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

archer9234 on 10 June 2015
oniyide said:
mountaindewslave said:


oh yeah, 2DS is a total flop. bad design, bad idea (did Nintendo honestly expect people to want an extremely inferior product just because it is quite a bit cheaper? it doesn't even have reasonable screen protection). rarely see people with them, curious on the sales numbers of the 2DS in particular 

i think they were trying to appease the people who were complaining about the 3d. Lesson here is dont listen to the vocal minority. OR they were just trying to get some quick cash by being uber cheap

If they really listend to those people. They would of jsut removed the 3d screen from the exsisting model. It was a cheaper cost move. I would of bought a 2DS. If it was a combination of the XL and original. Scale of original 3DS. Design of XL. Omision of 3d screen.



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Soundwave on 10 June 2015
archer9234 said:
Soundwave said:
Augen said:
From my experience it did have a major effect on parent's buying habits. When I was a kid parents weren't thrilled, but they'd buy their kid a $100 hand held and a $30-40 game. Now, many parents I see view this as an even greater waste of money, especially if they can just download some free mobile game on their phone and hand it off to their kid. To these parents the quality of games is irrelevant, it is just a way to keep kids occupied. Phones also have added benefit of other features kids want and parents can keep tabs on them via text or calling.

In essence Nintendo pushed the price point at the exact time outside factors were and are squeezing the value of games in many sectors.


The problem is though, why even bother with a dedicated handheld in the first place then?

Even if the 3DS was $100 right now ... why should I as a cheap parent even bother when my kid is just as happy with the hand-me-down tablet I've given him/her with free/$1 games versus $30 games and having to pay another $100 on top of that? 

A low cost, rinky-dink handheld in the modern market is just going to look like a cheap piece of sh*t too in the modern market next to even a cheapo tablet that has a nice big screen HD display. Even with kids you'll get called out for releasing a cheap product. 

The sad irony is the first portable HD Nintendo games are going to be on the iPhone and Android, not on a Nintendo handheld. 

The "lets release something with 10 year old hardware and an absolute turd of a screen" thing worked in the GBA era ... but Nintendo has no competetion back then and consumers had no frame of reference for anything better so they just accepted it. I mean the original GBA is such a piece of shit honestly I can't believe now Nintendo ever got away with it. You couldn't play the thing in anything other than direct sunlight and games like Castlevania were so dark that you could barely see the game (lol) because Nintendo cheaped out on the screen at the last minute (so the developer didn't have time to re-adjust the graphics). 

I say you're wrong on the original GBA. It wasn't a cheap move. Put your mindset back to 2001. Having any form of backlighting LCD was an amazing feature then. I was amazed when the SP came out. Not only over the backlight. But the rechargable battery pack. Than the Pokemon Wireless adapter brought it to new levels. These where all brand new functions that are totally old hat and expected now. Not then.


I've owned every Nintendo handheld ever, including getting a Game Boy shortly after launch. 

Believe me. I could play the Game Boy in most conditions where there was some light around. The Game Boy Color was also usuable. 

The Game Boy Advance was some otherworldly piece of crap screen wise. 

Apparently what happened is Nintendo at the last minute opted to go with a cheaper screen that was dramatically darker. This caused certain games like Castlevania (which was designed under the assumption that Nintendo would use the original brighter screen) to become almost unplayable. 

I never needed a light accessorie for my O.G. Game Boy or GBC, but GBA was pretty much worthless without one. That also started a wide spreading modding community of people willing to open up their GBAs, void the warranty, risk permananet damage to the unit just to jimmy rig some LEDs around the screen. It was actually a pretty big cottage industry at the time, there was a guy who was making good money with a website offering to do it. 



zorg1000 on 10 June 2015
Soundwave said:
oniyide said:


i dont think it matters what the competition is selling at. I dont think people are willing to spend past a certain amount for Ninty systems. anything pass 300 seems to be a no go for home consoles. same with portables pass 200


I think it depends on the hardware proposition. 

If Nintendo fans were strictly all about price, then the lower price Wii U basic should've outsold the more expensive one. The more expensive $199.99 3DS XL also pretty always outsold the 2DS and the $169.99 regular 3DS. 

The truth is too, $99 for a handheld, $199.99 for a console was never going to be feasible forever. Just like you can't go into a supermarket and expect to pay prices from 1989 for food (a Big Mac cost $2 in 1989, today it's $4+) you can't expect to get much of anything electronics wise for that cost these days. 

$99.99 for the Game Boy in 1989/1990 adjusted for inflation today is $191 just about ... so just a little shy of the 3DS XL and more than the standard 3DS. 

People were willing to pay hand over fist for the Wii at $250, the extra $50 on the Wii U is not the issue. Demand is the issue, not the price. 

Gameboy launched at $89.99 not $99.99 and 3DS is tracking ahead of the original Gameboy launches aligned as well.



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

zorg1000 on 10 June 2015
Soundwave said:
oniyide said:


i dont think it matters what the competition is selling at. I dont think people are willing to spend past a certain amount for Ninty systems. anything pass 300 seems to be a no go for home consoles. same with portables pass 200


I think it depends on the hardware proposition. 

If Nintendo fans were strictly all about price, then the lower price Wii U basic should've outsold the more expensive one. The more expensive $199.99 3DS XL also pretty always outsold the 2DS and the $169.99 regular 3DS. 

The truth is too, $99 for a handheld, $199.99 for a console was never going to be feasible forever. Just like you can't go into a supermarket and expect to pay prices from 1989 for food (a Big Mac cost $2 in 1989, today it's $4+) you can't expect to get much of anything electronics wise for that cost these days. 

