play like Fall of Man. Plus Sony didn't drop the price couple of months later. Nintendo was being greedy that's all.

[Ethereal]

Yea, PS3 had a rough launch but Sony has pulled it from under the rug. I am sorry but to say that Sony doesn't have the strongest line up of games right now is moronic. I have high hopes for a stellar line up for the vita and seeing some of the vita features hit the PS3 very soon. Party application with universal cross game chat and cross platform chat.

[StanSmith]

"Plus Sony didn't drop the price couple of months later."

Wrong. Sony dropped the price within the first year when
they released the 40gb. That was about a year after its release in japan and only 7 months after it's release in the EU.

Also it had two good games at launch. Those being resistance & motorstorm. It took months for decent titles to come out. Devs wouldn't support it and when they did, the games were poor ports compared to 360.

The current situation with the 3DS mirrors exactly the same situation as the PS3 when it launched.

It's funny how many people have selective memory issues on this site and instead try to rewrite history themselves.

[kneon]

The PS3 situation was significantly different. It included new and expensive tech that was dropping in price very quickly.

When the PS3 launched it was the cheapest bluray player around and the bluray drive was likely the single most expensive component in the system. But bluray drives have been dropping in price at 30-50% per year. They can now be had for as little as $50. So this along with other component cost reductions and redesigns allowed them to drop the price several times.

[StanSmith]

So why did they cut full b/c from EU consoles? Why remove further stuff like USB ports and card readers? If it became cheaper then we would be using these features today.

They took parts out, then manufactured the 40gb PS3 because it wasn't selling. There was no games and Devs didn't want to support it. Yes it is the best home console available now for hardware and software but back in 2007, nobody gave a damn about it.

Sony changed this by removing parts and making the console cheaper. I paid £450 at launch for my 60GB with Resistance despite it having less B/C than US and JP models. I witnessed it drop to £349.99 in August that same year.

Like i said, this situation Mirrors the current 3DS situation.

[SuperBeast811]

Nintendo is just waaaaaaaay to greedy we all know the PS3 cost ALOT of money to produce at first and you cant tell me the 3ds cost a whole lot to make 3d screen or not they overpriced it sony was selling the ps3 at a loss to get the install base microsoft does the same thing nintendo dont look at the wii all that money for a gamecube with motion control sad

[White-Sharingan]

@JellyJelly- No, the PS3 only had one price cut until the slim was released, not several like you said. Ps3 launched at $500 and $600, then the price cut was at $400 with the introduction of the 40gb and then the 80gb (which I believe was $500). After that, the slim version was released and got another price cut ($300, the current price). So only two price cuts so far, not several, and only one with the original PS3.

EDIT: (on topic) - Nintendo got too greedy, those greedy bastards. I regret buying my 3DS after the lackluster titles and now because of the announce price cut. I swear on my life that I will pirate the shit out of the 3DS when it gets its CFW, and this is coming from someone who hates people who pirate games, but if Nintendo stole from me ( I bought the 3DS almost two months ago and they are now lowering the price?) then I'll steal from them. Let the disagrees roll out!

[WhiteLightning]

"Well history can be wrong you know"

- Nathan Drake :)

[Swiggins]

Ah but "History is written by the victors"

- Winston Churchill.

[MasterCornholio]

"History is a set of lies agreed upon.
- Napoleon Bonaparte

[Masterchef2007]

"If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed."

- He who shall not be named

[tiffac]

“History is fables agreed upon.”

-Voltaire

[dragonyght]

but dispite all "History is a vast early warning system"

-some unknown author.

[Cereal]

"It's always a nice day with two scoops of raisins."

- Mr. Sun

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

OMG this thread of comments is gold!

[seinfan]

You know what's funny? Those are supposedly historical quotes. Oh the paradoxes.

[miyamoto]

"History Repeats Itself."

