Nintendo Responds to 3DS Headache Complaints

[Jamie Doerschuck]

It's not that it's the "only selling point", it's just the only selling point... That makes the thing so god damn expensive.

The 3DS is $250 mainly because people want it and will pay $250 for it (and sales in Japan and Europe have already shown that people will indeed pay the high price for it, so Nintendo was right). Not because the 3D screen is super expensive.

Who in their right mind would have ASKED for 3D? Especially after Nintendo was so ham-fisted with the VirtualBoy. No one asked for it. They decided to make it.

And I know the R&D was expensive, I'm also aware the parts are only $101. But if they didn't have 3D then the R&D wouldn't have been so expensive.

No matter what way you slice it, the 3D is the reason the 3DS is so expensive.

 

[Jamie Doerschuck]

I still can't get over what a dumb business plan this was...

Okay, they've sold millions or billions of DSes. For the sake of argument (I know this is quite possibly completely wrong), let's say that they sold 45 million. Well after five years, that's about as many people who will be interested in buying the next installment of the DS family, logically. It's been out for a long time, the niche probably won't make any huge jumps in size.

But out of this 45 million they've cut out people who can't afford the giant price tag (which the original didn't have) and people who can't see steroscopic 3D.

"Who cares?" you may say "You have to cater to the majority anyway, right?"

Well.. Yes. But that 45 million IS their majority. Even if over 70% of the people who own DSes are considered "middle class" and only 1 in 100 people can't see stereoscopic 3D (more "for argument" facts, I'm not saying any of these are accurate. It's just the principal), you're cutting out the people who can't afford it or see it out of your target.. Area.

It just.. None of this makes sense to me.

"Hey, know what would be a good joke?"
"What?"
"If we spent a bunch of money developing the next DS and sold it to even LESS people!"
"YEAHH!! LOL, THAT'LL BE SOOO FUNNY."
"LMAO, I KNOW."

The price is the biggest knock against the 3DS. Nintendo should've waited until this technology became cheap like they did with wii motion plus. The DS could've easily lasted another year or two. I doubt the 3DS will be a failure but I don't see it making the same numbers the DS or Wii made.

Oh, I'm not saying it'll be a failure. I'm just saying that from the general big business standpoint of "I WANT TO MAKE ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD, LOL." it was dumb.. Even if they DID wait until it was cheaper, you still have all the people who can't see the 3D. And even if it's only 1% of the population, that 1% turns into a huge group of people when you're talking about a main group in the millions/billions.

Actually, I don't think the people not being able to see the 3D would make a difference because it was made with people who wouldn't care for the 3d in mind. That's why it also boasts better graphics, AR games, it's online streetpass thing, built in gyroscopes or whatever and compatibility with all the previous DS and DsiWare software. So, even if they can't see the 3D, they'll still buy it for the software but the only thing getting in the way is the damn price.

If they called it the 3DS, then it obviously wasn't made with the people who can't see 3D in mind.

 

[Arehexes]

For a minute I thought this was gonna be about the black screen thing from earlier, but yeah when playing a game becomes physically painful it's time to stop for about 30min. Or you know shut your eyes for a few minutes and give them a rest.

Or keep playing until they bleed...yeah that sounds good. *returns to Beat Hazard [http://store.steampowered.com/app/49600/?snr=1_4_4__13]* Uh oh, I think I feel another seizure coming on.

I love me some Beat Hazr*starts shaking a lot*

 

[ArchAngelKira]

don't like the 3d? Just turn it off. I have problem with the photo mii maker

 

[I forgot]

I still can't get over what a dumb business plan this was...

Okay, they've sold millions or billions of DSes. For the sake of argument (I know this is quite possibly completely wrong), let's say that they sold 45 million. Well after five years, that's about as many people who will be interested in buying the next installment of the DS family, logically. It's been out for a long time, the niche probably won't make any huge jumps in size.

But out of this 45 million they've cut out people who can't afford the giant price tag (which the original didn't have) and people who can't see steroscopic 3D.

"Who cares?" you may say "You have to cater to the majority anyway, right?"

Well.. Yes. But that 45 million IS their majority. Even if over 70% of the people who own DSes are considered "middle class" and only 1 in 100 people can't see stereoscopic 3D (more "for argument" facts, I'm not saying any of these are accurate. It's just the principal), you're cutting out the people who can't afford it or see it out of your target.. Area.

It just.. None of this makes sense to me.

"Hey, know what would be a good joke?"
"What?"
"If we spent a bunch of money developing the next DS and sold it to even LESS people!"
"YEAHH!! LOL, THAT'LL BE SOOO FUNNY."
"LMAO, I KNOW."

