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[Kiriku]

But it's also 13 years old. Has there ever been a re-release or remake that has been a major hit or pushed hardware sales? These things are guaranteed money because of their low overhead, but there's still a pretty low ceiling for their sales.

I'm sure it will do very well and they'll make plenty of money on the game itself, but I don't see it turning 3DS sales around in a noticeable way.

Chubigans asked if people really believe Zelda is going to affect 3ds sales. Yes, I think it will, at least temporarily. Not in any major way though, but then I never said it would be a major hit either. It's better than nothing.

 

[timetokill]

Do some of you really believe that Zelda is going to affect 3DS sales? I don't see an N64 port moving the sales needle in the slightest.

I don't think it will help right now, but I think it will help come holidays, in combination with other titles.

 

[gerg]

I think the whole 3D stuff is where they went wrong. They thought 3D was stalling in the market because of the glasses, but as we've seen over the last few years, 3D has been stalling in the home because people just aren't interested.

The price premium was based on the 3D appeal, but as we now know, it isn't appealing anymore.

I was just about to edit the same line of thinking into my post. I also think it likely that the cold reception of the 3DS is part of a larger lukewarm reception to 3D technology in general.

But this doesn't mean a death-knell to the 3DS. After all, the DS managed to stave off the PSP perfectly well (and as others have said it was probably doing worse than the 3DS at this point in its lifetime, although, of course, to expect the same for the 3DS is to lower standards quite a lot). It just means that Nintendo needs to be a lot more aggressive with the system's price and software - Nintendo should definitely have a price drop to $200 before the end of the year, probably even if all of their five projected releases sell very well.

 

[FoneBone]

I'm sure it will do very well and they'll make plenty of money on the game itself, but I don't see it turning 3DS sales around in a noticeable way.

Well, I expect 3DS sales in June to be higher than in May, but that's as far as I'm willing to go.

 

[Alrus]

I forgot to ask earlier, how much does Nintendo expect Zelda OoT 3D and Starfox 3D to sell?

Nintendo rarely speaks about their expectations for a specific game... The only time I remember them doing that is for Other M and that was Reggie.

 

[alphaNoid]

Whats weird about the DS is that my 2 nephews both of which (10, 11 years old) are DIE HARD DS fans. They spend every dime they obtain on DS games (bday, allowance etc..) ... neither of them even wants the 3DS. When I got back from E3 I told them I was playing with the 3DS and Wii U (they like Nintendo) and I asked if they were curious about either.

Both shrugged and said something like, "3DS doesn't look any better than the DS. Did you see the new PSP there?" They mainly play sprite based games, pokemon etc.. and I was quite shocked they cared about graphics. I pushed a little harder to get some more details and the bottom line was they thought the 3DS wasn't really an upgrade at all.

Then they told me, "Uncle Noid, its also $250. We're not rich enough to get that."

Personally I feel the $250 price point for Nintendo is killing them, while a $250 price point for Sony and Vita is going to guarantee very good launch numbers. The tech packed into Vita is astonishing for that value. I spent a good 20 minutes on a Vita at E3 and it is leagues ahead of 3DS in everything I saw... so in this case, I feel the hat got passed to Sony.

Of course the GAF curse will set in, we love it so its going to fail miserably lol.

edit. I do not think any 1 game is going to save the 3DS. I think the only thing the 3DS has going for it is 'time'. In a year or a year and half from now if the library has several good games and the price is under $199.. then Nintendo will see sales pick up. Anyone saying that Mario Kart or Zelda or Shamalamdingdong game is going ot spike sales is really moving 'dem goal posts.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Forget Zelda and Star Fox. As I said before, Mario Kart.

Remember what it did for the Wii in GTAIV month?

My God that was a hilarious thread.

 

[test_account]

Nintendo rarely speaks about their expectations for a specific game... The only time I remember them doing that is for Other M and that was Reggie.

Ok, i see. I just wondered if they Nintendo had mention anything about those 2 3DS games because Somnid mention "Nintendo's been around long enough that we have certain sales expectations per franchise".

EDIT: I noticed now that i missread what he ment. I didnt see that he had written "we have", i thought he ment Nintendo's own expectations, sorry

How much was expected for Other M by the way?

