Nintendo Messed Up 3DS Launch, Says Analyst

Logan Westbrook

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Feb 21, 2008
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Nintendo Messed Up 3DS Launch, Says Analyst


Analyst says that it's not just princesses that Mario will be rescuing when he arrives on the 3DS.

Analyst firm Interpret says that the reason that sales of the 3DS have been lower than expected is not due to a lack of interest in 3D gaming on the part of consumers, but because Nintendo messed up the console's launch, by not having a strong enough launch library.

"Nintendo put the cart before the horse," said Michael Cai, Interpret's VP of games and technology. He said that Nintendo had failed to properly capitalize on the interest that surrounded the device before its launch, which according to the most recent Interpret report was down 27% from the same time last year. Cai said that consumers wanted Nintendo's big franchises like Mario and Zelda, and that until they got them, the 3DS would struggle for sales.

Cai also thought that gamers would push the adoption of 3D TVs more than any other group, despite the apparent lack of interest in the 3DS. He said that core gamers were much more likely to purchase a 3D capable television in the next year than the average consumer.

Nintendo has just released, or rather re-released, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and has 3DS versions of more of its big franchises in the pipelines. If Cai is correct, these releases should rekindle interest in the 3DS and sales should take off.

Source: Industry Gamers [http://www.industrygamers.com/news/nintendo-put-the-cart-before-the-horse-with-3ds-says-analyst/]




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TimeLord

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I don't understand why Pokemon White and Black were not released in 3D with the 3DS. They were only a couple of months apart. I still bought a 3DS... and White. But it would have been so much cooler and would have been good marketing to release a Pokemon game with a new console.
 

Ming_the_Merciless

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I never got why there were so few demos in stores. I might have actually gotten one sooner if I knew that the 3d actually worked and I didn't just have to take Nintendo's word for it.
 

JoJo

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TimeLord said:
I don't understand why Pokemon White and Black were not released in 3D with the 3DS. They were only a couple of months apart. I still bought a 3DS... and White. But it would have been so much cooler and would have been good marketing to release a Pokemon game with a new console.
They never do that though, all the pokemon games have come out a couple of years after the system was released.

GBC = 1998, Gold & Silver = 1999 / 2000
GBA = 2001, Ruby & Sapphire = 2002 / 2003
DS = 2004, Diamond & Pearl = 2006 / 2007

OT: I'm certainly waiting until there's enough titles on the system for it to be worth upgrading so I'm guessing I'm not the only one who's doing that.
 

L34dP1LL

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"Nintendo has just released, or rather re-released, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time"
Re-re-released would be more accurate. And people still get excited about it. Lol.
 

Black Watch

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I can see that. After I bought my 3DS, I messed with it for about 3 hours before forgetting about it until Ocarina of Time 3D came out.

Also, another thing Nintendo messed up was the eshop. The only two good things in it are Link's Awakening and Excite Bike.
 

Krion_Vark

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L34dP1LL said:
"Nintendo has just released, or rather re-released, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time"
Re-re-released would be more accurate. And people still get excited about it. Lol.
Well considering how the version on the gamecube was a preorder bonus for getting The Windwaker I am not sure if that fully counts.
 

Covarr

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You know he's right, because he's not Michael Pachter.

Ba-dum TISH!

P.S. Thanks
 

Mister Benoit

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Does this guy think he's setting the world on fire with his breaking news of "The 3DS didn't sell well because it didn't have good software at launch" Absolutely ANYONE in the industry wouldn't tell you otherwise.

Hell Nintendo even said themselves that they sold less than expected and why.

How is this news?

Btw the grass is green.
 

Mr. Omega

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Nintendo messed up the 3DS launch! Our next story: The sky is blue!

Admittedly, Nintendo could have waited a little before releasing the 3DS. Still, people are missing a lot of good features about because they focus too much on the 3D. The controls are better, the graphics are better, the E-Shop lets you download classic handheld titles and little games on there, and everyone seems to ignore that while the 3DS might be annoying, you can always shut it off (doing so adds a few hours to the battery life, anyway.)

But yeah, for all those nice features, GAMES sell the system. But Nintendo has a good line-up coming even after OoT. New Mario Kart, remake of Star Fox 64, new Paper Mario, the revival of Kid Icarus, Snake Eater 3D, Luigi's Mansion 2, Mario 3DS, and that's off the top of my head. Plus there are still all the DS games you might have missed. They botched the launch. No argument there. But things are still looking up.
 

Jumwa

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Ming_the_Merciless said:
I never got why there were so few demos in stores. I might have actually gotten one sooner if I knew that the 3d actually worked and I didn't just have to take Nintendo's word for it.
Same here. I've been searching every place across my entire city that might possibly have a 3DS display unit, and none do.

If the launch lineup had some actual Nintendo brand heavy hitters, however, I might've caved even without a test unit.

Instead I find myself looking at specs for tablets and thinking of which I'd rather.

Also, it's not simply a re-release of Ocarina of Time, it is a rather remastered version with impressively updated graphics and plenty of new features and some remade content. I'm tempted to stop looking at the tablets again because of it.

Edit to add: Also, why does this analyst get press for this? Everyone knows this is why the 3DS hasn't had the sustained sales boom Nintendo expected. Launching without a strong first-party lineup was what hurt the Gamecube initially too.