-an Old English Proverb

[kma2k]

"Hey wake up"
-My history teacher

[QuodEratDemonstrandm]

"HISTORY: n. An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools"

Ambrose Bierce; The Devil's Dictionary.

[Kee]

The ds, gameboy advance and gameboy all did pretty well, so I don't see how it's doomed.

[silvacrest]

price and decent launch titles probably assured the previous nintendo handhelds success

the 3DS launched with a high price and a lack of games ,sure it will get better but if im not into 3D why get this over a DS which is still cheaper??

the same cant be said for the PSP and vita because the vita does a hell of alot more then the PSP ever did and is packing far higher specs, unlike the 3DS

[axisofweevils]

The 3DS has far better graphics than the DS (trust me - play Monkey Ball: Touch and Roll on the DS and Monkey Ball 3D on the 3DS - you notice the difference even in 2D), AR, streetpass....

So, it does a hell of a lot more than the DS did and it is packing higher specs too. The idea that this is just a DS in 3D is nonsense.

[silvacrest]

look at the specs leap between the DS and 3DS then look at the PSP and vita, there is a HUGE gap

yeah, the 3DS looks better then the DS, no doubt about that, but its got nothing on the vita, plus vita has party chat, cross platform gaming, near PS3 level graphics, its just.....a beast

[AWBrawler]

And if history repeats, when has higher specs ever won?

[silvacrest]

this is different though, in the past, even if there was a specs gap it wasn't huge and there certainly wasn't a "features" gap too, the vita simply does more then the 3DS

the 3DS isn't doing well hence the mammoth price cut only 5 months in, lack of games atm and unrequited interest means the vita is in a good position

[White-Sharingan]

you honestly think Nintendo will be selling their handhelds like cheap gold forever? They sold a shitload of NES and SNES....and look at what happened with N64 and GCN. Same thing happened with PS1, PS2 and the PS3. History won't keep repeating itself forever. Nintendo will one day stop being the "king of handhelds" (in sales I mean)

[Kee]

As far as I know, the PS3 has done alright in the end.

And why can't they always sell well?
They're a brand that is associated now with quality and although the 3D feature is something of a novelty, the improvements in the system are vast enough and the DS was getting a little bit old.

Plus... Did you see the sales figures for pokemon black and white? I'm one of those people who haven't bought a 3DS and if they're anything like me, they're waiting for a pokemon game to release. So when they do release a pokemon game, they can expect millions of hardware sales. They also get a lot of sales from the price cut, too.

[White-Sharingan]

The PS3 has done alright but not the the extent of what the PS1 and PS2 did, which is my point. I'm not saying the 3DS will fail, it could sell even more than the DS BUT what I am saying is that Nintendo won't always be king in sales, they will create a handheld that will flop, it can be 10 years from now, it can be 50 years from now or it can be now, with the 3DS. When something goes up, it must fall down, eventually. No company will be growing forever, or staying in the clouds forever.

[Blaze929]

there goes the d word. here we go

[Stealth2k]

Was the ds doomed?

How did that do?

Because it sold less than the 3ds has. Even during a holiday/

So please tell me is the ds doomed?

[dkgshiz]

3D seems like something that should be at the home environment only. 3D in portable devices just seems excessive. I enjoy 3D a lot. 3D in a portable device just seems like a waste of time. Sony sees this as well due to the Vita not having 3D. We all know Sony is one of the major contributors of 3D so my theory would be correct.

[ForROME]

It pulled a PS3, high priced, not enough support, and I think Nintendo was a little big headed about it coming off the wii success

[silvacrest]

so then the real question is, will the 3DS be able to bounce back like the PS3 has? the 3DS is getting a hefty price cut which might do the trick but is it just temporary?

because of how high the price cut is it smells of desperation to me

[ForROME]

I think it will and it wont, I think it will bounce back, but not to the level of expectation needed to consider it a successor

[dredgewalker]

My brother just bought a 3DS at full price a week before the price cut. Seeing how pissed off he was makes me think that Nintendo should've just priced the 3DS a lot closer to the current price because as a consumer anyone would feel ripped off. I honestly don't want Nintendo to fail because it keeps the balance of competitiveness with the console makers. God help us gamers if only one game company was left because it's a certainty that we would be paying a lot more for our gaming fix.