The price is the biggest knock against the 3DS. Nintendo should've waited until this technology became cheap like they did with wii motion plus. The DS could've easily lasted another year or two. I doubt the 3DS will be a failure but I don't see it making the same numbers the DS or Wii made.

Oh, I'm not saying it'll be a failure. I'm just saying that from the general big business standpoint of "I WANT TO MAKE ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD, LOL." it was dumb.. Even if they DID wait until it was cheaper, you still have all the people who can't see the 3D. And even if it's only 1% of the population, that 1% turns into a huge group of people when you're talking about a main group in the millions/billions.

Actually, I don't think the people not being able to see the 3D would make a difference because it was made with people who wouldn't care for the 3d in mind. That's why it also boasts better graphics, AR games, it's online streetpass thing, built in gyroscopes or whatever and compatibility with all the previous DS and DsiWare software. So, even if they can't see the 3D, they'll still buy it for the software but the only thing getting in the way is the damn price.

If they called it the 3DS, then it obviously wasn't made with the people who can't see 3D in mind.

Um, no. It's just a name and you're ignoring more than half my argument. Even if I myself couldn't see the 3D, I'm still getting it for the software. No one needs to see 3D to enjoy the Ocarina of Time remake.

 

[daltonlaffs]

I honestly think that a lot of these complaints about headaches are because of the placebo effect. The connection between 3D and headaches has been around for years, but it's just an urban legend that people take too seriously. The problem with headaches is that they are literally "in your head," and assuming before you've even seen it that it will cause a headache will definitely increase the odds that it will.

I've had the 3DS since launch day (two days ago), and I've played it for a maximum stretch of -- I'm not kidding -- five hours straight with 3D enabled. No breaks. I've been playing it on and off since I got it, and I never want to disable the 3D. It looks awesome, and I've had absolutely no problems with it, except for the occasional slight ghosting effect.

As some have had the intelligence to say, we see in 3D all the time. Just because it's using a clever trick of light to project different images to each eye doesn't mean that it's inherently different than what we see every day. Light being reflected into each eye differently is what causes regular stereoscopic vision to work.

 

[Jamie Doerschuck]

Um, no. It's just a name and you're ignoring more than half my argument. Even if I myself couldn't see the 3D, I'm still getting it for the software. No one needs to see 3D to enjoy the Ocarina of Time remake.

No, it's NOT just a name. If the 3D wasn't the whole point of the darn thing then they would have just made it the Nintendo DS 2. Or the SDS (S for super, like they did with the NES), since they seem to have an aversion to adding numbers for some reason. Or if all the other features are just as important then why didn't they name is the GDS (for gyroscopes)?

The 3D is the important part.

And I, as a person who actually can't see 3D, don't want to buy the 3DS. I feel awkward and alienated because this machine obviously isn't targeted towards someone with my disability (for lack of better word). And I'm upset that it costs so much, because I can't justify spending two hundred and fifty dollars on something that's only so expensive because of a feature I can't use.

 

[Jaded Scribe]

Seriously though.... really?

3D can bother people. My mom has a hard time watching movies in 3D because they make her feel ill. I have no issue with it.

People need to stop assuming "hmmm, this product causes me, as an individual, some problems. Clearly, I must represent the majority of this company's consumer base, and therefore this is their fault." Not every device is going to work for everyone. Not everyone will be free of side effects. Take a break, move on.

 

[I forgot]

Um, no. It's just a name and you're ignoring more than half my argument. Even if I myself couldn't see the 3D, I'm still getting it for the software. No one needs to see 3D to enjoy the Ocarina of Time remake.

No, it's NOT just a name. If the 3D wasn't the whole point of the darn thing then they would have just made it the Nintendo DS 2. Or the SDS (S for super, like they did with the NES), since they seem to have an aversion to adding numbers for some reason. Or if all the other features are just as important then why didn't they name is the GDS (for gyroscopes)?

The 3D is the important part.

And I, as a person who actually can't see 3D, don't want to buy the 3DS. I feel awkward and alienated because this machine obviously isn't targeted towards someone with my disability (for lack of better word). And I'm upset that it costs so much, because I can't justify spending two hundred and fifty dollars on something that's only so expensive because of a feature I can't use.

Again, you're avoiding my argument. You don't need to see the 3D to enjoy the games. And yes, it's just a name. The name doesn't always reveal all the features of the product because with the DS, it was the touchscreen that was the biggest feature and not so much the second screen. They just called it DS because it sounds better; that doesn't mean the touch controls weren't important.
You're not being alienated because you can still enjoy all the games. It's not like with the Kinect where if you don't like the gesture controls, it's tough luck whereas with 3DS, it's only a feature and you can turn it off. The games are the whole point of the console and reason for buying it. You're argument is simply that if it was just named differently, you wouldn't be complaining. Sorry, but that's just being irrational no matter what way you look at it.
However, I don't disagree about the price.

