Nintendo 3DS price drop, Nintendo loses $300 million

[MaxSonic]

Didn't see a topic, and I think it's fitting to have one due to a certain earlier topic about telling Nintendo f-you. Nintendo today that they are dropping the price on the 3DS to $170 to push sales, due to a 23.3 billion yen sales loss (that's about $300 million). While there are numerous reasons that can be attributed to the sales drop, the biggest and most obvious reason (in my

opinion) is simply this:

They haven't been making games. They are a game company. That is bad.

See, Nintendo has almost completely ignored the Wii this year, and relied almost completely on the 3rd party for 3ds support. This is the same company that people will buy their products exclusively for 1st party content, and who's 1st party content spans the top 10 most selling games of all time. Embracing 3rd party is nice, but it seems they are almost trying to make a point. In it's current state, Nintendo's background are thier exclusive 1st party games. Maybe if the 3ds or WiiU get great support on 3rd party and they start outselling 1st, then Nintendo can kick back on 1st party for a bit. But that's not happening.

Now I still don't think releasing those 3 Wii games from project rainfall in the US would affect anything. They're getting released in Europe, and probably wouldn't sell well in the US (they're new IP's and they're RPG's which aren't top sellers over here outside Pokemon). But fucking release something Nintendo.

[GSF]

Heh, I saw that coming. So this time, there's no money printing...

(BTW, anyone who got suckered into shelling out $250 for the 3DS is apparently getting twenty NES+GBA virtual console games to make up for it, ten per system. Okay...)

True though, a complete lack of interesting games is the main cause. Yeah, sure, there's:

OoT 3D (don't care about it, gimme n64 any day)

Street Fighter (also on other stuff)

Few new things like Ace Attorney meets Prof. Layton (only in Japan though, whee!)

Aside from that, it's ports (Tales of the Abyss... er, at least Europe is getting it finally)

...and things that I couldn't ever care about (nintendogs).

Nothing particularly groundbreaking is out. When the DS started gaining terrain, we got a shitton of new concepts that used its touch and dual screens, like:

Trauma Center (not the first operation video game, there was one for DOS, but this one recodified the genre)

The World Ends With You (has its issues and detractors, but it has an original and hectic battle system)

Henry Hatsworth (Puzzles + platforming? Gimme)

Osu! Tatakae Ouendan / Elite Beat Agents (awesome rhythm, get osu! for pc if you liked these, here's a

)

...and many others.

Honestly, the whole 3D thing is worthless for me, but 3DS also introduced motion sensors, yet there is nothing interesting that particularly uses it to create a new kind of game (something inspired by iPhone games could work).

3DS doesn't have much "revolution power" as the DS had when it came out... but damn, it's time for something that's original, interesting and attractive. Not another goddamn port. Or a rehash with VOICE ACTING OMFG (and one extra in-game day).

Too bad... I'll be saving my money for dat vita. There's "Transfarring" (sic), touchscreen/back touchpad combo (with games that actually show us clever ways of using them), good first party (and launch!) titles, and Dragon's Crown from the absolutely kickass Vanillaware.

So, $170? Eh... finally making a bit more sense. But no thanks.

And the Wii trio, well... Rainfall is all cool and stuff, but NoA is deaf. So yay for Europe. (and my homebrew channel.)

*drinks a soda*

(Oh yeah, and the topic about "fuck nintendo" is now gone. Went completely poof. Huh...)

[shadowgoten]

The free games that the early 3ds users are getting are mostly going to stay exclusive to them, the list actually pissed me off, there's some really awesome games on the list ;_;.

[GSF]

They will be exclusive for some time. You will be able to get them later, I guess.

[MaxSonic]

There's no way in hell Nintendo won't eventually put those GBA games online. Even if they say they won't, it's Nintendo. They'll do it. As for the Vita vs 3DS, I'm still not convinced on the Vita. While the 3DS adopted it's own set of problems, the Vita still seems to retain most of the problems the PSP had. It's bulky, expensive (now, lol), and just seems content in giving console games on a portable. The Vita needs some original content not based on a console game, like Monster Hunter that will actually sell in the west. Nintendo has Pokemon, Nintendogs, Brain Age, and a bunch of others.