 

[Barrett2]

Id' love to know lifetime sales for Steel Diver.

 

[Alrus]

Ok, i see. I just wondered if they Nintendo had mention anything about those 2 3DS games because Somnid mention "Nintendo's been around long enough that we have certain sales expectations per franchise".

If the games don't meet expectations, they'll mention it during some interview or investor meeting just like they did for Animal Crossing Wii and Wii music (They said they sold nicely but nowhere close to what they expected). I think Miyamoto said that if Starfox 3ds didn't sell enough, they won't pursue that franchise anymore, but that's all we have.

How much was expected for Other M by the way?

Reggie said the next metroid game needed to sell at least 1.5m or something (why needed I don't know) and that he was convinced Other M could accomplish that. It obviously didn't.

 

[stalker]

That's not the effect I was talking about. If they cut the price within months of launch people will keep waiting for price cuts instead of buying.

On DS price cuts early in its life, the DS was a much less high profile device than 3DS, so it didn't really matter as much, and the price cut was much smaller than the one 3DS requires.

I do not see the difference in profile to be honest.

 

[Scum]

The current price tag and lack of compelling games is The problem. Maybe Nintendo should have launched the 3DS this week with Ocarina of Time for £€$199.99.
Hopefully they'll get off their arse and sort it out before it's "too late".

 

[KingDizzi]

Horrible 3DS sales and yes the software has been lackluster but the fuck happened with Nintendogs? That game sold something stupid like 20 million on the DS yet the 3DS games have not been able to make a dent, to the point that you can get them for £20 here in the UK. Perhaps it will blow up again once the price drops of the handheld but seriously that's a steep drop. With the sales of 3DS thus far and horrible PS3 sales lifetime all it shows is that brand name means nothing, success of predecessor means nothing, price means everything. The next biggie hitting is Mario Kart, beastly franchise but I don't see it propelling the 3DS to DS heights or anywhere near TBH at $250, got DS at launch for £99 which was an impulse buy at that time, £160 not so much.

 

[test_account]

If the games don't meet expectations, they'll mention it during some interview or investor meeting just like they did for Animal Crossing Wii and Wii music (They said they sold nicely but nowhere close to what they expected). I think Miyamoto said that if Starfox 3ds didn't sell enough, they won't pursue that franchise anymore, but that's all we have.

Oh ok.

I missread abit what he said earlier btw, i thought he only talked about Nintendo's own expectation, but i noticed later that he was talking about our/people's expectations. But i still wondered about Nintendo's expectations though

Reggie said the next metroid game needed to sell at least 1.5m or something (why needed I don't know) and that he was convinced Other M could accomplish that. It obviously didn't.

Ok, thanks for the info

 

[smurfx]

Forget Zelda and Star Fox. As I said before, Mario Kart.

Remember what it did for the Wii in GTAIV month?

My God that was a hilarious thread.

but wii was the hottest selling system at the time with tons of hype behind it and a ton of consoles sold. seeing mario kart doing really well on it was not that much of a surprise. 3ds has nothing going for it like the wii had.

 

[Somnid]

I see, but what could Sony do to have sold the games better? Would a lot of marketing have made the game sold more (more as in that the extra money spent on extra adverticing would be profitable)? And how much did Sony expect these games to sell compared to what they sold?

I forgot to ask earlier, how much does Nintendo expect Zelda OoT 3D and Starfox 3D to sell?

Aren't the initial shipment of OOT3D in Japan about 150K? They don't expect it to explode, I don't either. But I'm more talking about sales-age in general. We know games like Super Mario will sell great but aren't likely to heavily push hardware, NSMB on the other likely will. We know LM2 will probably do little for hardware but can sell very well as a game, and we know AC is on the decline. MK by all trends is the one to look for.

For Sony it was one after another of mediocre sales and a case of the system choking the games rather than the games choking the system.

 

[stalker]

The current price tag and lack of compelling games is The problem. Maybe Nintendo should have launched the 3DS this week with Ocarina of Time for £€$199.99.
Hopefully they'll get off their arse and sort it out before it's "too late".

It seems they "needed" to launch in the previous Fiscal Year, this is why the chose march.

The thing is going to be under 200 before holiday season. Personally, I think that it might be earlier than that.

