Two weeks ago from yesterday, the 3DS launched in the USA. So far, the console has sold well, but not quite as well as Nintendo projected. The company expected to move 4 million 3DS units worldwide in the first month of release. From the loose numbers reported thus far, they didn’t make that number. In fact, last week, the PSP actually outsold the 3DS in Japan. We’re definitely not looking at a disaster for Nintendo here, but I think it’s fair to say that both Nintendo and the gaming press may have over estimated the current demand for the 3DS.
That’s part of why I’m guessing that you, dear reader, have not yet bought a 3DS. I’m also guessing that there is a good chance that you will buy one in the future. A day hasn’t gone by since the system launched that I haven’t had the urge to fire up my 3DS. It’s such an awesomely gratifying console to interact with, that it’s hard to imagine that you’ll be able to resist buying one of these forever. For me, the question is: How long will you be able to hold out?
I’m sure that answer is different for everyone, but I’m going to attempt to address as many of you as I can. Here’s why I think you didn’t buy a 3DS, and when you’re likely to buy one.
Reason you didn’t buy a 3DS #1: The 3DS got bad press
Thenon-gaming press has done a great jobofbashing the 3DS, and I know a lot of people that have taken that bad press to heart. A frend of mine, in his early 50’s, has already declared to me that he will never allow his children to buy a 3DS, and he’s never even used the system before. He has, however, seen the commercials for the 3DS, but they didn’t do anything for him. “Looks just like the DS I got my kid for Christmas last year”, he says “Except more likely to kill their eyes like that thing that Steve Martin invented inThe Jerk“. This goes to show that you only casually follow the gaming scene, you likely have no idea what separates the3DSfrom the DS or other handhelds, other than that it has 3D, and it might make you go blind.
Nintendo said from the start that they were going to have a tough time advertising the 3DS on 2D television sets, but the ads so far really aren’t cutting it when it comes to showing consumers what sets the 3DS apart from it’s predecessors. That’s just the start of why touting 3D as the the 3DS’s primary selling point might not have been such a great idea.
The 3D display, the gyrometer controls, the AR games, and the console’s battery life all work to make the 3DS potentially embarrassing and/or unwieldy to use on the go. That’s not true ofall3DS games. I’m totally good with turning the 3D off and practicing someSuper Street Fighter IVcombos while on the bus or waiting in line. That’s the exception though. Right now, just about every 3DS game is tough to play in public spaces.
When you’ll buy one:It all depends on E3. If enough 3rd parties step up and put out 3DS exclusives that are very “Non-Nintendo”, the console may just suck in the Nintnedo haters.For fans of western games, we’re talking stuff likeBioshock,Grand Theft Auto,Dead Space,Gears of War, andMass Effect. For Eastern gamers, you’ve got to haveFinal FantasyandMonster Hunter. I’m not talking aboutFinal Fantasykart racers,Mass Effectmini-game collections orDead Spaceon-rails shooters here. I’m talking about “real” games from those series, like howResident Evil Revelationsis a “real”Resident Evilgame.
It’s got to be a game that competes with whats happening on home consoles, or it doesn’t matter.
WithRevelations,Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3DandSuper Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition, Capcom is proving that the 3DS can handle PS3/360-caliber games. Now we’ll just have to wait and see how many publishers want to invest in that direction. If they don’t start supporting the 3DS en masse by next Christmas, the console will likely be seen as another “casual-friendly Nintendo system”, and will suffer the same bad rap that the Wii has been struggling with for the past few years.
Conclusion:
It’s weird to see the 3DS, Nintendo’s most earnest attempt to appeal to graphics-focused “traditional” gamers, head off with such a hit-and-miss launch. However, when you look at all the factors that added up to create the console’s launch environment, it makes sense that the 3DS wouldn’t become the sell-out success that the Wii was right out of the gates. If the 3DS launched near the holidays, and had the support of a newZeldatitle at launch, there is no way the thing could have stayed on shelves.
The real question is, would that really have been the best thing for Nintendo, the industry, and for us?
As it looks now, the 3DS will likely continue to sell at a good rate through out the year, seeing peaks in sales whenever a high profile games (likeOcarina of Time,Resident Evil: Mercenaries, andMario Kart) are released. That will go on untill the install base is large enough to support the release of truly huge titles like the nextMariogame, and whatever mega-publishers like Activision, EA, and Ubisoft choose to release on the system in 2012. In the meantime, the little guys likeBit.Tripseries,Cave Story, and whateverTeam Meat is cooking up on the console, will have a chance to shine in the spotlight, while Nintendo continues to ramp up production on the 3DS, assuring that there will never be a years of console shortages like there was with the Wii.
This may be exactly what Nintendo had in mind all along. They may not have wantedallof you to buy a 3DS just yet, knowing that in time, the reasons why you’re holding out on the console will fade away. It’s not like Nintendo to completely fumble the release of a hand-held console, is it?
