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How can Nintendo get away with selling the 3DSXL without a charger?
- Thread starter BackwardsSuggestions
- Start date
I find it hilarious people are making accusions now when its been happening since the DSiXL
They're probably cheaper than composite cables at this point.
Screamapillar
Member
Cost-cutting measure.
Nintendo said at the time (this is Europe only, guys) that many people already had the charger and so it was pointless to charge people for it when they were upgrading to XL if they already had one. I think there are other Nintendo devices that used the same kind of charger (over in Europe, anyway) so they knew most people already had one or more.
It's sort of the same reason they didn't include any Wii Remotes with the Wii U. Anyone who is buying a Wii U probably already has two or three Wii Remotes. If you don't, go buy one as an additive to the GamePad. They didn't want to charge $370 instead of $350 for the Wii U, so they made it available separately. Had they not, we'd ALL be complaining that we got charged extra to get yet another Wii Remote when we already owned one.
They literally cannot win. lol. Think about it.
Nintendo said at the time (this is Europe only, guys) that many people already had the charger and so it was pointless to charge people for it when they were upgrading to XL if they already had one. I think there are other Nintendo devices that used the same kind of charger (over in Europe, anyway) so they knew most people already had one or more.
It's sort of the same reason they didn't include any Wii Remotes with the Wii U. Anyone who is buying a Wii U probably already has two or three Wii Remotes. If you don't, go buy one as an additive to the GamePad. They didn't want to charge $370 instead of $350 for the Wii U, so they made it available separately. Had they not, we'd ALL be complaining that we got charged extra to get yet another Wii Remote when we already owned one.
They literally cannot win. lol. Think about it.
Portugeezer
Member
It's not an assumptions, it's an excuse.
It's ridiculous, at the volume they'd be producing them should they be pack-ins the chargers would likely cost them pennies per box.
I'm honestly wondering what prompted someone to say "I know, let's sell this thing without a charger. Brilliant idea!"
I'm honestly wondering what prompted someone to say "I know, let's sell this thing without a charger. Brilliant idea!"
They can't win? They didn't include a charger. A charger. Every other electronic device I've ever bought has come with a charger, or a means of connecting it to the mains if it's non-portable (or removable, easily replacable batteries such as AA). Every other electronic device has not come with a Wii Remote. The "it'd be more expensive" excuse is just that - an excuse. Do we really think they knocked a few quid off the RRP because there wasn't a charger? More than likely they left the price as it would be regardless and made a bit more profit on it. Not to mention they don't even bother setting the RRP over here so they can't use the "it'd be more expensive" excuse to begin with.
We're Americans. We don't know what's going on outside of America.
People will defend anything, people will defend Sony for their moves with the Vita, some people will defend the always online for Microsoft, Nintendo is no different
Screamapillar
Member
Thank you. Was going to mention this here as well, but you summed it up perfectly. All of these game publishers find ways to trim costs and cut corners. Nintendo is no different.
Dead Man Typing
Member
I hate the practice, but I understand why Nintendo do it.
(as others have said)European countries have different plug sockets from each other, this way they can ship different chargers to the individual regions while keeping the XL package exactly the same.
Retailers love selling extra items. Asking a customer if they have a charger already is step 1 for selling more add ons and accessory packs. Stores love more units sold vs a single high value item being sold, I don't know why.
The number of units you can fit in a box. The smaller the item, the more you can ship to retail for the same shipping cost. A UK 3DS charger is pretty bulky and the 3DS package is much bulkier than the XL because of it. I imagine this was essential when trying to get the 3DS price down after its slow start.
These three reasons probably made the decision for Nintendo. They also have the environmental argument in their favour as they are by far the greenest of the three console manufacturers and limiting the number of unused chargers reinforces that image.
But it still sucks because someone, somewhere is going to forget to tell a customer that they need one and some kid will be disappointed on a birthday/special occasion.
(as others have said)European countries have different plug sockets from each other, this way they can ship different chargers to the individual regions while keeping the XL package exactly the same.
Retailers love selling extra items. Asking a customer if they have a charger already is step 1 for selling more add ons and accessory packs. Stores love more units sold vs a single high value item being sold, I don't know why.
The number of units you can fit in a box. The smaller the item, the more you can ship to retail for the same shipping cost. A UK 3DS charger is pretty bulky and the 3DS package is much bulkier than the XL because of it. I imagine this was essential when trying to get the 3DS price down after its slow start.