$99.99 for the Game Boy in 1989/1990 adjusted for inflation today is $191 just about ... so just a little shy of the 3DS XL and more than the standard 3DS. 

People were willing to pay hand over fist for the Wii at $250, the extra $50 on the Wii U is not the issue. Demand is the issue, not the price. 

Gameboy launched at $89.99 not $99.99 and 3DS is tracking ahead of the original Gameboy launches aligned as well.



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

zorg1000 on 10 June 2015
mountaindewslave said:
zorg1000 said:


Ya 3DS still has sold pretty well, 52 million and counting is certainly not a bad number but when u compare it to what GBC/GBA were doing on a year to year basis, it's pretty underwhelming. And ya I agree their are certainly other factors at play as well, I just feel that price is a big part of it.

I think you're off, GBA did not sell that incredibly, total was like 80 m, I don't think the 3DS is that far behind in terms of pacing of sales. now the DS or original Gameboy, maybe those are different stories..... 


GBA legs were cut short by DS releasing 3.5 after launch. Launches aligned it's ahead of 3DS by over 15 million.



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

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Soundwave on 10 June 2015
zorg1000 said:
Soundwave said:


I think it depends on the hardware proposition. 

If Nintendo fans were strictly all about price, then the lower price Wii U basic should've outsold the more expensive one. The more expensive $199.99 3DS XL also pretty always outsold the 2DS and the $169.99 regular 3DS. 

The truth is too, $99 for a handheld, $199.99 for a console was never going to be feasible forever. Just like you can't go into a supermarket and expect to pay prices from 1989 for food (a Big Mac cost $2 in 1989, today it's $4+) you can't expect to get much of anything electronics wise for that cost these days. 

$99.99 for the Game Boy in 1989/1990 adjusted for inflation today is $191 just about ... so just a little shy of the 3DS XL and more than the standard 3DS. 

People were willing to pay hand over fist for the Wii at $250, the extra $50 on the Wii U is not the issue. Demand is the issue, not the price. 

Gameboy launched at $89.99 not $99.99 and 3DS is tracking ahead of the original Gameboy launches aligned as well.

Game Boy sales hit a pretty hard wall after about 1992/93 or so. Something like the Virtual Boy, which was a laughably poorly thought out idea wouldn't have been rushed out to market otherwise, but GB sales by the mid-90s were really crap. 

Game Boy was initially kind of like the first Nintendo wave where Nintendo itself was kind of thought of as a fad. But then the 90s settled in and it became all about the Super NES vs. the Genesis. 



zorg1000 on 10 June 2015
mountaindewslave said:
Soundwave said:


The only reason it's total is 80 million only is because it was prematurely cut off by the DS. It would've sold 100+ million easily otherwise, maybe even 120 million. 3DS isn't going to come close to that. 


the DS was released because GBA sales were drastically slowing down after like 2 years. you can spin it your way, but the reality is it can easily be spun the other way


U are absolutely wrong.

FY ending March 2001-1.06 million

FY ending March 2002-17.09 million

FY ending March 2003-15.65 million

FY ending March 2004-17.60 million

FY ending March 2005-15.39 million (year DS launched)



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

Soundwave on 10 June 2015
zorg1000 said:
mountaindewslave said:


the DS was released because GBA sales were drastically slowing down after like 2 years. you can spin it your way, but the reality is it can easily be spun the other way


U are absolutely wrong.

FY ending March 2001-1.06 million

FY ending March 2002-17.09 million

FY ending March 2003-15.65 million

FY ending March 2004-17.60 million

FY ending March 2005-15.39 million (year DS launched)

There's no question the GBA would've broken 100 million had it not been prematurely undercut. 

But the 3DS probably would too if it existed in the same competetive era the GBA did. 

So that can kinda go both ways. Unfortunately competetion is a real thing. 



Soundwave on 10 June 2015

At the end of the day though

Inflation adjusted today:

The NES Deluxe Set (aka: the standard one most kids had with Mario + Duck Hunt) = $300

Super NES w/Super Mario World = $343

The Game Boy = $170

Is really not miles removed from Wii U being $300 today with Mario 3D World + Nintendo Land and 3DS ranging from $129-$199.

I mean if the point is things are more expensive today than they were in 1989 minus inflation ... well yeah ... and ... ? I can't buy a bottle of Coke or a Big Mac or a pair of Nikes or a comic book or spaghetti sauce for the same price as 1989 either.

If anything a $130 only "3DS model" (which would basically be the 2DS) would probably be selling worse. 



zorg1000 on 10 June 2015
Soundwave said:
zorg1000 said:

Gameboy launched at $89.99 not $99.99 and 3DS is tracking ahead of the original Gameboy launches aligned as well.

Game Boy sales hit a pretty hard wall after about 1992/93 or so. Something like the Virtual Boy, which was a laughably poorly thought out idea wouldn't have been rushed out to market otherwise, but GB sales by the mid-90s were really crap. 

Game Boy was initially kind of like the first Nintendo wave where Nintendo itself was kind of thought of as a fad. But then the 90s settled in and it became all about the Super NES vs. the Genesis. 

FY ending March 1990-4.02 million

FY ending March 1991-8.06 million

FY ending March 1992-10.67 million

FY ending March 1993-7.80 million

FY ending March 1994-7.47 million

FY ending March 1995-5.58 million

FY ending March 1996-4.16 million

To me that seems like a pretty standard sales curve, peak in the 3rd year then have a gradual decline for the next few years.



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