zorg1000 on 11 June 2015
| Soundwave said: The "their handhelds are doing just fine" schtick is getting a little tired. Their handhelds are going in the wrong direction ... the 3DS got a couple of OK years in before smartphone competetion has slapped them around. The last two years are Nintendo's lowest handheld shipments in 17 and 18 year years. They're likely to suffer continued losses to their handheld line if they continue the "we'll just keep doing the same thing with no changes at all" approach. The 3DS might limp its way to 70 million in six years, but the successor if they don't make any meaningful changes is likely look at considerably less than that. In particular in the US, the bottom has fallen off their handheld market. While the 3DS has hit 15 million here, the GBA sold 38 million, the DS 54 million, and the Game Boy over 40 million. 3DS is probably going to fizzle out in the US at 22-25 million LTD ... that is a monstrous drop off from previous Nintendo handheld generations. Americans especially are losing interest in Nintendo handhelds. |
Gameboy is a 2 generation device so that 40+ million number is a bit misleading. Americas (North/Central/South) shipments were 14.81 million thru March 1994 (same time frame as 3DS).
When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.
