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Forums - Nintendo - Is price a major factor in poor 3DS/Wii U sales compared to GBC/N64 & GBA/GC?

zorg1000 on 10 June 2015
teigaga said:

Nope.

Theres a reason why this arguement doesn't apply to the other systems like PS2, 360, PS3, Wii, even PSP, systems which have outsold both Gameboy and N64.

Comapare the Gamecube and N64's line up and image to that of the Wii U and you have your answer as to why the Wii U has fallen short.

Compare the novelty and monopoly of the Handheld market back in 1998 to what we have today and you have the answer for the 3DS. Even support wise the 3DS has a fraction of the games GB+DS had, but the main culprit of course is mobile gaming


Price is factor, but not a major one. How much is a 2DS anyway?

2DS is a downgrade and I can't think of a single time in gaming history when a downgraded sku has helped sales even if it's cheaper.

2DS releasing after 3DS is the equivalent of the original Gameboy releasing after the Gameboy Color or the original Gameboy Advance releasing after Gameboy Advance SP. Nobody would buy it because it had an inferior screen, form factor and simply seen as a downgrade.



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

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zorg1000 on 10 June 2015
homer said:
For Wiiu I believe so. I'm one of the few people where I live who owns a wiiu and when people ask me if it is worth getting, I always advise them not to get one at the current price. It is overpriced. It should be $199. 3ds is priced well in my opinion because of how cheap you can get a 2ds. I see them for $99 which is hard to beat.


2DS releasing 2.5 years after 3DS is the equivalent of the original Gameboy releasing 2.5 year after Gameboy Color or the original Gameboy Advance releasing 2.5 years after the Gameboy Advance SP. They would be destined to low sales regardless of price because they are seen as inferior devices (worse screens/form factors).



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

teigaga on 10 June 2015
zorg1000 said:
teigaga said:

Nope.

Theres a reason why this arguement doesn't apply to the other systems like PS2, 360, PS3, Wii, even PSP, systems which have outsold both Gameboy and N64.

Comapare the Gamecube and N64's line up and image to that of the Wii U and you have your answer as to why the Wii U has fallen short.

Compare the novelty and monopoly of the Handheld market back in 1998 to what we have today and you have the answer for the 3DS. Even support wise the 3DS has a fraction of the games GB+DS had, but the main culprit of course is mobile gaming


Price is factor, but not a major one. How much is a 2DS anyway?

2DS is a downgrade and I can't think of a single time in gaming history when a downgraded sku has helped sales even if it's cheaper.

2DS releasing after 3DS is the equivalent of the original Gameboy releasing after the Gameboy Color or the original Gameboy Advance releasing after Gameboy Advance SP. Nobody would buy it because it had an inferior screen, form factor and simply seen as a downgrade.

True, I don't care for 3D but I still like the option, also its form factor is gross. 



Xenostar on 10 June 2015

I think price is a major factor for Wii U's poor sales, last gen they placed themselves as the secondary console in a gamers life, but this gen its too highly priced for that.

Dont see it as a problem for 3DS tho, there are soo many skus of that and the lower end ones are very cheap.



Low78wagon on 10 June 2015

It is why I have not bought a wiiu yet. $300 for a console that has been out this long and has no multi plats. I will own one one day but not until a nice price drop. If it goes out and still is high I will buy a used console which I don't want to do.



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zorg1000 on 10 June 2015
teigaga said:
zorg1000 said:

2DS is a downgrade and I can't think of a single time in gaming history when a downgraded sku has helped sales even if it's cheaper.

2DS releasing after 3DS is the equivalent of the original Gameboy releasing after the Gameboy Color or the original Gameboy Advance releasing after Gameboy Advance SP. Nobody would buy it because it had an inferior screen, form factor and simply seen as a downgrade.

True, I don't care for 3D but I still like the option, also its form factor is gross. 

An outright price cut on 3DS/3DS XL to $129.99/149.99 would have likely done more for sales than 2DS did but Nintendo was losing money at the time so they figured releasing a cheaper, bare bones sku was the way to go.



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

gabzjmm23 on 10 June 2015

2Ds is fine for me. it was even around $79.99. For the Wii U, yes it is somewhat a secondary console and if they drop the price with a 500gb for $199.99 that would surely be a great deal. but i know Nintendo would be Nintendo.



Platina on 10 June 2015

Price is always a factor, though I don't think it is as big as you portray it to be



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Soundwave on 10 June 2015

It hasn't helped but I don't think you can say everything is because of pricing.

I think it's unfair to discount the 2DS too. It is cheaper, and of course some corners are going to be cut. By the same token people still overwhelmingly chose the more expensive $199.99 3DS even over the $169.99 smaller 3DS.

And the same was true of the Wii U, no one really bought the cheaper $299.99 model (when the other SKU was $349.99).

Beyond that, it's not like the GameCube was a huge success at $99.99, even for half it's life cycle at that price it only got 22 million ... which is underwhelming.

The GBA sold great, but the GBA didn't have smartphones to deal with like the 3DS does, that's the core problem for the 3DS, not price. What exactly was the GBA's competetion? The Neo Geo Pocket? 

Having said all that ... can you make a case for a $150 Nintendo console that could play Mario Kart, Splatoon, Smash, etc. doing better right now? Sure. It couldn't sell worse than the Wii U. I'm not sure it would be a huge success though. 



oniyide on 10 June 2015
zorg1000 said:
homer said:
For Wiiu I believe so. I'm one of the few people where I live who owns a wiiu and when people ask me if it is worth getting, I always advise them not to get one at the current price. It is overpriced. It should be $199. 3ds is priced well in my opinion because of how cheap you can get a 2ds. I see them for $99 which is hard to beat.


2DS releasing 2.5 years after 3DS is the equivalent of the original Gameboy releasing 2.5 year after Gameboy Color or the original Gameboy Advance releasing 2.5 years after the Gameboy Advance SP. They would be destined to low sales regardless of price because they are seen as inferior devices (worse screens/form factors).

i remember when people swore it would boost 3ds sales a lot