[Prcko]

so much hype,but at the end,nothing!

[jack who]

maybe now every one would shut up about 3d now

[lodossrage]

The price to value ratio is what holds the 3DS back.

Nintendo asked a premium price for a system that thus far has proved that it's nothing more than the DS with a 3D function most don't use. And the fact that their software thus far hasn't been as stellar doesn't help things. Then you compound the fact that the main selling feature (3D) only works when viewing it at set angles makes it uncomfortable.

There is a big reason as to why people prefer 3D with glasses instead of the non glasses version.

[DJMarty]

@lodossrage - Overpriced crappy specced hardware holds 3DS back. First to market it should have cleaned up sales wise before PS Vita lands.

Now it looks like if Sony can have a mega launch with plenty of PS Vita units available and a good software lineup, any lead Ninty 3DS has could be very short lived.

[lodossrage]

Wrong. Specs aren't what does it.

People still haven't learned I see. When the average person goes out to by the "new" handheld. They aren't looking at the specs, they're looking at the price.

Everyone whines about the bad economy. What do YOU think people are going to go for if money is tight.

The Vita is the much more powerful system of the two. That's not even a debate. But if it's more expensive, it's a harder sell no matter how good it is.

If this generation has taught people anything, it should have been that price is the ultimate factor here, not specs.

If that were the case, the PS3 would have been number 1 long ago.

And these other companies know that too. Why do you think Microsoft was quick to lower their prices EVERY TIME Sony lowered theirs. It's because they KNOW they cant match the ps3 at equal price, so they HAVE to lower it to keep themselves competitive. Even though the 360 was still much less than the PS3, Microsoft was scared and took no chances and made sure to lower their prices to be safe.

It's going to be the same thing with the 3DS and Vita.

[Optical_Matrix]

Oh shut up IGN. This is the PS3 all over again.

- Promise of loads of games from loads of publishers then at launch the system doesn't deliver on those promises.

- Loads of hate from the media, especially tonnes of articles saying that the system is doomed

- Premium retail price which isn't well received by the mass market.

- It's predecessor was a roaring success (DS and PS2 are both the best selling videogame systems of all time)

- Add on hardware evolution/innovation that people don't think is necessary, (PS3 had blu-ray, 3DS has 3D)

The 3DS' Q4 line up is nothing short of great. Mario Kart and Super Mario Land 3D alone, with the help of the price cut will ensure this thing sells big at Christmas. It is not doomed. It is not going anywhere. Just as the media is still eating crow from the way PS3 has stomped all over their hate from it's initial years, the 3DS will do the same. The DS was far too successful, and Nintendo's games have far too big of a franchise for it to be doomed.

What hilarious about this is that the 3DS is selling better than the DS did in the same time frame, despite the fact it released in the random month of march instead of during the holidays like the DS did, is nearly twice as expensive as the DS, has to sell in tough economic times which the DS didn't have to deal with. I don't see 4 million units sold in 4 months under those conditions a failure.

[whitezagetsu71]

Thats modern media for ya....... they feed off your tears and anger.
Of course nintendo 3DS is not doomed what nintendo is experiencing is a short period of contraction soon they'll experience a boom in sells with the 3ds despite the PSV release.
this is just one of the famous doom articles like Playstation doom articles "PSN is Down" "sonys in trouble" and the list goes on
but the PS3 is still alive and kicking and so will the 3DS
its best not to even care cause its just a complete waste of time.

[MasterCornholio]

Its dooomed. The end of Nintendo is near the 3DS is another Virtuaboy kiss your portable Nintendo handhelds good bye.

