Nintendo slashing 3DS price to $170 in August

[gorcorps]

Is there an acekard for the 3DS yet? :awe:

 

[RaiderJ]

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 think that's part of it, but also changing user habits. I imagine many people 20 and older already have other devices they carry around for entertainment, smartphones being a big one.

For me personally, cost isn't the factor, but more about how many devices I want to pack around. With a smartphone, a laptop, sometimes a kindle, I'm pretty maxed out. Plus, I'd feel a little silly with a Gameboy/DS/3DS/etc, but I'm also 30.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

Picked one up yesterday along with the $20 Nyko battery and cradle. The battery is pretty awesome, nice and slim, and hopefully it does double battery life. Haven't used it yet, waiting for my screen protector to arrive and I can't get past the setup screen without the touchscreen.

Saving my receipt for price adjustment, of course.

 

[StrangerGuy]

First, the 3DS marketing is frankly, shit. It shouldn't even be named as 3DS; between the phat DS/DS Lite/DSi/DSi XL, confused people are just going to regard it as yet another (overpriced) DS variant with 3D instead of a next-gen handheld.

Second, the games. Nintendo is nuts if they think slapping a Zelda OOT remake which everyone had played before is somehow going to magically move the 3DS.

Third, smartphones. If anyone told me iPhone/Android is going to kill gaming handhelds 3 years old I would have thought they were mad. Now, I'm absolutely convinced they will. Smartphones already snatched the casual games market away from Nintendo and growth is a lot stronger than handhelds. And here's the kicker; Apple can refresh it's core hardware every year and still sell like hotcakes but Nintendo couldn't without alienating its installed base.

 

[Monster_Munch]

Do many kids own smartphones yet? I always thought the handheld consoles main market was younger kids who want something to play with in the back of the car or on the school bus.
Maybe they are getting an ipod touch for roughly the same money as a 3DS and playing games on that instead.

 

[BD2003]

Picked one up yesterday along with the $20 Nyko battery and cradle. The battery is pretty awesome, nice and slim, and hopefully it does double battery life. Haven't used it yet, waiting for my screen protector to arrive and I can't get past the setup screen without the touchscreen.

Saving my receipt for price adjustment, of course.

It was made to be used with its own stylus. Its not THAT fragile that being used properly is going to damage it. Geez.

 

[Sulaco]

So is anybody going to take Nintendo up on their offer? I'm seriously considering it.

Show me the games first.

Yeah, I'm sure they'll come down the road eventually, but why rush it?

I'm sure the next SMB will be great, but it will take at least two other solid titles to get me on board, and a clear sign that there are more on the way.

Also it will depend on what is going on in the Vita/Sony camp.

 

[mmntech]

Also it will depend on what is going on in the Vita/Sony camp.

It's been sorta, kinda, delayed. Not coming out in North America and Europe until Q1 2012 now. Mind you they made no promises but they've lost a great chance to get the upper hand over Nintendo this Xmas.
http://kotaku.com/5827643/playstation-vita-wont-launch-in-the-west-until-2012

 

[gorcorps]

It was made to be used with its own stylus. Its not THAT fragile that being used properly is going to damage it. Geez.

No kidding. I've neve had a screen protector on my DS lite and the touchscreen part doesn't scratch. The upper screen has seen more damage than the touchscreen. It's recessed and made to use with a soft stylus.

 

[Monster_Munch]

It doesn't really matter if you scratch the bottom screen, it only gets used for menus and stuff.

 

[techwanabe]

Third, smartphones. If anyone told me iPhone/Android is going to kill gaming handhelds 3 years old I would have thought they were mad. Now, I'm absolutely convinced they will. Smartphones already snatched the casual games market away from Nintendo and growth is a lot stronger than handhelds. And here's the kicker; Apple can refresh it's core hardware every year and still sell like hotcakes but Nintendo couldn't without alienating its installed base.

Hard to say for sure but to me the Ipodtouch (I've owned one for 3 years) doesn't lend itself to gaming as much due to interface. Maybe I'm old school but I like buttons control a game with, not touch screens. If touch screens are adequate for enough gamers to steal the thunder from Nintendo's dedicated hand holds, then that is a factor I would like to see real information on to be convinced. Interface has always been important to me to make games fun and playable. My guess is that games on smart phones is a casual past time for people waiting on the Metro on the way home, who would already kill time playing with their "precious" in other ways like surfing the net, reading news, texting, etc. Personally I don't see smart phones as a replacement for gaming hand helds but thats just me.