This guy didn't even point out how the lack of ability to really advertize the 3DS's features effectively also has stunted its growth.
 

mjc0961

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Nov 30, 2009
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Oh gee, another analyst who is so brilliant that he tells us what we already knew as soon as Nintendo announced their launch "window" lineup. Where's my paycheck? I figure I deserve at least twice what this guy makes this week considering I figured this out months before he did.
 

PhunkyPhazon

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Nintendo should have waited a few more months, that way at least OoT and the eShop would have been available at launch. Not that the launch line up was completely terrible- we got Street Fighter 4 and it seems people really like Ghost Recon Shadow Wars after all. But those games aren't for everyone.
 

Epona

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Krion_Vark said:
L34dP1LL said:
"Nintendo has just released, or rather re-released, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time"
Re-re-released would be more accurate. And people still get excited about it. Lol.
Well considering how the version on the gamecube was a preorder bonus for getting The Windwaker I am not sure if that fully counts.
Well, it was released on the N64 and then on the Gamecube and then on the Wii Virtual Console and finally on the 3DS. So that's 4 times, 3 if you don't want to count the Gamecube release (but I would since you can buy it at Gamestop).
 

Callate

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That reasoning took an analyst firm to come up with? It's so simple... and wrong...

Not that the launch line-up isn't part of the 3DS' problem; I'm sure it is. But it would be foolish to suggest that's the only thing keeping the 3DS from sprinting off the shelves. The system launched without many of the features users were hoping for in place. Given the history of the Advance and DS, even Nintendo loyalists felt they had reason to wait and see if they'd get to feel foolish for getting version 1.0 if version 1.1 is waiting in the wings, especially given the 3DS' relatively short battery life. Which also brings up that many people who might like a 3DS are still fairly happy with the enormous library of titles available for their DS, DSi, or DSi XL.

Annnnnd... Yeah, 3D is kind of a gimmick. Don't get me wrong, it's pretty and all, but aren't we hearing a lot of "yeah, I played with it that way for half an hour, and then I turned it off"? Three hour battery life is less than ideal in a portable device in the first place, and when you're expected to hold that device 18" from your face for that time, possibly while swinging about wildly to use the gyroscope sensor...

Which brings up 3D as a whole, where I don't think Cai could be more wrong. 3D seems increasingly to be a case of the marketers trying to sell us the solution to a problem we, the consumer, don't acknowledge exists. 2-D tickets to movies are starting to sell better than 3-D ([link]http://www.slashfilm.com/green-lantern-harry-potter-selling-2d-tickets-3d-tickets/[/link]), and I haven't heard anyone suggesting the 3D televisions and glasses are selling all that well either. Nintendo actually has a jump on the competition in not requiring glasses, and it's still a hard sell.
 

Buchichu

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I'm only going to go for this thing when the DS library really starts to dwindle and I get desperate for new games. Already the releases are getting crappier and crappier so I'm getting there...but there are still a few upcoming DS titles that look promising.
 

-Dragmire-

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Logan Westbrook said:
Cai also thought that gamers would push the adoption of 3D TVs more than any other group, despite the apparent lack of interest in the 3DS. He said that core gamers were much more likely to purchase a 3D capable television in the next year than the average consumer.
I suppose 'more likely' is one way to look at it but I've never thought 3D could improve my gaming experience as I only notice when my eyes hurt.
 

NinjaTigerXIII

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3D gaming is just a gimmick, that's the long and short of it. Nintendo saw how much money Avatar made and said, "Oh, what if we made a system that did 3D? It would make so much money!" And the numbers don't lie, people just aren't that interested in it. Another factor is that gamers have played enough Mario and Zelda games for multiple lifetimes, there is not a lot of reason to play more of them. But then again this is my opinion, and the opinion of a lot of my friends. If I sound like I'm speaking for all the gamers I'm not, I'm just putting my two cents out there.
 

Shoggoth2588

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Mister Benoit said:
Btw the grass is green.
YOU SIR, live in a Fantasy world!!

OT: Old news is old. Time to recycle my standard 3DS response:

I want a 3DS. I've played the in-store demos and I originally planned to get one when Ocarina of Time was re-re-re-released. I have chosen not to get one yet however, because of the battery life. I didn't get one on day one because Samurai Warriors was surprisingly difficult to come across and that's really the only game that I was interested in. At this point I would get one for Samurai Warriors, Blazblue, Punch Time Explosion and, Ocarina. Another reason I've still not picked one up is because a single new color has been announced and I want to see if the U.S. will be getting it or at least additional colors too within the next few months. Most importantly though, I'm waiting on news of the mark.II (because 3DS-lite is an unlikely name for the next iteration of the console). A bundle pack would be nice too but that won't happen at least until the holidays.
 

josemlopes

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Crono1973 said:
Krion_Vark said:
L34dP1LL said:
"Nintendo has just released, or rather re-released, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time"
Re-re-released would be more accurate. And people still get excited about it. Lol.
Well considering how the version on the gamecube was a preorder bonus for getting The Windwaker I am not sure if that fully counts.
Well, it was released on the N64 and then on the Gamecube and then on the Wii Virtual Console and finally on the 3DS. So that's 4 times, 3 if you don't want to count the Gamecube release (but I would since you can buy it at Gamestop).
And dont forget the prices