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Forums - Nintendo - What doesn't North America get about the 3DS?

Soundwave on 28 August 2013
TheLastStarFighter said:
3DS is fine. It's not a massive seller like in Japan because we like consoles more here. It has to compete with PS3, 360, Wii, Wii U, and so on. I think the effect of Tablets and Smartphones on it are small - unlike how they have impacted Vita - but the market isn't handheld dominated like it is in Japan. 3DS is still a solid performer and should do really well at Christmas. Traditionally, Nintendo's handhelds have taken off in the US when a Pokemon releases, which is usually one year behind Japan.


Not really. GBA was a monster seller in North America from day 1, I believe it's the fastest selling North American gaming platform ever (for the first 12-14 months), besting the PS2, DS, and Wii. 

DS took off when the DS Lite + New Super Mario Bros. arrived. The chic new Apple-esque DS Lite fit in much more with Brian Training and Nintendogs too and those really grew evergreen legs.



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zorg1000 on 28 August 2013
Soundwave said:
TheLastStarFighter said:
3DS is fine. It's not a massive seller like in Japan because we like consoles more here. It has to compete with PS3, 360, Wii, Wii U, and so on. I think the effect of Tablets and Smartphones on it are small - unlike how they have impacted Vita - but the market isn't handheld dominated like it is in Japan. 3DS is still a solid performer and should do really well at Christmas. Traditionally, Nintendo's handhelds have taken off in the US when a Pokemon releases, which is usually one year behind Japan.


Not really. GBA was a monster seller in North America from day 1, I believe it's the fastest selling North American gaming platform ever (for the first 12-14 months), besting the PS2, DS, and Wii. 

DS took off when the DS Lite + New Super Mario Bros. arrived. The chic new Apple-esque DS Lite fit in much more with Brian Training and Nintendogs too and those really grew evergreen legs.

I could be wrong but i thought GBA didnt start selling like crazy until the SP came out.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

Soundwave on 28 August 2013
zorg1000 said:
Soundwave said:
TheLastStarFighter said:
3DS is fine. It's not a massive seller like in Japan because we like consoles more here. It has to compete with PS3, 360, Wii, Wii U, and so on. I think the effect of Tablets and Smartphones on it are small - unlike how they have impacted Vita - but the market isn't handheld dominated like it is in Japan. 3DS is still a solid performer and should do really well at Christmas. Traditionally, Nintendo's handhelds have taken off in the US when a Pokemon releases, which is usually one year behind Japan.


Not really. GBA was a monster seller in North America from day 1, I believe it's the fastest selling North American gaming platform ever (for the first 12-14 months), besting the PS2, DS, and Wii. 

DS took off when the DS Lite + New Super Mario Bros. arrived. The chic new Apple-esque DS Lite fit in much more with Brian Training and Nintendogs too and those really grew evergreen legs.

I could be wrong but i thought GBA didnt start selling like crazy until the SP came out.

GBA was a monster pretty much from the get go. I believe in the NPD thread someone from NeoGaf posted DS/3DS/GBA/PSP comparables at roughly 2 years in, and the GBA was ridiculously far ahead of the pack.



TheLastStarFighter on 28 August 2013
Soundwave said:
zorg1000 said:
Soundwave said:
TheLastStarFighter said:
3DS is fine. It's not a massive seller like in Japan because we like consoles more here. It has to compete with PS3, 360, Wii, Wii U, and so on. I think the effect of Tablets and Smartphones on it are small - unlike how they have impacted Vita - but the market isn't handheld dominated like it is in Japan. 3DS is still a solid performer and should do really well at Christmas. Traditionally, Nintendo's handhelds have taken off in the US when a Pokemon releases, which is usually one year behind Japan.


Not really. GBA was a monster seller in North America from day 1, I believe it's the fastest selling North American gaming platform ever (for the first 12-14 months), besting the PS2, DS, and Wii. 

DS took off when the DS Lite + New Super Mario Bros. arrived. The chic new Apple-esque DS Lite fit in much more with Brian Training and Nintendogs too and those really grew evergreen legs.

I could be wrong but i thought GBA didnt start selling like crazy until the SP came out.

GBA was a monster pretty much from the get go. I believe in the NPD thread someone from NeoGaf posted DS/3DS/GBA/PSP comparables at roughly 2 years in, and the GBA was ridiculously far ahead of the pack.

You are incorrect.  The handhelds took off in NA when the Poekemon was released.  They take off earlier in Japan, but the handhelds also get their Pokemon earlier there.  XY is the first worldwide release.



zorg1000 on 28 August 2013
Soundwave said:
zorg1000 said:
Soundwave said:
TheLastStarFighter said:
3DS is fine. It's not a massive seller like in Japan because we like consoles more here. It has to compete with PS3, 360, Wii, Wii U, and so on. I think the effect of Tablets and Smartphones on it are small - unlike how they have impacted Vita - but the market isn't handheld dominated like it is in Japan. 3DS is still a solid performer and should do really well at Christmas. Traditionally, Nintendo's handhelds have taken off in the US when a Pokemon releases, which is usually one year behind Japan.


Not really. GBA was a monster seller in North America from day 1, I believe it's the fastest selling North American gaming platform ever (for the first 12-14 months), besting the PS2, DS, and Wii. 

DS took off when the DS Lite + New Super Mario Bros. arrived. The chic new Apple-esque DS Lite fit in much more with Brian Training and Nintendogs too and those really grew evergreen legs.

I could be wrong but i thought GBA didnt start selling like crazy until the SP came out.

GBA was a monster pretty much from the get go. I believe in the NPD thread someone from NeoGaf posted DS/3DS/GBA/PSP comparables at roughly 2 years in, and the GBA was ridiculously far ahead of the pack.