Back to Nintendo, I think things will be looking up for them. They lost too much money to let this happen again. I can see a Pokemon "Grey" version in the near future as a 3ds exclusive, and Mario and Mario Kart are coming soon, both of which will sell well.

[Caleb]

Don't forget Star Fox 64 3D and Luigi's Mansion 2, those will definitely get good sales. I find this as a great opportunity to finally get a 3DS. XD You can't forget that the 3DS just came out, so there's still many (hopefully) great games that will come out.

[Serephim]

The reason they're doing this is because the PS Vita rammed their foot so deep up Nintendo's ass that they're probably kind of paranoid of permanent damage now.

At least, thats MY take on the matter. I dont see how the 3DS could ever succeed when the Playstation Vita (almost infinitely stronger and with all the same features and then some) is going to have an identical price point.

The 3D gimmick with Gamecube graphics just doesn't stand a chance against a portable PS3 for the same price. I was very interested on what Nintendo was going to say when people started asking them what they thought about the Vita as competition. At this point, their answer is looking...well. You know.

[Ristar]

they deserve to lose more.

the 3ds' library is awful, consisting of nothing more than rehashes of old games.

Resident Evil The Mercenaries 3D, an entire game dedicated to the modes of the last 2 resident evil games I played least.

Zelda OoT 3D... so what? They've not even improved the graphics that much. Plus they have a gimmick that can't even be used with the fucking 3D (aiming obvs).

Nintendogoh fuck don't even get me started.

I'd only buy a 3DS second hand, just to try out some of the "original" software.

Vita, however, I'm hard for that shit. That's probably because of Nintendo's awful gimmick flaunting putting me off all their hardware and software.

[Caleb]

Well, if you didn't hear, they lied about the PS3-worthy graphics. Something along the lines of "Oh, sorry, we had to cut down the quality of the graphics." I don't trust Sony, I never will. What they're promising doesn't make me wanna buy it. I've stuck around with Nintendo for all of my life, so I'm not gonna buy PSVita. It's basically a PSP with random new features.

[Ristar]

Well, if you didn't hear, they lied about the PS3-worthy graphics. Something along the lines of "Oh, sorry, we had to cut down the quality of the graphics." I don't trust Sony, I never will. What they're promising doesn't make me wanna buy it. I've stuck around with Nintendo for all of my life, so I'm not gonna buy PSVita. It's basically a PSP with random new features.

I highly doubt they said that.

The problem with fanboyism is that you tend to lose out on decent quality hardware and software just by sticking to one company.

I stuck with the Wii during the first 2 years of its life, then I bought a 360 just before moving to uni and was blown away. My gf just bought a PS3, both of which are better than the Wii in just about every way.

I stuck with my DS for ages before I got a second hand PSP; again, blown away by it. Saying that, I hold the two on par with each other.

And finally can I just come back to this quote:

It's basically a PSP with random new features.

what the fuck is a 3DS then?

[GSF]

Well, if you didn't hear, they lied about the PS3-worthy graphics. Something along the lines of "Oh, sorry, we had to cut down the quality of the graphics."

Yeah right, because you can totally cram up a 2006 console's technology into an oval shaped portable 5 years later. I know, miniaturization and Moore's law and all that stuff... But it doesn't work like that. If it was possible to do this, you would have a steaming hot Vita scalding your hands during a 15 minute maximum battery life.

Another thing against Sony is the whole PS Notwork fiasco. TBH, it is serious to see that they didn't take good measures to secure customer data. However, I don't care about online stuff (internet is shit around here anyway) and I don't need all this crap. I can always get a PSN card to buy games, avoiding the credit card issue.

I'm amazed though, Sony managed to recover at an alarming rate, and gave one hell of a show on E3, with exactly what people want to know: About new games. Not new gimmicks or "random new features". Following your logic, you're seriously not gonna say that a console that can hook up with just one tablet/screen controller isn't random... right?

