Should I wait for the 3DS redesign?

[Alby_da_Wolf]

Joelcool7 said:

Alby_da_Wolf said:

JGarret said:
If a redesign that includes a 2nd analog stick is indeed coming, then Nintendo better hurry it up, or else the split in the userbase becomes too large and damages credibility even further.

Not just credibility, it would make third parties not use it to reach the largest audience, like it happened to WM Plus.

Not true at all. WM+ was released years into the Wii and most owners didn't own the peripheral. However this second Analog stick peripheral is being released within months of the console infact before it even has its first Christmas. Chances are Nintendo will bundle the new peripheral with games requiring it. Of course third parties won't support it immediatly but by early 2013 I'm guessing their will be enough support for it to be included in a new model.

Releasing a new model this winter or even next year would damage Nintendo's credability far more then anything they have done in recent years. I think this price cut was the most damaging thing to Nintendo's credability since Virtual Boy and a new model being released with a year of the origional would be suicide. Nintendo would loose alot of credability in the eyes of gamers and future consoles would see smaller early adoption rates. Something Nintendo does not want.

Nintendo will not be splitting the market up at all. Since only 30 or so games have been announced and developed thus far. its early enough to introduce this new peripheral. 3DS owners will have their hands on the same technology as that new model has. Any customer who doesn't have the peripheral has nobody to blame but themselves.

I think if Nintendo released a new 3DS with dual analogs and such within a year. That would split the market, a gradual transition is far less damaging to credability and market stability. Plus consumers expect a new model after about 2 years, Nintendo will not upset nearly as many people by releasing it then. Not to mention profitability right now Nintendo is taking a loss on every unit they aren't likely to release new hardware where they will take a heavier loss!

The difference between our opinions is just that I think that add-on is too ugly and looks clunky too and an early redesign IMVHO would be far better, while you think that including it for more time and redesign 3DS later would be better. I'm aware of the dangers of my favourite solution, it's just that I find that add-on horrible and more harmful to Ninty style than early redesign would be to Ninty credibility. Both solutions avoid splitting the market, I guess Ninty is carefully evaluating pros and cons of each one, we'll see what it will decide...

About profitability, after the first costs to redesign it and make the necessary changes to production, a redesigned 3DS should cost less to build, store and ship than the old one plus the add-on. Not to mention that to avoid wastes they should sell games requiring it both bundled, for gamers not owning it yet, and not bundled.

Finally, a major redesign could give both more visibility and justifiabily to the minor one already needed due to the first version's shortcomings, handling the thing correctly it could become good advertising instead of credibility hit.