Nintendo DS Successor May be Out This Year

[Junaid Alam]

Nintendo DS Successor May be Out This Year

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter predicts that Nintendo's handheld DS will be replaced as early as this year.

"DS sales are solid worldwide, but are weak in Japan, leading us to expect an introduction of a new device in Japan before the end of the calendar year," Pachter commented in investor notes.

The Japanese market has witnessed the dominance of the rival Sony PlayStation Portable, which has outstripped the DS in weekly sales for most of the year.

Shedding some light on Nintendo's possible decision-making process with the DS are the comments of Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who said that the company will not produce a follow-up to the Wii until that console's sales started to decline.

Source: Joystiq.com [http://www.joystiq.com/]

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[fix-the-spade]

Is it possible to get a gagging order against all media analysts anywhere, everywhere, all of the time?

Or a least a shotgun and a (big) dark alley...

 

[Jumplion]

The DS is being beaten by the PSP in japan? Wow, you learn something new every day.

Can we stop with the "predictions" already? Here's one, I "Predict" no .-.

PS. Damn, one more post until gone gonzo. I like Pulitzer Laureate

 

[stompy]

Heh, but the DS kicks arse everywhere else... so why would they do it again?

 

[ohellynot]

of course there going to make another one because then they will end up with more money. there also probably going to call it the DS advance as well just so we forget about all their privious DS's

 

[Arbre]

A DS with gold paint, dual screen turning into mirror mode and slots for makeup.

The PSP is outselling the DS since nearly two months I think. We don't get much info as to why, but the biggest idea thus far is that the market is saturated with the typical DS shovelware or so. Mind you, the DS still sells very well, and the PSP's superior sales may not last that long.
However, if the DS market is saturated, DS sales may not go up anymore until quite some time.
Which means that looking at Nintendo's politics about games these days and what the state of the Japanese market, a new console may make no difference at all, unless for some reason it's radically different and competes with the PSP.
Or becomes some kind of phone...

Helloow! Itsa Me! Mario! You may leave a missage after the bip!

 

[Asehujiko]

Sony actualy brings out new functions for both their handheld and console(if ever so slowly..), nintedo brings out new showelware. The DS and the Wii are only selling good in the west because of the insane ammount of "family friedly" advertising and the fact that people still didn't it it into their had that both essentialy contain a a weaker variety of a computer mouse.

 

[Razzle Bathbone]

The reason the DS is being outsold in Japan is because every man, woman and child in the country already has one.

 

[L.B. Jeffries]

Or they could release some major games that aren't shovelware and save the millions in R&D involved in making a new handheld. Sometimes I wonder if these analysts even understand what a video game is when they make these predictions. They have the largest console installbase in the history of video games: 120+ million DS units are floating around. Just feed the beast, man.

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

Or they could release some major games that aren't shovelware and save the millions in R&D involved in making a new handheld. Sometimes I wonder if these analysts even understand what a video game is when they make these predictions. They have the largest console installbase in the history of video games: 120+ million DS units are floating around. Just feed the beast, man.

You mean like the next major Dragon Quest title? Oh wait...

 

[Jumplion]

A DS with gold paint, dual screen turning into mirror mode and slots for makeup.

The PSP is outselling the DS since nearly two months I think. We don't get much info as to why, but the biggest idea thus far is that the market is saturated with the typical DS shovelware or so. Mind you, the DS still sells very well, and the PSP's superior sales may not last that long.
However, if the DS market is saturated, DS sales may not go up anymore until quite some time.
Which means that looking at Nintendo's politics about games these days and what the state of the Japanese market, a new console may make no difference at all, unless for some reason it's radically different and competes with the PSP.
Or becomes some kind of phone...

Helloow! Itsa Me! Mario! You may leave a missage after the bip!

That is quite true. When was the last time you saw a "That's so Raven" video game for PSP? Or a "High SChool Musical" or "Hanna Montana" game on the PSP? It's the same on the Wii, it's to cash in on how easy it is to make games on it and the gimmick both the wii and DS thrive on. That's probably the reason why I'm getting a PSP soon, but I enjoy some DS games like Elite Beat Agents.

 

[ElArabDeMagnifico]

Now most people would think "Oh awesome new and better handheld on the way!" but seeing as that there's like, already about, give or take 120 million DS's floating around and chances are, each person has a hell of a game collection for it - I think a new one coming out would kind of make people think "Oh hell now I have to get the next model for 200 dollars :|"

What surprises me is that it's expected to be out this year, and not like, early next year or something.

Oh, and Remember, the PSP also has games that makes Japanese gamers go crazy (Crisis Core boost sales past the Wii in it's first month) and chances are, EVERYONE OWNS ONE...no seriously, everyone in japan probably has one now.

PS. Damn, one more post until gone gonzo. I like Pulitzer Laureate

My favorite was infamous scribbler, because at the time I got it everyone was pissed at me how perfect.

 

[L.B. Jeffries]

Or they could release some major games that aren't shovelware and save the millions in R&D involved in making a new handheld. Sometimes I wonder if these analysts even understand what a video game is when they make these predictions. They have the largest console installbase in the history of video games: 120+ million DS units are floating around. Just feed the beast, man.

You mean like the next major Dragon Quest title? Oh wait...

Hell, if a Chrono Trigger remake can't move units nothing can.

 

[Arbre]

Jeff, there's less piracy on console sales than on games sales. Nintendo's games, as a whole, fail the traditionnal gamers. There are good ones, but the ratio is simply not in favour of stuff we've been used to before, and considering that Nintendo execs have reiterated their will to focus on the casual market, they'll surely make stupid pseudo-games which are all the more baits to have people buy the consoles.
They had years to change that and they didn't. They now have a ridiculous user base at hand's reach, but fail to max it out. They just keep expanding it.
A good way to renew DS sales is to release a new model. Not a totally new hardware, but certainly a new skin, not too expensive, where on you can play all your DS games easily.

 

[Merlark]

I'd have to agree, if you took all the DS units they sold in Japan and laid them end to end they would probably circle the world 2 and a half times. chances are if someone has a cell phone then they have a DS somewhere on their body.

Perhaps Nintendo should just make their DS units easier to break, to avoid the Stride Gum problem of lasting too long.

But hey, a New DS? who wouldn't want a new DS, with more Gigabytes and megapixels and a rental scanner? I mean we thought the Advance couldn't get any better, then Bing! SP! Make it smaller, Lighter, Stronger, Faster I say.

I'm sure EB Games will take pre-orders for it already.

 

[shatnershaman]

PSP may have been outselling DS lately but DS still has more than 2-1 lead and it came out later.

http://vgchartz.com/

 

[Arbre]

Drunk stuff... hihihi.