Hopefully they learned their lesson about customer data (same for other companies, actually start investing in damn security!)

Graphics aren't everything anyway. It's obvious that a bit will be sacrificed in order to fit stuff for the Vita, for example in a typical Transfarring (sic) session, I could be playing MGS Peace Walker in the PS3, then transfar to Vita in order to continue my game while I'm away. It will obviously look "worse", but it doesn't matter, it's the same game! Nintendo wasn't a "graphics heavy" company. Yet, the DS sold like hotcakes. Because it was good.

To wrap that up, anyone who actually expects Vita graphics to look as a PS3's needs to whack him/herself with a hammer. Dragon's Crown is conveniently 2D though, so it'll look pretty much the same in both. Only the resolution will be different <3

So currently, the Vita holds a lot more "oomph", at least for me. I will eventually get a 3DS though... once it has some games out. Like Ristar's case, I got a DS Lite first, then a PSP just months ago. I play both alternatively, because each one has its strong points and favorite games.

But, the main issue still stands: 3DS was launched with a ridiculously miserable launch game lineup. And that's why it didn't sell as expected.

[Caleb]

Graphics aren't everything anyway.

You, sir, are a smart man. Heck, I still prefer Nintendo 64 graphics over anything else, I LOVE low-poly graphics. I'm tired of these new mainstream "gamers" who think graphics are the only thing good in games. Also, to the people who think "there aren't any good games for 3DS", The 3DS just recently came out. We've got Super Mario 3DS and Luigi's Mansion 2 along the horizon, which will DEFINITELY be great games, and who knows what other masterpieces we'll have in the future?

[GSF]

That's true, there are some interesting games coming out... er... sometime. They're standard Nintendo sequels though: The essential Mario platformer (think 64, Sunshine, Galaxy) and a sequel to Luigi's Mansion, which was a GCN launch game.

That's all good, but where's the original stuff? Seriously?

Wii had a solid line up of games that directly used its features (let's admit, Wii Sports was basically a tech demo, but a damn good one), while 3DS promises rehashes, ports and virtual console. (VC isn't bad, but take note that VC is basically old games on your new console. Think about it for a sec.)

Resident Evil Mercenaries? Fuck. What's next? FF Snowboarding? Triple Triad 3DS? (that could actually work... in the e-shop, lol)

How it goes right now:

3DS talks waaaaaaay too much about THREEEEEAAYYY DEEEEE and ports, while Vita showed us Little Deviants (which is awesome) and new, out of the oven sequels to classic Sony franchises, like Wipeout and Uncharted. There will be ports too, but that's secondary, and not the main focus of the portable.

The problem... still stands: I have to add a word to your statement though:

"There aren't any good games for the 3DS"

should be

"There aren't any good games for the 3DS yet."

A lacking line up means they weren't ready. That's right: 3DS was released way too early. Why in the crap would I buy a new system if there's no attracting games for it? To see how the menus are? To try bastardized tech demos of 3D? Naaaah.

It has a lot of potential, but it hasn't been liberated yet. Once that potential appears in the form of awesome games, I'll surely buy one (and at a much lower price, most likely! Or maybe it'll be in the form of a 3DS Lite, because we all know that's coming out.)

[Caleb]

You want originality? Too bad. We're in today's gaming base where people only wanna play CoD rip-offs (and CoD was always bad). The only originality is back in the past, so I only play old games. Very rarely do I concern myself with today's gaming. (Sonic Generations and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 are the only games I'm excited for.)

[GSF]

Bingo. Which brings me to my next point:

3DS concentrates on ports and VC. This implies old games.

Old games played on old systems. Which most people do have. People who know about the old games most likely still have their old systems. Meanwhile, people who know nothing about these old games wouldn't ever care about them. You know how it is, try showing GBC Shantae to someone who chugs on Mario DS or Sawnik Colars and they'll diss it. So old games, we know they're good. But then, why get a new system just for that?

