Midnight 3DS Launch Underwhelms in New York

[Chris Plante]

Midnight 3DS Launch Underwhelms in New York

Nintendo's midnight launch of the 3DS went nearly unnoticed by the New York public.

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[Veloxe]

Honestly I hadn't really been paying attention to the 3DS (going to wait for 2nd generation to come out) but I had no idea when it was supposed to launch, and I make an effort to stay informed of game/system related information. If I didn't at least have a passing knowledge of it, it would be no surprise that the average consumer wouldn't know either.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Or maybe the 3D is turning people away? Even if you don't use it, you are still dealing with a short battery life because of the feature.

 

[Cheesepower5]

I hope they don't take this as a sign to dump support for the system, because I know I'll be buying it once Ocarina of Time and MGS3 and probably the Devil Survivor remake comes out on it.

 

[SilverUchiha]

3D or not, I'm less interested in the device and more interested in the games... of which there aren't really that many good ones. Even the Zelda-remake comes off as being annoying when the original OoT bored me to death (literally, I started finding creative ways to kill myself in the game because it was pretty boring).

I'll probably buy it eventually, but I'm going to wait until a game that is original and looks like something I'd be interested in comes out. Or... until I have enough spare cash and nothing new is coming out for my "retro" DS.

 

[Buchichu]

maybe if the launch titles didn't suck a bunch of balls people would be more excited. where the hell is a mario/wario game? they release those with like, EVERY new Nintendo launch. or they should have waited until OoT was ready.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Maybe they had read about the Black screen of death and decided to wait abit for the newer batch without the problem?

 

[The.Bard]

Most of my friends, even the ones that are big into portable gaming, hate the 3D gimmick. I wouldn't be surprised if a larger # of people know about the 3DS but simply don't want it.

 

[Jumwa]

Or maybe the 3D is turning people away? Even if you don't use it, you are still dealing with a short battery life because of the feature.

No you wont. Battery consumption scales with the 3D feature, which you can control the level of or turn off entirely.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Or maybe the 3D is turning people away? Even if you don't use it, you are still dealing with a short battery life because of the feature.

No you wont. Battery consumption scales with the 3D feature, which you can control the level of or turn off entirely.

Didn't know that. I'll still hold off on getting one.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Honestly I hadn't really been paying attention to the 3DS (going to wait for 2nd generation to come out)...

Seems like a fairly smart choice. Wait for the kinks to work out, price to drop, and games to pile. It's not like there's any shortage of DS games I missed getting.

Nor is it a Sony product.

 

[Fn Fy]

I think that Nintendo has to know that there would be less initial support for the handheld. To be fair, I don't remember the original DS as having a sell-out launch either.

Most people have not heard of the 3DS. Some of them have heard of it, but have no idea what it does. Others know about the 3D, but think it's just a normal DS that now has 3D. Nintendo could have done better with some initial marketing to at least get people to know what the device does, even if they can't see the effect. I haven't seen many commercials for it on the television, maybe because they know they can't convey the 3D through the screen.

When games like Face Raiders have "Show-A-Friend" mode, it's obvious that part of Nintendo's strategy is to get people to show their 3DS off. By adding the pedometer and Street Pass, they're trying to insure the consumer brings it with them wherever they are. Since they cannot show the 3D screen on television, this may be the main way to get people to experience it.

A launch in March always seems rough. People haven't been saving up money for Christmas yet, so a $250 gadget might be out of the question. I imagine as we go forward and more people see it, there will be more purchases. While the 3D may not seem like much to hardcore gamers, its real purpose may be to get people who would never think of buying a DS to get a system. They just have to see it first.

 

[Jumwa]

Didn't know that. I'll still hold off on getting one.

I'll be waiting until some good first-party titles come along. Was a close call though, the Starfox and Ocarina of Time remakes would've been enough to change my opinion. I get the feeling Nintendo held off on their own big titles just to give third parties some "breathing space".

 

[WhiteRat07]

I have put off buying one for a bit. I assume there will be an upgrade to it laster on. One that has all the crap worked out, and a longer battery life.

 

[Nick Holmgren]

I am definitely not getting a 3ds due to how much eye strain it gives me. I tried the mario kart for it at a best buy and after 20 seconds I started to get a head ache. I am rather interested to see if the new virtual boy on the block will bring the hand held market into a new era of direct competition. I think nintendo is getting ahead of itself again. the Wii was a stroke of luck and I think this is the point where that luck starts to run out.

 

[ssgt splatter]

Swap it out with Gears of War 3 and you would cause a traffic jam in Times Square.

 

[Motakikurushi]

Bad launch line up, horrid battery life, some of the features aren't even available yet, inexcusable price. Wait until either the problems are fixed, the price is reduced or the number of games to play on it increases, and at least wait until they update the thing, as what people are buying is an unrefined product, and wasting a lot of money. The main gimmick, while impressive, is impractical. Either you have to hold it in a fixed position for prolonged lengths of play (which is incomprehensible as some games force you to use motion sensors to play) or it pains your eyes. Seriously, people are buying this to show off? Well, I suppose that makes sense, because those people obviously have far too much money. I'm going to get it myself though... eventually. I bought my PS3 2 years after its initial release and avoided a lot of the problems people experienced. I'm not saying we have to wait that long, but give it a few months at least.

 

[Mister Benoit]

I'm pretty sure a lot of people will be receiving DS' as gifts with the gift givers thinking they were 3DS' and not knowing the difference.