 

[Oyeve]

I cant game on my smartphones or tabs, especially on android devices as I always manage to hit the home screen which exits out of most games instantly. On my ip4 I have some really excellent games but the screen is way too small. So, my DS is still my prefered portable gaming device.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

It was made to be used with its own stylus. Its not THAT fragile that being used properly is going to damage it. Geez.

Well, my game came with the same shipment so I had to wait anyways.

My impressions: Zelda is pretty awesome in 3D. That is all I have had time for.

I'm not sure about the PSP2. If the PS3 is any indication of the sort of games we will see on the PSP2, I don't think I will be interested. I like games made by the studio that made Ico, but I won't hold my breath for one of those. There are Final Fantasy games, but Square only produces junk now. Then there are all the multiplatform ho-hum shooters and hack-and-slash games that I can just play on my 360 or PC. Meh.

 

[tonygeor]

Going 3D was Nintendo's blunder

 

[ImpulsE69]

I agree that until smartphones/tablets get better with their touch screens, they just don't work as anything more than a casual experience. Both have their place, but EVERYONE wants a cellphone. It really has nothing to do with gaming itself, it's just an additional feature. I've tried, but I just can't get into gaming on my phone with only a touch screen. That said, a price drop won't get me to buy a 3DS. They need games plain and simple.

That's been my biggest complaint of the phones coming out, call me oldschool but i LIKE a keyboard. Driving down the road with a 40 in one hand and trying to text my dealer with a touchscreen w/o looking at the screen is just too difficult.

 

[Beev]

I'm the same way. Physical keyboard or GTFO.

 

[Locut0s]

There are only a handful of smartphone games out there with the depth and production values of even the mediocre PC and console titles. And many of these are just ports of old console titles. Then there's the problem of the imprecise touch controls that others here have mentioned. If I want to play a round of chess or some other simple time waster then a smart phone is fine, for everything else I'll take a hand held console any day!

 

[mmntech]

There are only a handful of smartphone games out there with the depth and production values of even the mediocre PC and console titles. And many of these are just ports of old console titles. Then there's the problem of the imprecise touch controls that others here have mentioned. If I want to play a round of chess or some other simple time waster then a smart phone is fine, for everything else I'll take a hand held console any day!

The same can be said about the 3DS though. While Steel Diver and Pilot Wings are both pretty cool, they'd be $4.99 at most on the app store, not $39.99.

 

[Locut0s]

The same can be said about the 3DS though. While Steel Diver and Pilot Wings are both pretty cool, they'd be $4.99 at most on the app store, not $39.99.

Okay you've got me here. I agree, but in general this is and will not be the case for most handhelds. There are plenty of good games coming out for the 3DS, it;s just their launch lineup that sucked. Which I agree was a very stupid move on Nintendo's part.

 

[gorcorps]

Going 3D was Nintendo's blunder

IMO remaking the exact same games we've seen before has been a blunder. Of course I felt that way w/ mario 64 on the DS and it still did well so what do I know.

 

[Locut0s]

IMO remaking the exact same games we've seen before has been a blunder. Of course I felt that way w/ mario 64 on the DS and it still did well so what do I know.

Zelda OoT 3D has done well from what I understand as well.

 

[Tom]

It's been sorta, kinda, delayed. Not coming out in North America and Europe until Q1 2012 now. Mind you they made no promises but they've lost a great chance to get the upper hand over Nintendo this Xmas.
http://kotaku.com/5827643/playstation-vita-wont-launch-in-the-west-until-2012

to be honest, I doubt it'll ever be sold in the US, if they even make it at all.

 

[Dumac]

to be honest, I doubt it'll ever be sold in the US, if they even make it at all.

???

Why would you think that?

 

[Locut0s]

to be honest, I doubt it'll ever be sold in the US, if they even make it at all.

What would make no economic sense whatsoever.

 

[StrangerGuy]

IMO remaking the exact same games we've seen before has been a blunder. Of course I felt that way w/ mario 64 on the DS and it still did well so what do I know.

I had a DS lite and I have no idea what the 3DS exactly is other than 3D just from the name itself let alone knowing it's a next-gen handheld. Having a similar design doesn't help it from differentiating from the old DSes either.

If you think that is bad...Imagine the situation with the masses. In fact Nintendo had advertising posters featuring the DS Lite, DS XL and the 3DS together, how dumb its that? It's an identity crisis of epic proportions.

And I bet Nintendo is happy to see their brand-new 3DS CPU/GPU getting throughly slaughtered by mid-2011 dual-core smartphones with far better digital distribution channels. Nevermind those exponentially more powerful ones coming out within the lifetime of the 3DS.