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Veknoid_Outcast on 27 November 2012
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RolStoppable said:
Cobretti2 said:
Nintnedo USA needs to kill of the DS because it is clear that when people see a much cheaper DS vs a 3DS some still don't see that the 3DS is the next gen model and see no value in the upgrade.

WiiU, thanks gamespot for over hyping your sales. 500K preorders? who did the numbers in their office?

Killing off the DS would be the stupidest thing Nintendo could do. A DS sale doesn't translate to a lost 3DS sale. There are various reasons why people still buy DSes at this point:

1) Late adopters who want a cheap system with lots of cheap games. If you only have $150 to spend, you can get a lot of DS stuff nowadays.

2) Replacement purchases of people who see no value in the current 3DS and its library.

3) Kids' first gaming system. If you are the parent of a five year old kid, you don't go all out to buy the "best" option. Kids at that age break or lose stuff all the time and they aren't conscious of real differences between video game systems at this point anyway, so you buy the cheapest option you can trust; and Nintendo's brand and image is incredibly strong in this segment of the market.

The third reason is probably the main reason why Nintendo handhelds have such long tails in the USA. If the 3DS doesn't sell, then the problem lies with the 3DS, not the DS; and if there are still people who think that the 3DS is just a DS with 3D, then Nintendo has to release 3DS games that people really want, because that way consumers will inform and educate themselves.

Totally agree. DS sales help Nintendo, even if the number from last week paint a different picture. If new DS owners fall in love with the hardware and software available on DS, they're much more likely to upgrade to a 3DS. And much more likely to invest in a Wii or Wii U. I think there is a reason Fils-Aime grouped all four consoles together in his interview with CNET, beyond the obvious reason that the numbers appear much more impressive when grouped together. And the reason is this: the four systems form a sort of ecosystem that reaches as many demographics and income brackets as possible, and buoys overall sales.

That being said, the 3DS still needs to prove itself. The good news is that looking at the software released for DS and 3DS in the first 21 months of their respective lifetimes, the results are very similar. Would I enthusiastically recommend a 3DS to a potential buyer right now? Probably not. Would I have enthusiastically recommended a DS in August 2006? Probably not. And yet the DS might soon become the best selling video game system of all time. So I think the sky is the limit for 3DS.