Seriously this is what i have been hearing from the press. And its getting out of hand.

Its their fault that this happend. They could have released the console at the end of this year with a good library of games and at a 170 euro pricepoint. They still would have made a profit and they would have sold many more 3DSs.

Now the 3DS will be a great sucess for Nintendo so people dont have to worry about it becomming the next virtua boy. The sales have been a bit slow. So what? This holiday season with the big N games and the new price they will fly off the shelves.

[jneul]

i just played on the 3ds today, and the 3d is rubbish nowhere near as good as ninty promised.... so price cut or not i aint buying it, psv is the way to go

[AWBrawler]

More than any other market, kids run the portable market. And who do kids like? It's Mario and he has 3 games coming this holiday plus Luigi's Mansion

Your opinion is all but irrelevant because the parents will be glad it's priced at 169.99

[XabiDaChosenOne]

To bad kids under 6-7 can't play their favorite mascot in 3d, the most advertised feature on the console.

[AWBrawler]

it's under 6, and most mario fans are atleast 7. i rarely see a 6 year old with a real handheld. i see them with leapfrog.

[Muffins1223]

served them right for being a cheap ass,there console will also be like this

[JonnyBigBoss]

I'm a Vita kinda guy. Sorry Nintendo.

[NLGSean]

Yeah IGN... The PS3 and the iPhone both saw huge price drops and they both failed too didn't they (extreme sarcasm)... Enough with these BS articles...

[Average_Joe]

I tried to tell people that $250 was too much for a handheld, it's a bad economy and that price point combined with a lack of quality titles really turned people off the device.

With some quality titles on the way and the price drop I've already pre ordered it and OOT. SO I think it'll be fine, people panic way too early honestly.

We've seen plenty of launches with lack luster games and they turned out fine.

[ConstipatedGorilla]

If only we'd listened to you...

[InTheLab]

Kinda makes you wonder about the future of the Wii U. Will they go nuts with the price like the PS3? If so, they probably won't mimic the success of the last place PS3. It's in last place but that does not mean failure. 50 million plus sold for the priciest console is a success by any standards.

There is a difference between Sony's approach and N's, however. What saved the PS3 is the fact that it was and is still the superior console tech wise, but how long will the Wii U be the superior console since it's rumored to be slightly more powerful than the PS3/Xbox? What happens when Sony and MS come out with their gen 8 consoles?

There's also a difference between the PS3 and the 3DS. Those that paid $600 at launch got more than $600 worth of tech. It didn't have a great launch line-up but it was the best Blu Ray player available and the cheapest. Those that paid $250 for a 3ds at launch got the best handheld available...until the PSV launches later this year for the same price as a launch 3DS.

The 3DS was also over-priced but no one noticed until a better handheld showed up at E3. No one cared that N went with the usual "just enough to get by" approach instead of taking the future proof route like Sony did with the PSV and PS3. The PSV CAN compete the iPod and smartphones because it's capable of doing anything those devices can..and more. The 3DS can do glassless 3D and???? There's a new smartphone releasing later on that does glassless 3D just like the 3DS. What happens now.

I don't think the 3DS is doomed. A legion of fans and N supporters won't let that happen...and lets not for the power of Mario. I do, however, think N will fail to match the DSi or even the PSP's success thanks to them taking the minimalist approach to technology.

[gypsygib]

Lets hope they learn their lessons for the the Wii U but I'm starting to think Nintendo ruined its reputation and is now considered merely casual.

They said they weren't in the same market as Sony and MS, too bad that's probably true, now their competing with mobile and browser F2P casual games.

[A7XEric]

These articles are becoming extremely annoying. The system gets a price cut and suddenly it's now doomed to fail?

The reason the 3DS had such a mediocre launch was not because it is inherently destined to fail. It was because people couldn't justify spending $250 on a system with no good original games in its line-up.

