radishhead said:
Why would they announce a redesign before Christmas? They're obviously going to sell tonnes of units during the winter, so why risk lowering that? |
There are several reason's a redesign would be foolish, especially if the rumored second analog stick was real.
-Developers and publishers would be pissed. This new hardware would mean having to rework dev kits. Also their prior software would be obsolete cutting sales and effecting the image of the company.
-Consumers would freak, all of the millions of guys who bought 3DS would now have a useless paper weight. Since the new analog stick would render the original obsolete and unable to play new software.
-Announcing right before Christmas would kill off the 3DS before it even had one holiday. Also recent improvements in stock and sales would be cut.
-WiiU would fail at launch. No gamers would invest in a console when Nintendo abandoned the 3DS so easily. If Nintendo thought a price cut was damaging a redesign would kill WiiU. Even I the most die hard Nintendo fan I know wouldn't likely buy one day one.
Now if you don't think the analog stick is going to happen and are thinking 3DS:Lite. You'd still face many of those issues. Consumers who bought the first model would feel betrayed. Sales would drop like a rock this Christmas.
-Also a new model would loose Nintendo more money. If the current model with a four hour battery life and 3D screen and such cost a ton to manufacture and they are loosing money on every unit. Then this new model would either have to be way cheaper technology or they would be loosing even more profit on every unit.
What do I think is going to be announced?
-Nintendo already leaked that they are bringing out the big guns. Apparently one of the biggest software titles in years is supposed to make an appearance. I'm not sure which title this could be but it would make sense.
-Alongside that new title, I fully expect Nintendo to have another one or two first party titles. Its been over a year since E3 2010 and Nintendo has had a lot of time to produce new software. They may choose to unveil it at this conference rather then wait till E3.
-A list of new software coming from third parties will obviously be on hand as well. We know Assasin's Creed got cancelled but I talked to UbiSoft at PAX and was re-assured that they are still hard at work on 3DS. I'm sure Nintendo will have something to show.
-New software features like video chat, I bet these new features could be big selling factors.
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For all those expecting more then just software. Nintendo makes these big press announcements often and rarely do they announce new hardware. Chances are this press conference is to combat the Vita's launch and with Sony promising 18 unannounced Vita titles at TGS I'm guessing this is Nintendo's pre-emptive strike.
I don't expect to see anything more then software. A new accessory or two might also be present but I think that this conference will likely focus on software!
-JC7
"In God We Trust - In Games We Play " - Joel Reimer