And wait. Stop there. While the CoD thing is true, consider this: As I said in the now nonexistant thread, the western world is freaking obsessed, because it's composed mainly of testosterone-poisoned, linear, "action packed", repetitive and easy shootan game loving drones.

Too bad. But that's the western world.

Europe gets the short end of the stick because they barely get any good games, and if they do they get 'em late. Persona 4? Took a while, and it came from Squeenix. Seriously. Tales of the Abyss? Never came out. When Symphonia 2 came out for the Wii, they had to cram up a considerable amount of extras in the PAL version as an apology of sorts.

The eastern world, meanwhile... Is still as before: The truly original and creative people lie there. There's a problem with that, though. I think it was Kojima who said it...?

The western developers are changing the way gaming works. In the main console sense, we have these drones I mentioned. And in the portable sense, we have dollar apps for mobiles. (I know Angry Birds is fun... but what the fuck? How did it gain so much terrain? It's ridiculous.)

Few indie developers try to be creative. But they don't gain too much exposition, once again because of the drones.

Remember how the main genre during the NES era was the platforming side-scroller (Mario, Contra, Megaman)? Remember how RPGs were basically unknown outside Japan? USA only got 3 Final Fantasy games before VII, and it was very niche.

Now, when VII came out, RPGs boomed. So much that companies would slap on $5 localizations to anything with spiky hair and HP on it (quoted from tvtropes, lol.)

Now it's a new age, where original ground breaking stuff is over. Japan doesn't want to give any leaps of faith on the US anymore. That's why the rainfall games don't come out, while Europe finally stopped getting the short end of the stick. So yes, Japan is scared of innovating. That's why they keep all the good new stuff in there:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_3DS_games Check the JP only games.

It's not platformers anymore. Now it's shooters. Fucking first person shooters.

But everything has an end: We need the FFVII of this generation. It doesn't need to be an RPG. It just needs to be something that reminds the world that FPSes aren't everything.

When that'll come out? Who knows. Hopefully soon.

[Daniel]

This whole long post argument is making me worry about the 3DS' life. I really hope this console gets better. IIRC, the same thing happened with the PS3 yet picked up in a few months. But still.

I really hope this does get better.

[Caleb]

I wish developers would just branch out and not stick to shooters. How about, they make a DIFFERENT GENRE EACH TIME?! THEN we would have originality. Back when 2000 was creeping up, we'd get so many different genres rather than sticking to just one.

[GSF]

@DNL: Don't worry. Nintendo took the first step in their "Wow, we actually need to SELL the 3DS" mission. Now they just need good games. And PS3 didn't really take up in a few months... lol. I think it broadened up when the Slim came out, and the stupid-ass spiderman logo was dropped, this was a good move that further cemented the classic PS image we all knew back at '94. Keep in mind that Sony had other things that helped them absorb the shock of the PS3 not-so-stellar launch... While Nintendo doesn't have such a luxury. But hey, they'll manage.

@Caleb: Ditto. But keep in mind, it's not about fulfilling of "artist statements", or to break the convention, aka "the Suda51 method". It's all about money. And these drones looooooove to cough up their money for the so called DLC (which is another pile of bullshit. Unlock stuff that was actually in the game disc all along for just $5!)

[Caleb]

True, true. Capcom is the biggest example of them.

[MaxSonic]

Ooh, discussion. You guys should catch some Pach Attack on Gametrailers. Nice little show, and the man give an unbiased logical view on the why's and how's of the industry.

I don't want to turn this into a Nintendo VS Vita topic. To me they are two different items, in a similar market. The vita did drop some features so they could price it competitivly with the 3ds, like remove internal memory (which is just stupid) and cut the ram . The bad thing is that now the price doesn't match anymore, and NOBODY is going to get an AT&T contract to play a PSP.

As for Nintendo, they'll pull this around. While history shows price cuts don't usually fix Nintendo's problems, one of this magnitude has never been done by them before. Even with the Vita coming out this holiday (possibly), they will own. They have two of the biggest money makers coming out, Mario and Mario Kart. They'll take a small loss on the handheld when you buy it, and immediatly make it back when you get your first game. And they'll play it safer now, and put out more content. Nintendo has gotten a little too confident this generation, with the Wii and DS selling like hotcakes. The Wii has the most sparatic release windows, and Nintendo needs to fix this.

