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Soundwave on 21 March 2016
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freebs2 said:
Soundwave said:

I don't think that will deter the continued erosion of the traditional handheld market. 

Nintendo's tried it this gen with cheap(er) 3DS models and dramatic price cuts ... hasn't stopped them from losing a lot of customers and likely a generation of kids. 

The problem is parents aren't stupid ... a 3DS is not "cheap" when the games are $40 a pop versus free on a tablet/smartphone, and nowadays tablets themselves can be had for $150 and do 50x more than a DS/3DS does. 

Nintendo needs a dramatic shake up and a new type of product that speaks a new "language" IMO. If they keep doing the same ol, same ol (basically just a new 3DS/DS with better but still outdated graphics) ... they're just spinning their wheels in the mud going nowhere. 

The Vita was the same formula the 80 million selling PSP was. Nintendo should be wary of "formulas". There is no formula when you have a disruptive force like smartphone/tablet gaming, it's like fighting crime against the Joker and trying to do everything by the book. 

I agree they should change their business model, that's why I'm suggesting, for instance, shorter life cycles. But they shouldn't go for higher price tags.

One of the main reasons why parents are more inclined to buy a tablets/smatphones rahter than handhelds is beacuse those devices are percieved as something useful -for learning, browsing, reading, etc- rather than just game dedicated devices. For the same price the parent will always prefer the tablet, it has the be kid the one that pushes towards the handheld. Given this situation, the lower is price the higher is the chance for the kid to convince his parents. If you want to go for higher hardware prices, imo, you should also look for a different target.

I don't think Nintendo is going to win this arguement, in fact looking at declining 3DS sales particularily in the West where they've completely fallen off a cliff, there's ample evidence to suggest kids don't care that much. 

When my little nieces/nephews come over to my house they always ask to play with my iPad first, not the 3DS. It's not the adults that are forcing anything on them. 

In this environment I think Nintendo needs to redefine hardware period and offer experiences the tablet cannot. That's where I think a hybrid machine that is capable of console like experiences on the go and can beam those to a TV or even other displays easily with mobility would be something legitimately new.