Alex Anderson
Member
Eyes about popped out of my head until I got to the "in Japan" part. (saw the shortened version of the topic on the forum listings page at first) I was like "Huh????"
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Yeah it will add a few million and hopefully give Nintendo momentum going into Switch.
Would be hilarious if Super Mario Run somehow gave it another boost though.
Calm Mind
Member
Holy crap
The 3DS has come such a long way from its failed launch. Nowadays it's probably the best platform available, considering the sheer breadth of its library (including DS and Virtual Console).
Fail is such a strong word. Disappointing is far more appropriate. Luckily, they stuck it through and did not abandon the platform and country like some companies. *cough* SIE *cough*
I don't think Nintendo could have afforded to.
It's a garbage handheld with a fantastic library.
In Japan Wii sales began to "tank" after 2008, before it performed quite well.
If it kept consistent sales through its lifespan it would have achieved much bigger LTD (third-party software simply wasn't there for it with a few exceptions).
That's not really an accomplishment this generation.
No problem, that's the only place where it matters : P.
Failed launch is completely fair when they have to drop the price 80 dollars and offer 20 games to ambassadors. It's great they have recovered it and it is a great system but they really botched it at first.
PSP didn't sold that great either in US in fact I believe 3DS is going to match or exceed PSP total sales in that market.
After its sixth year PSP had sold about 18.2M in US while 3DS is roughly at 17.8M but without this December data).
But yaeh the general point is that 3DS underperformed outside Japan.
Eolz
Member
Does it change anything if I say I have a Vita and still find it great? That's some ridiculously unpowered hardware, sure, but makes use of it better than its competitor.
m.i.s.
Banned
I think the price of the Wii was spot on at $249.99 and a higher price would only have sustained a short term increase in profits. NCL's underlying issue was the fact that they couldn't just increase their manufacturing capacity at the flick of a switch.
In any case, the company admitted that the reason it priced 3DS at $249.99 was because of the overwhelmingly good reception that the handheld recieved. For a company that doesn't use focus groups that is a thoroughly odd decision. I'm confident that if Yamauchi, Lincoln and Main were in charge when the 3DS launched we would never have seen such a ridiculous MSRP for a handheld launch.
Sammy Samusu
Member
3Deus still has some gas in 2017.
Maybe it can sell another million until it completely dies in 2018.
Maybe it can sell another million until it completely dies in 2018.
panama chief
Member
I do wonder how Switch will dig into whatever Tier the 3DS is on. Will Nintendo continue with the brand? Can't wait to find out. Either way I'm buying it all.
After 2006 PS2 sold about 1.7M units in Japan.
A pittance compared to the 19.5M sold before 2007.
I don't expect 3DS to sell more than 2 million units after 2016 in Japan.
No. I dislike it for reasons beyond being underpowered; the build quality of the OG 3DS is awful for example, and the ergonomics of all the 3DS models I've tried out are super uncomfortable for my hands.
I think you are confusing software sales with hardware sales. Even those systems had steep drops post replacement.
PS3 sold 460k in 2014 vs 850k in 2013 and 1.2M in 2012.
PSP was 900k in 2012 vs around 2.1M in 2011 and 2.9M in 2010 (thanks to Monster Hunter 3rd).
Both consoles halved in sales again the following year. The PS2 held on for a long time, but the PS3 was barely existent for a couple years. And even then the ps3 outsold the ps2 in 2007. I dont think that was the case elsewhere.
3DS is near 300m software already pre-Sun/Moon. It might not catch PSP in hardware but it's going to easily lap it for software.
PdotMichael
Banned
CharminUltra
Member
Easily the best current gen handheld, even if it's not as good as the DS. Well deserved.
To be fair that's retail sales only. There's literally hundreds of 3DS games unaccounted for.
PdotMichael
Banned
I think the PS2 is even ahead of the NDS in that regard.
Consoles sales are bound to the amount of TVs in households, while handhelds are bound to people in those households. Hardware revisions are also a factor.
That makes absolutely no sense. There are actual units of software that were sold through the 3DS eShop that are not counted. The PS2 did not have any form of digital storefront.
Hcoregamer00
The 'H' stands for hentai.
Dropping the price (even for one day to $100) and being the hot console with the newest Pokemon can do that to you
With that said, the mini revival can turn into a long tail if they do a permanent price drop of the new 3DS to $100, and drop the new 3DS XL to $140, since switch isn't BC.
Eolz
Member
Fair enough. OG 3DS's ergonomics felt indeed worse than the regular DS.
I find the New 3DS great to hold despite the terrible nub. Hope the Switch will feel better to most people.
PdotMichael
Banned
So the 3DS somehow does have a better software ratio than the NDS? Even a significant higher software ratio wouldn't help the 3DS to get even close to the PS2.
Dropping the price (even for one day to $100) and being the hot console with the newest Pokemon can do that to you
With that said, the mini revival can turn into a long tail if they do a permanent price drop of the new 3DS to $100, and drop the new 3DS XL to $140, since switch isn't BC.
The 3DS was up ever since Pokémon GO. The Price drop and Sun/Moon just pushed it even higher.
It's possible it does have a higher ratio. Nintendo has only ever reported retail/physical units shipped except for specific titles.
As to the bolded I never said it did.
Hcoregamer00
The 'H' stands for hentai.
The PS Vita is pretty awesome, but I agree with you that 3DS and PS Vita combined fall short or the DS's god tier library.
It is crazy how much mobile has changed the landscape, since the 3DS never got the insane flood of quality games like the DS did.
i think they're hedging their bets on switch. the initial forecast is super low (2 million), and the 3ds is planned to stick around for at least another year or so. i think this affords them the opportunity to make money off the platform as a legacy system, while also keeping the brand around juuuuust in case they have to go a completely different route, abandon switch, and go full handheld-only for dedicated hardware. they kept the game boy and gba around for the same reason.
panama chief
Member
Good to know
3DS sold dissapointingly in the west, but it wasn't a complete failure. Going by NPD it's still ahead of PS4 ltd in the US even. Not so bad for a "dead" system.
Vincent Grayson
Member
So like, 1 in 6 Japanese people own this system. Crazy.
KillerMan91
Member
Reason why it doesn't match PSP is that Nintendo is non entity in developing markets. If you combine traditional markets (NA, Japan and Western Europe) 3DS will probably match or outsell PSP. Developing markets are the reason why in final global LTD sales there will be probably at least 10 million gap between the systems. With GBA you are right that the reason for 3DS not matching it are lower sales in NA and Western Europe. If GBA had had normal lifespan it would had probably also sold at least similar numbers as 3DS in Japan but Nintendo killed it early.