 

[Jamie Doerschuck]

Again, you're avoiding my argument. You don't need to see the 3D to enjoy the games. And yes, it's just a name. The name doesn't always reveal all the features of the product because with the DS, it was the touchscreen that was the biggest feature and not so much the second screen. They just called it DS because it sounds better; that doesn't mean the touch controls weren't important.
You're not being alienated because you can still enjoy all the games. It's not like with the Kinect where if you don't like the gesture controls, it's tough luck whereas with 3DS, it's only a feature and you can turn it off. The games are the whole point of the console and reason for buying it. You're argument is simply that if it was just named differently, you wouldn't be complaining. Sorry, but that's just being irrational no matter what way you look at it.
However, I don't disagree about the price.

But it seriously detracts from my positive experience that I'll be paying two hundred and fifty dollars to NOT enjoy the 3D.

It is alienating. The Kinect and Move alienate people with nuerological disabilities, and the 3DS alienates people like me with sight disabilities. Just because one isn't as serious as the other doesn't mean you're not alienating groups of people.

And my argument isn't that if it was named... No. Okay. YOU said that the 3D wasn't a big deal and then I said yes it was and then YOU were like "LOL, no it's not" and then I was like "Bro, yeah it is. If it wasn't such a big deal they wouldn't have CALLED it the 3DS". I don't give a shit about the name, but you're saying the 3D isn't a major component of the thing. And yeah.. It is. The entire system is based around that 3D feature. That's what made it cost so much. And that's why they named it after the 3D component. People don't name their products random shit. The world would probably be much more entertaining if they did.

Also, the second DS screen IS the touch screen. So yeah, they did name it after the gesture controls. They're linked together, so technically the "DS" gives a nod to both.

 

[I forgot]

Again, you're avoiding my argument. You don't need to see the 3D to enjoy the games. And yes, it's just a name. The name doesn't always reveal all the features of the product because with the DS, it was the touchscreen that was the biggest feature and not so much the second screen. They just called it DS because it sounds better; that doesn't mean the touch controls weren't important.
You're not being alienated because you can still enjoy all the games. It's not like with the Kinect where if you don't like the gesture controls, it's tough luck whereas with 3DS, it's only a feature and you can turn it off. The games are the whole point of the console and reason for buying it. You're argument is simply that if it was just named differently, you wouldn't be complaining. Sorry, but that's just being irrational no matter what way you look at it.
However, I don't disagree about the price.

But it seriously detracts from my positive experience that I'll be paying two hundred and fifty dollars to NOT enjoy the 3D.

It is alienating. The Kinect and Move alienate people with nuerological disabilities, and the 3DS alienates people like me with sight disabilities. Just because one isn't as serious as the other doesn't mean you're not alienating groups of people.

And my argument isn't that if it was named... No. Okay. YOU said that the 3D wasn't a big deal and then I said yes it was and then YOU were like "LOL, no it's not" and then I was like "Bro, yeah it is. If it wasn't such a big deal they wouldn't have CALLED it the 3DS". I don't give a shit about the name, but you're saying the 3D isn't a major component of the thing. And yeah.. It is. The entire system is based around that 3D feature. That's what made it cost so much. And that's why they named it after the 3D component. People don't name their products random shit. The world would probably be much more entertaining if they did.

Also, the second DS screen IS the touch screen. So yeah, they did name it after the gesture controls. They're linked together, so technically the "DS" gives a nod to both.

Your point is a matter of price, which I already said I agree with so we don't need to go over that anymore. The reason this debate started was because you argue that it wasn't made with people who couldn't see 3D in mind but as I said before, you can enjoy games without it. Now your argument is that you're paying alot for a feature you're not using but that has to do with price not 3D, you're just using the 3D as a source of the blame(even though that blame could also go to the gyroscope, streetpass, online store and every other new feature). If this happened with the wii or DS, they wouldn't alienate people because of motion or touch controls but because of price so even you're arguing that price is more alienating than the 3D. If it was just 150$(the same price as the DS when it launched) you'd have nothing to complain about.

 

[Blah237]

Ok, I just wanted to let anyone know who's reading this that for a few people, me unfortunatly being one of them, the effects can be really bad. Like REALLY REALLY bad. I only played for about an hour to an hour and a half and I had a nasty headache. The headache wen't away after 10 minutes of not playing, but the eye strain did not. Even as I'm typing this, I can't get my eyes to focous on the screen. My eyes keep wandering to the reflection on the surface of the computer. I hope this goes away, but I just want people to know that this can happen. Don't buy if your worried.