If anything now the 3DS will catch on and start to gain the momentum it lacked a couple months ago. Lets see, ridiculous price point? Fixed. No software? Fixed with Zelda, Starfox, Mario, Mario Kart, Kid Icarus all before the end of the year with Luigi's Mansion 2 and a new Resident evil on the way as well. If Nintendo markets the drop in price, ambassador program, and its steady stream of AAA releases, then there's no reason things shouldn't change for them.

[AWBrawler]

Logic FTW!

[Shackdaddy836]

Well, based on this article, it seems that PS3 was a failure too /s

IGNorant...

[mcstorm]

What i dont get about this doom and gloom is the 3ds sales are not bad. They are about the same as the orignal ds sales were in the 1st year. The ds sales ktook off after its 1st year. I see the 3ds doing the same. The biggest problem they have had so far is games are stil being made for the ds and alot of people think the 3ds is the ds with 3d not a new console. As this year starts to end all the new games will be on the 3ds and not on the ds. Nintendo also have some big games later on this year for the console. The other thing nintendo have had to look at is the psv. If its released at 250 then they may see it as the ds needs to be cheeper but dropping the price now rather than judt before the psv is out wil help the console have a Big christmas. The way i am looking at ut now is lets see the sales result afterhristmas and we will havea better ideaon if the 3ds will sell well or not.

[tweet75]

i wouldnt say the 3ds is doomed yet. Nintendo has fixed the 2 major complaints about the 3ds for the last part of 2011. 1.the price 2. lack of desirable software. With a $80 price drop and string of AAA titles in the last 4 months of 2011 nintendo can turn its fortunes around.

[etowntwo]

It will be interesting.
I think both the Vida and 3Ds aren't going to sell that great this gen.

Mobile gaming on smart phones are the future.

Picture this:
A portable blu toothed enabled game controller to play games on you cell phone. It can be attached to your phone or not.

[silvacrest]

until battery tech improves that wont be very useful, and personally i dont want a separate device attached to my phone, ironically i dont want it detached either, a built in gamepad? that could work, no bluetooth sucking my battery up

[Cereal]

History also says that Nintendo has always dominated the handheld market.

[tunaks1]

the inevitable Pokemon 3ds, Mario 3ds, and Mario Kart 3DS.

Those alone insure its a success.

[jacksheen0000]

When the PS3 first came out it was over priced($600) just like the 3DS; but the hefty price tag did not cause the PS3 to fail. After that terrible phase, Sony decided to make the PS3 affordable($300), which brought some light to the PS3 gaming console, but that wasn't enough for most gamers;until Sony decided to change their game plan, and was forced to release some games that were worth buying. So my point is, the 3DS can be a success despite the Hefty price tag.However, that being said, All Nintendo need right now is to have some games ready for this holiday which Nintendo have already done.But the game that being schedule for this holiday season need to go beyond the holiday season, or the 3DS won't be a success.

[AO1JMM]

IGN = IGNorant once again.

[SteveSmith]

Lol, IGN is supposed to be a respected gaming site, yet they write trolling articles like this one.

[axisofweevils]

Also, it's hard to remember now, but the orginal DS didn't exactly set the world alight when it was first launched.

5 years later - 140 million DSs sold.

[fullmetal297]

I'm pretty sure IGN will start kissing ass if the 3DS ever starts selling. Its their nature.

[miDnIghtEr]

So let me guess... For the Sony fanboys on this site.... IGN counts right now, right?

As for 3DS dying... it's going to go the way the PS3 did. Come out with no good games and be way overpriced at first, and then price drop right away, and then a couple years later the games and the people buying the system will rise.

[DigitalRaptor]

Pfft. No good games? gimme a break.

PS3 has had lots of good/great/amazing games since launch. In fact Resistance:FoM and MotorStorm were well received at launch.

