just in time for StarFox64 3D
The 3DS "lite" is a couple of years away at least, but I think they fixed screen scratching problem already with bigger rubber bumpers to keep the bottom screen from touching the top screen.
So is Nintendo just porting N64 titles to it?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20084670-17/nintendo-slashes-3ds-price-to-$169.99/?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=TheDigitalHome
According to this article "Nintendo has been having trouble selling the 3DS since it launched in February. During the company's last fiscal quarter ended June 30, Nintendo sold just 710,000 3DS units worldwide. In the U.S., its sales figures during the period hit just 110,000 units."
Well seeing how every hand held out there is playing games now the market is getting flooded. Ipod touch 4 came out about the same time as 3DS. Also don't for get the Ipad too.
4 Million iPads Sold Since December, 60 Million iPod Touches Sold Since 2007
http://www.ihasapple.com/2011/04/4-...mber-60-million-ipod-touches-sold-since-2007/
Yeah, I mean there's no way to sugarcoat it. Even in the absence of competition it's still pretty grim. I recall the DS having a pretty garbage first year as well yet go on to rule the world so it's far from a failure at this point.
Still, if I was a betting man, I wouldn't place my chips with any of these portable systems, future or past. Their era is done. They're as relevant as standalone MP3 players at this point. They'll exist, but they're going to be marginalized to an even greater extent going forwards.
I don't think their era is done, but the iPhone certainly changed the game big time. That's why the PSV is in a bit better of a position than the 3DS. People want their mobile devices to be like a Swiss Army Knife that offers instant gratification. Single function hardware is dying fast.
As for its first year, Nintendo pulled a Sony with the 3DS. Remember when the PS3 first came out. The thing had revolutionary hardware. It was the ultimate home entertainment device at the time. But it had very few games. The games it did have, sucked. Nintendo made the fatal error of developing the hardware first them letting the software come later. You can't do that today. Thats why Sony has been heavily focused on developing and marketing AAA titles for the PSV early on. They made that mistake twice, and they're not going to repeat it.
The PS3 had blu-ray, gaming, wireless internet, etc. it was expensive because of all the features + large HDD.
The 3DS is NOT revolutionary, and the games support just that. Re-hashed N64 games will not get you too far. Love the N64, but I will play those games on my N64, thank you.
$170 is still too much; to compete with mobile phones, this needs to be <$100.
I don't think their era is done, but the iPhone certainly changed the game big time. That's why the PSV is in a bit better of a position than the 3DS. People want their mobile devices to be like a Swiss Army Knife that offers instant gratification. Single function hardware is dying fast.it.
I have to disagree with this. I won't call smartphone games awful, but I will call them frustratingly simple. What can you possibly develop on $0.99, which in turn can only be played with an inaccurate touchscreen? There are a couple of genres which work well enough (which coincidentally also work well on the DS touchscreen), but everything else is a mess to play. A smartphone is not a suitable or even half-way suitable replacement for a handheld console.This is more evidence that the answer to "will smart phones destroy the portable market" is: YES.
Many people get their smart phone for $0 - $99 now, so even $170 is much more than that and an extra expense when they already have the phone.
I wouldn't be surprised if the $170 price for the 3DS doesn't push down the price of Nintendo DSi models. (And cause the DS Lite to be dropped completely...)
I think its still the price of software that is going to need to change. Most parents aren't stupid. They're willing to pony up a little more up front knowing that games are $3.99 or less instead of $39.99. The market for adults looking for a portable game system is going to be basically nonexistent since pretty much any adult interested in a 3DS already has a smartphone. Kids are the only market left, and even then its not the clear cut winner.
I don't think its going to be virtual boy bad - that was an out and out failure. This has already surpassed that, but this isn't going to be a DS.
$250 wasn't a huge amount of money these days anyway. I never understood why everyone said it was too much.
The reason it isn't selling is simply because there's no good games for it. If Super Mario 3D and Mario Kart 3D were available at launch it would have sold out at $300.
$250 wasn't a huge amount of money these days anyway. I never understood why everyone said it was too much.
The reason it isn't selling is simply because there's no good games for it. If Super Mario 3D and Mario Kart 3D were available at launch it would have sold out at $300.
$250 wasn't a huge amount of money these days anyway. I never understood why everyone said it was too much.
The reason it isn't selling is simply because there's no good games for it. If Super Mario 3D and Mario Kart 3D were available at launch it would have sold out at $300.
To me, it seems like the problem is that Nintendo has no one to compete with... except itself. The DS/DSi actually outsold the 3DS (link). With the Wii, Nintendo could at least try and market themselves as the more affordable alternative, but the 3DS was simply too expensive compared to their own older hand-held. I'm not really sure if the PSP would have much to do with it... it might a little bit since the PSP is cheaper as well.
Maybe someone can answer this as well... what's the WiFi encryption compatibility like? Based on this Wikipedia article ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3ds#Technical_comparison ) it looks like the 3DS is compatible with everything as there are no caveats listed, but I know the original DS can only use WEP and the DSi/DSxl say that it may not work with some WEP/WEP2. Is that an issue of TKIP vs AES? I know my PSP refuses to connect to my network.
Maybe someone can answer this as well... what's the WiFi encryption compatibility like? Based on this Wikipedia article ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3ds#Technical_comparison ) it looks like the 3DS is compatible with everything as there are no caveats listed, but I know the original DS can only use WEP and the DSi/DSxl say that it may not work with some WEP/WEP2. Is that an issue of TKIP vs AES? I know my PSP refuses to connect to my network.
They likely are. That stupid 3D screen is incredibly expensive.They are claiming that they are selling it at a loss at $179.
They likely are. That stupid 3D screen is incredibly expensive.