Soundwave said:
I think the 3DS price cut was an overreaction to be honest. $200 3DS sells perfectly fine (relative to market conditions), cheaper 3DS models have not improved sales whatsoever, and yeah it didn't sell a $250, but that's because it was a shit proposition for $250. It had no big games, a retread of Nintendogs, and while the 3D effect was OK, the graphics technology was underwhelming, like a souped up PSP. People aren't going to buy a portable just because it's cheap, because nothing is cheaper than free (as in free games on tablets). And even a cheap Nintendo portable will get its legs cut off by even cheaper Android tablets with HD screens that are now getting as low as $99 or less. So IMO the challenge for Nintendo is to improve the experience of the portables they offer so much so that they are miles beyond a tablet and legitimately might even be able to function like a console. And before someone says Vita ... no not really ... the Vita can't even handle PS3 ports, let alone PS4. The mobile processing power back in 2011 just didn't exist for that, but in 2016 ... it's getting there. |
I don't know if Nintendo overreacted. I think they "saw" what would happen if they just cut the price a bit.
Having a big cut would impress and regain customers back. MK 7 and Mario 3D Land were also part of the plan to drive sales in the long term.
The new handheld shoud strive to not become another tablet device. Keep the handheld DNA and then throw in a bunch of stuff to make it a purchase worthwhile. The other way around would be a potentially mistake.