 

[apana]

Assuming 3D is actually a benefit Nintendo needs to get it into people's households so they can play around with it and show their friends. They need kids to buy it and kids are unable to because the pricepoint is so high.

 

[Sianos]

At the very least I expect a few holiday bundles (At least a Mario Kart bundle, maybe with that Flame Red 3DS they are releasing in Japan), and hopefully they also go for a price cut. Considering how Nintendo is selling the 3DS at a pretty big gain, they can afford to cut that down a bit.

It probably won't explode in popularity, but it'll at least hold its own against Vita in the spring. Thankfully for them, Vita is being held off until after the holiday in most territories: if it wasn't, they'd be in some big trouble and definitely need a pretty big pricecut to compete well.

 

[Alrus]

Aren't the initial shipment of OOT3D in Japan about 150K? They don't expect it to explode, I don't either. But I'm more talking about sales-age in general. We know games like Super Mario will sell great but aren't likely to heavily push hardware, NSMB on the other likely will. We know LM2 will probably do little for hardware but can sell very well as a game, and we know AC is on the decline. MK by all trends is the one to look for.

Nintendo is being extremely conservative with OoT in japan because both DS zelda ended up being overshipped and dropped price quickly. Nintendo probably felt it lowered the value of the Zelda series as a whole and they really hate that. They'll probably able to send a second shipment quickly enough if the game sells better.

For Sony it was one after another of mediocre sales and a case of the system choking the games rather than the games choking the system.

It always seemed strange to me how Sony has/had such a hard time selling their games this generation. A lot of people acted like PS3 owner were starved for game, but even strong offering didn't seem to spark much interest. (Uncharted 1, Killzone 2...). On the Gamecube nintendo games sold pretty well even when the install base was ridiculously low... Maybe Nintendo fans are more dedicated than Sony ones? (I have no idea, this may be completely stupid...)

 

[Dunlop]

I don't think any handheld will ever reach the same popularity that the DS currently enjoys.

Smartphones have taken a lot of the mindshare away.

My $150 Optimus One can

-Surf Web
-Play videos
-play games (at a fraction of the price)
-Facebook ect..
-GPS
-..make a call

If I did not care about the phone itself, I could still use it for Wifi only or go with a Ipod Touch.


I don't think the market is dead but I feel there will be a lot less DS/PSP spotted in the wild when taking your commutes to school/work.

 

[zero_suit]

On the Gamecube nintendo games sold pretty well even when the install base was ridiculously low... Maybe Nintendo fans are more dedicated than Sony ones? (I have no idea, this may be completely stupid...)

I thought everyone knew that...

 

[allan-bh]

97k. Scary!

But the games are coming. Let's wait.

 

[test_account]

Aren't the initial shipment of OOT3D in Japan about 150K? They don't expect it to explode, I don't either. But I'm more talking about sales-age in general. We know games like Super Mario will sell great but aren't likely to heavily push hardware, NSMB on the other likely will. We know LM2 will probably do little for hardware but can sell very well as a game, and we know AC is on the decline. MK by all trends is the one to look for.

Yeah, i missread abit what you said, sorry. I didnt notice that you said "we have", i thought that you were talking about what expectations Nintendo themself had (although i was wondering about that regardless) =)

For Sony it was one after another of mediocre sales and a case of the system choking the games rather than the games choking the system.

Indeed, and seeing the lower PS3 hardware sales, wasnt it somewhat expected that this could affect the software sales as well? I know that there were some higher expectations to some PS3 games, but i dont think that anyone bombed really bad? Maybe Haze and Lair, but i dont know what the sales expectations were though, both from people in general and Sony.

 

[AranhaHunter]

97k!?! Oh shit son, 3DS is doing worse than even I thought it was...

I'm starting to think that even Vita may be too expensive at $249, it is just a lot of money for a dedicated gaming handheld. Sony are going to have to really push all of the non-gaming features of Vita to make it a success.

Yep, and AAA games that you can't get anywhere else. Vita's (and any other dedicated portable really) success is really a question mark at this point. Smartphones and tablets might end up killing dedicated portable machines.

