Again, should Nintendo drop 3D from the 3DS?

[radishhead]

LordTheNightKnight said:

radishhead said:
Why would you do that? The only reason anyone would want this to happen are Sony fans who want the Vita to smash the 3DS in sales. 3D is one of the main things that differs it from the competition, whether you like using it or not.

You think hardware distinctiveness is a killer app? That just doesn't bear out when looking at gaming history. What did the NES have over gaming PCs at the time, especially when home consoles had crashed (the robot didn't sell the system, it was just to make stored accept it)? What did the SNES have other the Genesis other than specs and a few extra buttons? What did the PS1 have over the Saturn (again, this is hardware, not price)?

Hardware differentiation is not a selling point. It's the harware not driving people away. Short battery life can drive people away, and that's something the 3DS has (which should be addressed in a revision, no matter what happens with the 3D).

And if you think I want this for the Vita to win, you clearly don't know me. I don't I have anything against the Vita, but if Sony did something stupid with it as Nintendo has done with the 3DS, I would call on them as well.

Hardware distinctiveness isn't particularly important, but market perception is the most important thing that a console has to deal with. Whether that be through the price, design or features. If Nintendo dropped the 3D then the market would see the 3DS as something even more similar to the DS than it currently is. They say it's a "DS with 3D" - what happens if they take the 3D away? Much of the mass market doesn't know about the other improvements yet, so this will make the 3DS sales fall even further than they already have done.