It just so happened that at the time, Sony were competing with the then "exclusive" Mass Effect, Gears of War, Halo and Nintendo's casual motion-controlled phenomenon with Mario Galaxy, Zelda, Metroid etc.

[Platinum_k]

so is Wii U
.... lol just kidding!

[MultiConsoleGamer]

IGN says a lot of things

IGN.com Slanders Nintendo... Again:

IGN.com recently claimed "history has proven the Nintendo 3DS is doomed." And that any Nintendo system that has an early price cut is destined for failure. [*source] We would like to ask them something, does this include the Nintendo DS? Which also had an early price cut. We should also note that IGN once predicted the Nintendo DS would be discontinued early and "replaced by a portable GameCube." They also claimed the Nintendo Wii would fail. [*source] In my history of dealing this company I have learned that IGN has a long history of smearing Nintendo and antagonizing (aka "trolling") its fanbase.

The company also recently tried to claim that the 6 year old Sony PSP outsold the 3DS by a 2 to 1 ratio. [*spoiler] This article, which was posted anonymously on the IGN web site, forgets to mention that the PSP hasn't been seen on North American NPD sales charts for the past 4 months. And that the PSP sells for more than $120 less than the 3DS. Maybe this is why the author of this erroneous article did not include his name in the piece? Nor did he or she include the source for these dubious numbers. The author even states that Nintendo taking a loss on hardware, without mentioning the fact that rival companies are doing the exact same thing. And at a much greater cost. Sadly this company has long history of trolling their own readers, and it doesn't stop with Nintendo fans. They also hit Sony fans. One month they gave PSP game of the month to "air." With second place awarded to "nothing." [*source]

http://digthatbox.com/ninte...

[kma2k]

After i made the switch from Nintendo to Playstation was when i was 13 i belive. The truth is once i grew up enough i was done playing Mario & wanted adult games. Nintendo didnt offer that so i have never looked at anything nintedo since. That was over 15 years ago now. Nintendo as far as i see it is for under 10 kids. Probably not true, but that is my personal view of nintendo & nothing anyone else tells me will change that view thats just the way it is.

[tunaks1]

Cool Story, Bro

[StarWolf]

i made the same switch....until recently when i decided that nintendo games are funner than boring mature or alien attacking the earth type 'shoot-em-ups' where the checkpoints are 5ft from each other and the AI is looking at the other direction simply so i can get a 'stealth' kill. I value my Ps3 for the 3rd party games and other games like Twisted Metal though..maybe Starhawk (starfox and mario kart battle mode would be just as fun). Putting age on games is like putting age on food.

[ndl1531]

i think the combination of not differentiating itself from the ds / ds lite / dsi / dsi xl / people just thought it was just another incarnation of the ds but on the contrary the power of the 3ds is similar to the wii while the old ds barely can catch up to n64 graphics. i think its nintendos fault for releasing so many incarnations of different ds systems that allot of casual parents got confused. then its the price at 250 it was expensive many thought just for 3d? and also the lack of games. i just have zelda and nothing else interests me everything is shovelware . but hopefully the games start rolling in come on nintendo back this thing up . how u gonna lauch a system in january and release the games in december ? o_O pretty screwed up strategy. still i have supported nintendo since the origina game boy and they have brought me nothing but handheld happiness for many many years and such is the case with my 3ds im loving it just gotta be patient hehe

[HurstDarkStar]

I'm not sure you can compare a $600 price tag for the ps3 to a 250$ price on nintendo's handheld. When it was first showed heard nothing but praise from n4g user's (yes you people) and it even got a couple nod's but when psv was announced i was hearing about all the doom and gloom now im wondering why the sudden change of heart, you guys did'nt seem to mind before?right???

[axisofweevils]

Do you know what else was reduced in price almost immediately after launch? The iPhone.

That wasn't a failure. In fact, people are now saying that games like Angry Birds are handheld consoles' biggest competition and the reason for the 3DS's apparent lack of success. Funny that.