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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Why's The 3DS Selling So Poorly In North America?

zorg1000 on 16 April 2013

Its undertracked so its not as bad as it seems and phones/tablets have cut into its sales a bit. Its got some major system sellers this year, Animal Crossing (west), Monster Hunter 4 (japan), Pokemon X/Y(worldwide) plus a few moderate sellers like DKC Returns, Mario & Luigi, possibly Zelda this holiday. Holiday deals/bundles will sell like crazy this year and I have no doubt it will sell more than last year by a decent margin.

They can continue that momentum in 2014 with a price cut/redesign, games like Kirby, Metroid, Advance Wars, Kid Icarus sequel, Ice Climbers, Revelations 2, Dragon Quest 11, Pokemon Z or 3rd gen remake, Mario 3D Land 2.



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NintendoPie on 16 April 2013

Where are you getting your numbers from? VGC? Hehehoho...!

Really, though. The problem is that the 3DS hasn't been targeted at everyone in the US yet. And what I mean by that is they haven't released a white or black 3DS (XL) yet... What's up with that?!



IsawYoshi on 16 April 2013

Well, at least in my area pretty much all the boys from 1-3 grade play pokemon. Every day when taking the bus to school I hear them speak about it in the front of the bus. But they have nothing else on their ds. I think pokemon will do a lot.

At the same time, western devs. just give handhelds too bad (none-existent) support. Also, the ads (I've never seen them on tv, just youtube) are absolutely terrible. And the fact that they never appear on tv is a factor too.



nuckles87 on 16 April 2013
Soundwave said:
Mr Puggsly said:
Herolink7 said:

Except the GBA was a monster in the U.S. It was doing much better than the 3DS is at this point.

It's retty clear now that the market for dedicated handhelds have shrunk, I'm not sure there is anything Nintendo can do about it.

But the 3DS had a bad start due to high price. The GBA and DS launched for $149.

I'm not denying the market may have shrunk due to other mobile devices. However, at this rate the 3DS will still surpass GBA lifetime sales. Maybe not achieve DS sales, but DS is one of the best selling platforms ever.


The 3DS had a high price for what? 4 months? It's been at a reasonable $169.99 for a long time now. I agree it will overtake GBA's sales, but more because the GBA really didn't get a proper life cycle.

 

Five months, and after it's launch it's sales stagnated significantly worldwide. GBA and DS did not have that problem. Hell, 3DS sold 50k in July 2011 in the US. Both consoles also launched with a Mario game. 3DS sales didn't really start to pick up until the holiday season when Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 hit.



Soundwave on 16 April 2013
NintendoPie said:
Where are you getting your numbers from? VGC? Hehehoho...!

Really, though. The problem is that the 3DS hasn't been targeted at everyone in the US yet. And what I mean by that is they haven't released a white or black 3DS (XL) yet... What's up with that?!


The NPD sales data for the 3DS has been really soft as well, 190k a month for the 3DS? Not to mention Iwata's own sales analysis that sales in the West, particularily North America have been weak by his own admission and the fact that Nintendo continually misses their 3DS shipment forecasts (probably will do so again).

Nintendo hasn't released white or black 3DS XL models because those colors according the NOA's sales data sell the worst. Handhelds are more of a kids market in the West, so things like red and blue and brighter colors apparently sell better. I'd like a white 3DS XL too, but apparently I'm part of a small minority of the market.



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the2real4mafol on 16 April 2013

It's not that poor, given the economy. People just can't get as much shit as they used too.



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NintendoPie on 16 April 2013
Soundwave said:


The NPD sales data for the 3DS has been really soft as well, 190k a month for the 3DS? Not to mention Iwata's own sales analysis that sales in the West, particularily North America have been weak by his own admission and the fact that Nintendo continually misses their 3DS shipment forecasts (probably will do so again).

Nintendo hasn't released white or black 3DS XL models because those colors according the NOA's sales data sell the worst. Handhelds are more of a kids market in the West, so things like red and blue and brighter colors apparently sell better. I'd like a white 3DS XL too, but apparently I'm part of a small minority of the market.

Another color wouldn't hurt, of course. It would do more good than bad.

And what does Iwata know? He's just the CEO. Sheesh.



LiquorandGunFun on 16 April 2013

they are cutting back on welfare checks.

/sarcasm



 

Soundwave on 16 April 2013
the2real4mafol said:
It's not that poor, given the economy. People just can't get as much shit as they used too.


The economy is starting to improve though.

Februrary NPD (2010) - In recession

Nintendo DS - 650k

Feburary NPD (2013)

Nintendo Family (3DS + Wii U + Wii + DS combined) - 455k

3DS approximately - 189k apparently

That's a pretty stunning stat.



zippy on 16 April 2013

Well considering the competition 3DS has from smartphones etc, i would still say it is selling decent numbers in the west. Also it is been number one in worldwide sales for a very long time now, and it doesnt matter where the sales come from it is in a healthy position indeed.