Yep I just looked it up, ur right. Its kinda weird, GBA and 3DS are tracking about the same worldwide but NA and Jap sales are switched.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

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Soundwave on 28 August 2013
TheLastStarFighter said:
Soundwave said:
zorg1000 said:
Soundwave said:
TheLastStarFighter said:
3DS is fine. It's not a massive seller like in Japan because we like consoles more here. It has to compete with PS3, 360, Wii, Wii U, and so on. I think the effect of Tablets and Smartphones on it are small - unlike how they have impacted Vita - but the market isn't handheld dominated like it is in Japan. 3DS is still a solid performer and should do really well at Christmas. Traditionally, Nintendo's handhelds have taken off in the US when a Pokemon releases, which is usually one year behind Japan.


Not really. GBA was a monster seller in North America from day 1, I believe it's the fastest selling North American gaming platform ever (for the first 12-14 months), besting the PS2, DS, and Wii. 

DS took off when the DS Lite + New Super Mario Bros. arrived. The chic new Apple-esque DS Lite fit in much more with Brian Training and Nintendogs too and those really grew evergreen legs.

I could be wrong but i thought GBA didnt start selling like crazy until the SP came out.

GBA was a monster pretty much from the get go. I believe in the NPD thread someone from NeoGaf posted DS/3DS/GBA/PSP comparables at roughly 2 years in, and the GBA was ridiculously far ahead of the pack.

You are incorrect.  The handhelds took off in NA when the Poekemon was released.  They take off earlier in Japan, but the handhelds also get their Pokemon earlier there.  XY is the first worldwide release.


You are wrong. DS took off like a rocket in Japan in late 2005 as Brain Training was combined with Animal Crossing and Mario Kart DS, long before Pokemon arrived.

GBA was a monster seller everywhere from day 1, in fact maybe some Nintendo fans might actually want to go back and look at how the GBA was selling in its early days -- it completely destroys the 3DS.

I'd venture a wild guess here that most Pokemon fans tend to be Nintendo fans in general and like Mario/Zelda/Kirby/DK/etc. as well. They don't just sit around in their basement waiting 2 years for Nintendo to release Pokemon.



Yakuzaice on 28 August 2013
TheLastStarFighter said:
Traditionally, Nintendo's handhelds have taken off in the US when a Pokemon releases, which is usually one year behind Japan.

The GBA and DS took off in the US before their respective Pokemon games came out.

edit: looks like I was a little late to this, guess I had the tab open a while.



Kresnik on 28 August 2013

Obon week vs. a week in the USA with a mid-performing Mario RPG releases. I see nothing out of the ordinary here.



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Soundwave on 28 August 2013
Kresnik said:
Obon week vs. a week in the USA with a mid-performing Mario RPG releases. I see nothing out of the ordinary here.

Generally speaking the US market should be double the Japanese market, that tends to be the norm for Nintendo handhelds outside of the DS taking off about 8 months earlier in Japan.

Iwata has mentioned this as being Nintendo's biggest concern in recent shareholder meetings, so obviously that hasn't gone unnoticed at Nintendo either.

It's why Pokemon X/Y is getting basically a simultenous worldwide release and North America is getting Zelda this year too.



zorg1000 on 28 August 2013
Soundwave said:
TheLastStarFighter said:
Soundwave said:
zorg1000 said:
Soundwave said:
TheLastStarFighter said:
3DS is fine. It's not a massive seller like in Japan because we like consoles more here. It has to compete with PS3, 360, Wii, Wii U, and so on. I think the effect of Tablets and Smartphones on it are small - unlike how they have impacted Vita - but the market isn't handheld dominated like it is in Japan. 3DS is still a solid performer and should do really well at Christmas. Traditionally, Nintendo's handhelds have taken off in the US when a Pokemon releases, which is usually one year behind Japan.


Not really. GBA was a monster seller in North America from day 1, I believe it's the fastest selling North American gaming platform ever (for the first 12-14 months), besting the PS2, DS, and Wii. 

DS took off when the DS Lite + New Super Mario Bros. arrived. The chic new Apple-esque DS Lite fit in much more with Brian Training and Nintendogs too and those really grew evergreen legs.

I could be wrong but i thought GBA didnt start selling like crazy until the SP came out.

GBA was a monster pretty much from the get go. I believe in the NPD thread someone from NeoGaf posted DS/3DS/GBA/PSP comparables at roughly 2 years in, and the GBA was ridiculously far ahead of the pack.

You are incorrect.  The handhelds took off in NA when the Poekemon was released.  They take off earlier in Japan, but the handhelds also get their Pokemon earlier there.  XY is the first worldwide release.


You are wrong. DS took off like a rocket in Japan in late 2005 as Brain Training was combined with Animal Crossing and Mario Kart DS, long before Pokemon arrived.

GBA was a monster seller everywhere from day 1, in fact maybe some Nintendo fans might actually want to go back and look at how the GBA was selling in its early days -- it completely destroys the 3DS.

I'd venture a wild guess here that most Pokemon fans tend to be Nintendo fans in general and like Mario/Zelda/Kirby/DK/etc. as well. They don't just sit around in their basement waiting 2 years for Nintendo to release Pokemon.


http://www.vgchartz.com/yearly.php/?reg=World&console=&date=2001&maker=

http://www.vgchartz.com/yearly.php/?reg=World&console=&date=2002&maker=

http://www.vgchartz.com/yearly.php/?reg=World&console=&date=2003&maker=

Worldwide 3DS and GBA are tracking very similarly. America and Japan sales are switched but rest of the world is roughly the same.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.