Iwata: people want 3DS, but are waiting

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

Phoeniks.Wright said:

Kenryoku_Maxis said:

Phoeniks.Wright said:

Kenryoku_Maxis said:

Phoeniks.Wright said:

Suuure Iwata, good excuses you got there for investors. I mean, you just launched an overpriced system with uninspiring games and horrible battery life. Clearly a recipe for success!

Worked for the PSP.

I don't think it's as easy as you say, but in a way, yeah. It's just that compared to previous handhelds, it wasn't a horrible failure ( though I must check to be sure about the details ) and thanks to population growths and more markets worldwide, sold well. Against this, it only sold a bit less than half of the DS, so not really such a success as you think.

No its not as easy as I said.  And while PSP was overpriced and lacked games at launch, it has a marginal battery life which got better with each version (my current PSP 3000 lasts about 5-6 hours while playing intense games like Crisis Core and Pangya).

But while I was making a joke, there was that grain of truth.  And what I was trying to point out is people are calling doom on the 3DS when EVERY handheld that has ever released has had a slow launch.  The GB launched with just a handful of games and took quite a while to get going (especially because it was over $200 at launch).  The GBA launched with 1 noteworthy game (Golden Sun) and also took a while to get good games.  And the DS was probably the weakest launch for a handheld this side of the N-Guage.  But it still turned out to be the most popular system since the PS2.

My point is, people need to stop claiming the 3DS failed just because it hasn't sold a million units in the first week.  No handheld has.  And when the horde of announced games starts coming out, like Zelda 3D, Kid Icarus, Resident Evil, Dead or Alive, Metal Gear Solid and Paper Mario, the 3DS will start selling just as good as the DS.  Even with a $250 price tag (which was the same price as the PSP at launch).  And in a year or two, the price will drop to $200 or less and sell even more.

Sorry, but no. Gameboy had an excellent launch, with demand easily outstripping supply, with great games, Tetris, Super mario Land, Gennis and baseball most notably, and at $90, not 200. So the question is, why have terrible launches for the next handhelds? But that's another topic.

Also, the reason I would agree with those people is that the 3DS seems to be following the philosophy of the PSP. So if we were to take current DS and PSP sales, the 3DS would sell less than half of it's predecessor. Count in that Nintendo wants to expand the gaming audience supposedly, and you can quickly see why the 3DS, in that sense, will be a failure.

The original Game Boy did indeed have some powerful early hitters.  But it still only launched with 4 games in America and 6 in Japan/Europe.  This is very similar to the DS launch, which only launched in America with 4 games and more in Japan/Europe shortly after.

But besides this, what I was trying to get across, and still am, is that you can't compare the PSP to the 3DS.  The 3DS is Nintendos 5th gen Handheld and is building off both the reputation of the Game Boy and DS.  The PSP was Sony's first attempt at a handheld and took years to get to the popularity level it is now.  And even with a pretty good launch, the PSP didn't start selling well for a long time.  Compared to the original DS which sold out consistently in its first year with hardly any good games (until games like Kirby's Canvas Curse, WarioWare Touched and Jump Superstars came out).

Now compare this to the 3DS.  Already having near 100 titles announced for it and by the end of the year, having dozens of good games like Professor Layton, Inazuma Eleven, Resident Evil, MGS, Dead or Alive, Paper Mario, Kid Icarus and if what Miyamoto says is true, the new 3D Mario game.  No handheld in history has ever seen this much support in its first year.

Now, explain to me how 3DS is going to 'fail'?  The only thing people seem to be complaining about is the price and battery life.  And I can tell you, the vast majority of people who buy the thing will be buying it for the games, not its battery life.  Only tech geeks and hardcore internet servers (like us) will even hear about its battery life, or care.  Plus, in a year or two, it'll probably drop in price, if not have a '3DS Lite' out.