3DS Outperforming the DS

[The Wooster]

3DS Outperforming the DS

Nintendo's 3D handheld is finally starting to pick up steam: it's sold more units in eight months than the DS sold in its first year.

"In sales through this past 8 months it has outsold the full 12 months of the original DS. During that 12 month's time, the original DS sold 2.37 million and we just surpassed that this past Saturday, so we've got real good momentum going into the holidays," said Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime in an interview with Time Magazine.

The 3DS got off to a rough start, largely due to its hefty price, slew of hardware issues [http://www.electronista.com/articles/11/04/20/nintendo.3ds.users.finding.screen.scratches/], paranoid rumors about it turning people's eyes into steaming yogurt-mush [http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3511602/Sun-tests-sickly-Nintendo-3DS.html] and, of course, the lack of quality titles [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107096-Nintendo-Creates-3DS-Launch-Window-Not-Launch-Lineup] during its first few months of release. The recent $80 price drop and infusion of decent games - including the conspicuously absent-at-launch Super Mario 3D Land - seems to have done the trick.

The DS is Nintendo's most successful product and the second best selling console of all time. Providing Nintendo can maintain the same momentum with the 3DS, you may have an excuse to break out those 'it prints money' gifs yet again.

Source: Industrygamers [http://www.industrygamers.com/news/3ds-surpasses-ds-year-one-sales/]


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[Lunar Templar]

hehe, good now, if we can get some more good games (and monie to get them) i'll be all about building a collection for it

 

[Just_A_Glitch]

http://spruchy.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/3ds-it-prints-money.gif
Looks like-a Mario has-a gotten busy collecting-a da coins.

Wow, that was fast. Even with the right system and all. Awesome!

But yeah: Nintendo stuff is really the kind of stuff for Christmas etc.

Honestly, yeah, it is. Nintendo has captured the "for kids" part of the market better than the other "big two" have, and I can only imagine that their will be a ton of 3DS's under the trees this year.

I'll probably pick up a 3DS when a Majora's Mask remake is announced. Then keep myself occupied until its release with the Ocarina of Time remake! Its the perfect system!

 

[ajemas]

This is nice, but it's important to remember that these numbers don't account for whether or not Nintendo is actually going to be seeing any benefit from this. They've spent way more money this time on R&D, as well as on the marketing and publicity side. Factor that in with the price cuts they've been forced to take in addition to the increased costs in manufacturing and this outperformance still might not be enough to give the big N any significant boost.

 

[The .50 Caliber Cow]

Kind of expected this to happen. 3D is cool now, 3DS is 3D. Christmas is coming. Kids need presents. Kids like video games. Kids really, really like Mario.

Hmmm....

Buy the kids Kinects!

 

[Archemetis]

This is a story about two Nintendo devices that have been known to or are selling well.

The differences between them is one was brilliant and the other had it's price slashed by half.

Which one is which?

 

[gigastar]

Now im left wondering why Nintendo didnt delay the 3DS or accelerate Super Mario 3D so that they could be released at the same time. If that did happen, the 3DS would have sold like HIV vaccines.

 

[Rect Pola]

Amazing what a reasonable price and decent titles do. You'd think the industry in general would have learned this by now.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

http://spruchy.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/3ds-it-prints-money.gif
Looks like-a Mario has-a gotten busy collecting-a da coins.

Considering they cut the price of the 3DS by 30% I hardly think it's printing anything but losses per console sold for Nintendo.

 

[Something Amyss]

Awesome, good to hear the doomsayers were wrong

Not necessarily, considering the faltering sales caused damage in the first place. They've got more than just sales numbers to deal with. Especially at the higher cost to develop and produce the 3DS. But there I go, being realistic.

 

[direkiller]

Honestly, yeah, it is. Nintendo has captured the "for kids" part of the market better than the other "big two" have, and I can only imagine that their will be a ton of 3DS's under the trees this year.

I'll probably pick up a 3DS when a Majora's Mask remake is announced. Then keep myself occupied until its release with the Ocarina of Time remake! Its the perfect system!

its not just the for kids part

its the lack of outer handheld gaming platforms(phones and i-pods seem to hit a diffident market entirely as the DS sales were not dented by ipods/ipads) as the PSP is a bit old and was never that much of a hit selling less then half of what the original DS has

as for the PSP vita they seem to want it to fail the way there building the dam thing. I cant see it even coming close to any of the DS sales

 

[direkiller]

http://spruchy.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/3ds-it-prints-money.gif
Looks like-a Mario has-a gotten busy collecting-a da coins.

Considering they cut the price of the 3DS by 30% I hardly think it's printing anything but losses per console sold for Nintendo.

3ds seem to cost about $100 to make
http://www.itproportal.com/2011/03/29/nintendo-3ds-manufacturing-cost-over-100-per-unit/

$60 is still plenty of room for them and the retailer to make some money

 

[VanityGirl]

Honestly, the best way to get handheld sales up (in Japan) release a Monster Hunter title on the system.
That's what the 3DS did and suddenly the sales have begun to pick up.

 

[newwiseman]

The screen is just too small for me,

When I first got my Archos 5 and started using it as a DVR (essentially making it a 4.8inch 480p TV) I attempted to play some games and discovered that a 3D environment is difficult for my brain to interact with an a small screen, I ended up turning too much because my eyes would subconsciously move to lead the turn and I'd end up looking off screen...