Also, am I the only one who thinks the 3DS should have come out June 12th? Advertise the hell out of it from April til release date, put models out in all the Gamestops. By June, you would have built up some hype, had your download service up, and a great launch library. Zelda, Street Fighter, Dead Or Alive, Ridge Racer, Nintendogs (it's for a certain audience).

Also, unless something changes, JRPG's are permanently a niche title in the US. During the Playstation and early PS2 era they were hugely popular, but since the shift to FPS's and mainstream gaming, they are all but niche titles in the US. People like to mention how awesome Persona is, how it has a cult following in the us, and I agree with these statements. But the combined sales of EVERY Persona game released in the US (including the PS1 game) doesn't even reach 1 million. There are some good games out that aren't shooters though. La Noire, Mass Effect (ok, it's a RPG/Shooter hybrid), Catherine. They won't overthrow the shooters, but they are there. The only thing that will overthrow the shooters are shooters. Look how Halo was kicked aside for Call of Duty. Activision also spammed Guitar Hero games til people got sick of them, so I can see this happening with CoD, and something better more original coming out. Want a GOOD FPS? Grab some Boarderlands or RAGE when it comes out.

Also, sorry for the rant. Haven't slept.

[tentril]

I don't know why people are complaining about the launch line up. The DS had like 8 launch games and they were all pretty bad.

[GSF]

Also, am I the only one who thinks the 3DS should have come out June 12th?

You're not alone. As I said, 3DS was released waaaaay too early.

And yes, while this thread is talking about the 3DS, we have to remember the absolutely delicious POW that came out when the non-3G Vita price was shown. It had to do something with this price drop. (and hey, nobody's forcing you to get a LOLAT&T contract, just buy the non-3G, wifi only version.)

EDIT: Yeah, launch line-ups aren't particularly good, generally. But hey... 3DS came out in March. It's almost August. Where are the damn games? If the system wasn't released that early, it would've been smoother.

[Ristar]

I'm sorry but not every game out there is an FPS, and I refuse to believe that true creativity lies in the east. Look at the Zelda series, that has barely changed since OoT. Mario 3D, not changed since Mario 64 and the platformers haven't changed since the original over 20 years ago.

People lick Nintendo's sphincter like it tastes of strawberries; but remember they've not really done much in terms of innovation in recent years (I refuse to accept the Wii as amazingly innovative, more like the biggest add-on console ever). It pisses me off when everyone says "Oh jesus, the new Call of Duty game is just like all the others just with a few different additions!" well... look at the differences between the last few zelda games... mainly graphical. There are a few additions here and there, but essentially it's "go into a dungeon, get item, use item to kill boss, use item to get to next dungeon."

Now I'm not anti nintendo by any means. I think there are going to be some amazing games for the 3DS, Luigi's Mansion was one of my favourite games so I'm looking forward to the sequel. But it's not exactly an innovation is it? It will still be Luigi's Mansion 1 with a few additions.

I don't love COD either, I'm shite at it, but it's still an enjoyable game and it's amazingly gripping.

If you go into CEX or any other second hand games shop you'll find a lot of COD4 copies, but also lots of RPGs, sports games and film tie ins.

People are obviously buying these games so it's not exactly an FPS dominated market.

[TailsSena]

Definately, they needed to wait for Ocarina of Time 3D and Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance before they released the system. I remember Mario 64DS being one of the DS's launch-titles, and while it was fun, the gameplay was outdated by the 3-year-old Sunshine on GC.

EDIT: The only people who like FPS games are ill-minded teens and adults who haven't found their brains yet after loosing them to puberty. Which, unfortunately, seems to be the bulk of the gaming market.

[tentril]

The only people? While I will agree that a lot of the people would fit that description, its a bit of a stretch to say that all FPS games are terrible and so are there fans.