 

[test_account]

It always seemed strange to me how Sony has/had such a hard time selling their games this generation. A lot of people acted like PS3 owner were starved for game, but even strong offering didn't seem to spark much interest. (Uncharted 1, Killzone 2...). On the Gamecube nintendo games sold pretty well even when the install base was ridiculously low... Maybe Nintendo fans are more dedicated than Sony ones? (I have no idea, this may be completely stupid...)

I wonder if it had something to do with being new IPs (Motorstorm, Resistance, Uncharted, Little Big Planet, Lair, Heavenly Sword, Infamous), while on Gamecube there were many known franchises (Mario, Zelda, Smash Bros).

 

[Karma]

I don't think any handheld will ever reach the same popularity that the DS currently enjoys.

Smartphones have taken a lot of the mindshare away.

My $150 Optimus One can

-Surf Web
-Play videos
-play games (at a fraction of the price)
-Facebook ect..
-GPS
-..make a call

If I did not care about the phone itself, I could still use it for Wifi only or go with a Ipod Touch.


I don't think the market is dead but I feel there will be a lot less DS/PSP spotted in the wild when taking your commutes to school/work.

This is why I believe Vita will also struggle. Hardcore gamers will still want a dedicated device but everyone else will be happy playing on their phone or ipod touch.

 

[Paracelsus]

I wonder if it had something to do with being new IPs (Motorstorm, Resistance, Uncharted, Little Big Planet, Lair, Heavenly Sword, Infamous), while on Gamecube there were many known franchises (Mario, Zelda, Smash Bros).

I don't know about the other people, but I've never chosen a PlayStation console for its first party titles. I mean, sure, there were some great ones but none of them was a purchase factor for me. I don't think it's a coincidence that the generation Sony is stripped of all its third party exclusives Sony gets two best selling first party games ever in its history (GoW3 and Uncharted 2), much like it's not a coincidence MGS4 outsold MGS3 despite being on a much lower install base.

 

[Dunlop]

This is why I believe Vita will also struggle. Hardcore gamers will still want a dedicated device but everyone else will be happy playing on their phone or ipod touch.

exactly. i commute to work each day via train.

used to be a ton of DS and some PSP

now it is IPHONE>>>>>Smartphone>>DS>IPAD

Can't remember the last time I saw a PSP

obviously this is anecdotal

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

$249 3DS and $399 WiiU.

No chance, not after how 3DS has performed. By the time Wii U launches at $299 next spring/summer, we'll have a $199 3DS on the market next to it.

 

[Owzers]

Why i haven't bought a 3ds:

$249
no games
3D is a gimmick that will most likely be turned off anyways. 3D on such a tiny screen that you have to hold still so the image doesn't break? How is that appealing?

 

[Luckyman]

$249 3DS and $399 WiiU.

Iwata should do it for the lulz

 

[Reallink]

Yep, and AAA games that you can't get anywhere else. Vita's (and any other dedicated portable really) success is really a question mark at this point. Smartphones and tablets might end up killing dedicated portable machines.

I still maintain that Sony are morons for not pushing Vita as a mini-tablet--dual boot Game OS and Android. Yea, they make dedicated tablets and would be competing against themselves on some level, but there is so much competition in Android tablets, they can't realistically expect to sell many units. Sony's implied price premiums are never going to allow them to be competitive or very successful in that sector. Vita's value and functionality as an ultra powerful game system and fully featured android tablet could have taken it to stratospheric heights with the potential to be one of the most successful CE products of all time.

 

[thelurkinghorror]

I still maintain that Sony are morons for not pushing Vita as a mini-tablet--dual boot Game OS and Android. Yea, they make dedicated tablets and would be competing against themselves on some level, but there is so much competition in Android tablets, they can't realistically expect to sell many units. Sony's implied price premiums are never going to allow them to be competitive or very successful in that sector. Vita's value and functionality as an ultra powerful game system and fully featured android tablet could have taken it to stratospheric heights with the potential to be one of the most successful CE products of all time.

Reallik, absolutely right.

 

[galian beast]

The same arguments why people thought that PCs would destroy Console gaming, are the arguments being made for cellphones destroying handheld gaming..., but we all know how that turned out...

As long as REAL game developers are making exclusive content only available on handhelds, they'll come.

When a cell phone gets two analog sticks, come find me. Even look at the xperia play, it's difficult to compete as both a cell phone and a gaming machine, and believe it or not, gaming machines have the slight advantage.

