Is price a major factor in poor 3DS/Wii U sales compared to GBC/N64 & GBA/GC?

[mountaindewslave]

Soundwave said:

mountaindewslave said:

I think you're off, GBA did not sell that incredibly, total was like 80 m, I don't think the 3DS is that far behind in terms of pacing of sales. now the DS or original Gameboy, maybe those are different stories..... 

The only reason it's total is 80 million only is because it was prematurely cut off by the DS. It would've sold 100+ million easily otherwise, maybe even 120 million. 3DS isn't going to come close to that. 

the DS was released because GBA sales were drastically slowing down after like 2 years. you can spin it your way, but the reality is it can easily be spun the other way- it was not a great handheld at the time in comparison to some of the competition of the mid 2000s (PSP being so graphically superior that the DS update/release was totally necessary)

the 3DS does pretty well, it could potentially sell over 70 million

people have to be realistic, when we're talking about a handheld system that costs a couple hundred $$$ and the fact that a set of games and accessories are going to cost a couple $$$, something like 70 million sales in 5 years potentially is fantastic

 

bear in mind that a GBA cost 100$ or less practically throughout its ENTIRE run. even when inflation is adjusted, the 3DS is way more expensive. the point I'm indicating is that price indicators do matter. if the 3DS was price at or was capable of being priced at a GBA price who knows how many it would sell

even the DS was much cheaper, at 150$ at the start and then 130$ for the majority of its life. 

the 3DS is extremely expensive compared to comparable Nintendo handhelds in the past, every single one, regardless of inflation. it's something that needs to be kept in mind, because obviously the question of quantity vs price shows up and if you sell 50 systems at 200$ rather than 100 systems at 100$ it's a very similar situation in terms of pure hardware revenue