How in the world did DS have a harder launch? GBA was riegning king with tons of popularity. It launched a $100 cheaper and in November/December.

3DS may not hit the same long-term sales of DS, but its launch is not a failure and not unexpected given the differences I noted to Joelcool7.

DS took a risk with the downgraded graphics (wrt PSP) and had to face the PSP launch where everyone (even developers) believed it would win the handheld generation comfortably. Nintendo then had to take a risk with their games (brain training, nintendogs, even reviving 2D mario) which is what gave the DS an edge. 

I would though admit that the 3DS faces the smartphone threat and the media turning agaisnt yet less than 6 months after its launch. Nintendo have it all to do again so this Christams could be vital

iwata has confirmed that the 3DS at $169 is generating a loss.

and the DS didn't launch in europe until march 11 meaning your comparision to the DS only includes 2 regions for most of those 5 months ...

I guess I missed that... I was relating to the many break down that were posted. However, I'd still wager its a small loss. Point taken.

I did note it was only in NA and Japan, however, it did launch during the holidays which, to me, out weighs the lack of any European launch greatly. NA in the Holidays is simply a monster.

This is actually the only valid poll.
Because it's made on valide criteria for a poll, the other one was more an interview.

Iwata claimed that a huge amount of Nintendo's operating loss is due to 3DS selling at a loss and the lack of success it has had. Considering Nintendo has never had an annual operating loss this is an indication they are losing a good amount of money. A large percentage of the 200 million dollars Nintendo lost is apparently related to their hardware division. The rest is blamed on the Yen. If this is true then Nintendo lost like 40-million dollars this year due to 3DS. This includes all the software income from 3DS software, DS software, Wii software and the sales of Wii and DS hardware which is both sold for a profit. That means Nintendo may have lost up to 100 million on 3DS hardware, the profit margins were still pretty healthy last year and Nintendo has no excuse other then the Yen for posting an operating loss. All of their products are selling at a profit.

Yah we can argue R&D is likely also contributing but to be honest Nintendo never took a hit like this in any past generation when they were developing new hardware. Its not like WiiU is a huge generational leap like PS3 was, R&D shouldn't be all that much more expensive this generation then past generations.

Also holidays are not all that beneficial when launching new hardware. In fact they are often opposite that is why Nintendo launched 3DS so early this year and is also the reasoning behind Sony's decision to launch Vita next year instead of the holiday season. Why is it so damaging? Well if Nintendo thinks they have a successful product on their hands then they know that it will sell out. Nintendo knows they won't be able to provide enough supply to meet demand. So why would you launch a console in the holiday season if you have a very limited supply? Your sales aren't going to be any higher then if you sold out earlier in the year.

So it makes most sense to launch a successful gaming platform during the off months. This means that only your loyal dedicated consumers will purchase one allowing you to come closer to meeting demand. Then you can ramp up production towards the holiday season allowing you to sell a lot more hardware during the holidays then you could have if you launched then.

Sony recently specifically said if Vita launched during the holidays they couldn't possibly meet demand. The decision was made to hold off on launching the Vita till they could better meet demand. Thus increasing sales in the long run.

In the end the lack of supply makes the increase in demand during the holidays pointless. If you don't have the hardware to sell then it doesn't make any sense to launch during a time of higher demand. Sony pointed out that they had strong sales of PSP missing the holiday season and don't see it as detrimental!

i'd wager your right, a small loss.  i think the thing that is hurting nintendo more is that after 6,383,751 3DSs sold this year there have only been 9,606,683 units of software.  i dunno, i don't have data in front of me but that seems awefully low to me.

You guys do realize that it wasn't only the kids' ratings that counted toward the overall score, don't you? the 13-24 year olds ratings counted as well.