A smaller game machine that narrowly enters cell phone size is more acceptable than a large phone that has put itself out of contention with other phones.

That realm will soon mix, when sony releases a Vita Go with cell phone options.

 

[galian beast]

I still maintain that Sony are morons for not pushing Vita as a mini-tablet--dual boot Game OS and Android. Yea, they make dedicated tablets and would be competing against themselves on some level, but there is so much competition in Android tablets, they can't realistically expect to sell many units. Sony's implied price premiums are never going to allow them to be competitive or very successful in that sector. Vita's value and functionality as an ultra powerful game system and fully featured android tablet could have taken it to stratospheric heights with the potential to be one of the most successful CE products of all time.

It's such a different market... Who knows where Vita goes in terms of software but even if it had android it wouldn't be trying to compete directly with tablets.

 

[Kasumi1970]

o_0 is correct.

Holy Shit, 3DS is reminiscent of PS3 when it couldn't cross 100k. Fuck me.

so it is xbox 360 270,000 , Wii 236,000 , ps3 175,000.
that sad that the ps3 could not beat the wii

 

[venne]

The same arguments why people thought that PCs would destroy Console gaming, are the arguments being made for cellphones destroying handheld gaming..., but we all know how that turned out...

As long as REAL game developers are making exclusive content only available on handhelds, they'll come.

When a cell phone gets two analog sticks, come find me. Even look at the xperia play, it's difficult to compete as both a cell phone and a gaming machine, and believe it or not, gaming machines have the slight advantage.

A smaller game machine that narrowly enters cell phone size is more acceptable than a large phone that has put itself out of contention with other phones.

That realm will soon mix, when sony releases a Vita Go with cell phone options.

Who said that PCs would destroy consoles?

I've always heard the opposite. . . .

 

[Superimposer]

3DS has no *****

I can't even name a 3DS game out now except for I know there's a Street Fighter one...

 

[Scum]

It seems they "needed" to launch in the previous Fiscal Year, this is why the chose march.

The thing is going to be under 200 before holiday season. Personally, I think that it might be earlier than that.

Shame that. I thought this month would have been the best choice. I'm expecting bundles and/or a price drop by Oct/Nov time.

 

[galian beast]

Who said that PCs would destroy consoles?

I've always heard the opposite. . . .

A lot of people thought and said that. Their argument was that you could do so much with PCs and then you could constantly upgrade...

Well time after time people have shown that they want a proprietary device that has software support from the video game industry.

How close are cell phones to giving you the exact same experience you have in Call of Duty Modern Warfare?

Vita? Dual analog, 5 inch screen compared to let's take the iPhones screen: 3.5''

 

[Anth0ny]

3DS will take off when Mario Kart and Mario are released. Zelda ain't gonna do much.

A price cut would help too.

 

[allan-bh]

I think Zelda Ocarina 3D will push 3DS hardware to decent level in june.

Mario 3D and Mario Kart will both ensure nice sales in holydays.

 

[added_time]

3DS: 97K

That is what they get for pricing everyone out (including me)

 

[Soulscribe]

Did Nintendo stop posting its hardware sales?

 

[Grampa Simpson]

3DS will take off when Mario Kart and Mario are released. Zelda ain't gonna do much.

A price cut would help too.

The price cut is the most important part of the puzzle.

 

[DMeisterJ]

so it is xbox 360 270,000 , Wii 236,000 , ps3 175,000.
that sad that the ps3 could not beat the wii

Why... did you quote me?

 

[Spiegel]

Now the question is how many 3DS units will Nintendo ship this quarter.

They shipped 3.6M last quarter and adding the sales in NA and Japan they've sold 1.7M as of the end of May. And it doesn't seem like the handheld is selling any better in Europe.

 

[galian beast]

I think Zelda Ocarina 3D will push 3DS hardware to decent level in june.

I don't think a port of a N64 game is going to get the crowds rushing out the door... Not that it isn't an extremely popular game, but it's already on the Virtual Console... I think people are assuming too much here. That might be an example of a game that sells well because the system is already selling well, but I don't see it as a system seller... unless I'm missing something here.

 

[T Ghost]

Any Wii Numbers? Any official word from Nintendo about Wii numbers?