These three reasons probably made the decision for Nintendo. They also have the environmental argument in their favour as they are by far the greenest of the three console manufacturers and limiting the number of unused chargers reinforces that image.
But it still sucks because someone, somewhere is going to forget to tell a customer that they need one and some kid will be disappointed on a birthday/special occasion.
It's not the same thing at all. The thing cannot run without being charged. Had they went with a universal USB charging port, no one would care.
captmcblack
Member
I remember when you used to only get the pack of batteries used in the thing, and no charger at all.
I also remember when the GBA SP took the headphone jack out, and people made a big deal about not getting the adapter in the box.
I'm always a proponent of the mfgr putting the complete requirements for usage in the package from jump, so I know it sucks for people in non USA/Canada territories...but it's definitely a very minor complaint, ala not having the headphone jack or AA batteries in the box.
That said, if the cost increase would be minimal, they should put in in the box if for no other reason than to prevent complaints like this from existing.
I also remember when the GBA SP took the headphone jack out, and people made a big deal about not getting the adapter in the box.
I'm always a proponent of the mfgr putting the complete requirements for usage in the package from jump, so I know it sucks for people in non USA/Canada territories...but it's definitely a very minor complaint, ala not having the headphone jack or AA batteries in the box.
That said, if the cost increase would be minimal, they should put in in the box if for no other reason than to prevent complaints like this from existing.
Iacobellis
Junior Member
Minor complaint? Headphones aren't required to juice the handheld. AA batteries? Nintendo hasn't used those for nine years now. Consumers expected to have to purchase new batteries in those days.
Valkyria
Banned
#leavenintendoalone
ROFLMAO, and I love my Vita.
A thread to teach people to hate themselves for defending a huge corporation, sure.
KirbYuuYuu
Member
And no one cares despite that. Despite it being months since it was released, no one has said jackshit between the release and now. On top of that, they sell chargers where you can buy a 3DS XL. I'm pretty sure retailers are competent enough to inform consumers that it does not come with a charger. At the absolute worst, it is a minor inconvenience because it is only a one time problem at best.
EDIT: And a Charger is not needed immediately upon usage, but after a period of time.
Yep. As far as I'm concerned, not adding a charger in the handheld's box is like not putting a controller in the box when buying a new console. It's basically useless and you're forced to make another purchase. Sadly, your hands are tied if you don't live in certain territories.
So there's justification for them not including the charger needed for a newly bought 3DSXL to work, then?
Alligatorjandro
Banned
Why dont they include a dock with the XL?
nah, just put Peanut Butter and Jelly on the remaining buns. At least you can use them when you're out of hot dogs.
Edit:
Or cut up the remaining dogs and put them in your baked beans.
The labels for how much are in each package should be bigger.
People could miss it and families could be torn apart.
Wooosh.
I'm honestly shocked that I can buy a Blu-Ray player without an HDMI cable. 'Twas a boring night the day I got that Blu-Ray player.
Screamapillar
Member
A). It's very clearly marked on the package.
B). 95% of the people buying it already have either a DSi or 3DS. This is Europe we're talking about. Very different kind of market than NA. NoA wouldn't dream of trying it over here.
What? I obviously know I can. I've seen them on stores. What does that have to do with the fact that I refuse to buy a handheld device that doesn't include its charger in the box?
...Because that's very, very silly?
There's no way the number is that high.
Twilight Gap
Member
This. It's a bad practice and it's probably why they're losing so much money (or maybe they did it because they're losing so much money?)
There's really no way to defend it.
I'm not affected since I'm in the states, but I'd be part of your 5% who skipped the DSi gen and would be buying the 3DS XL for the first time. It'd be an convenience of course, but it's not something that'd be difficult for me to find separately. Why they decided to even change the charger again after the DS Lite is beyond me. Apple does that shit all the time and it's annoying, but at least they include the new charger!
Ninty dun goofed.
KirbYuuYuu
Member
Because it's very petty, and you still have another option of buying the smaller handheld if you haven't yet.
LorDjidane
Member
Because there is this entity that defends them everytime everywhere on the interweb.
makingmusic476
Member
It blows my mind that a company is shipping a modern electronic device without a way to supply it power.
Well, I don't like being tricked into spending extra money when buying stuff. If the charger is needed to use the console, it should be included in the box.
Valkyria
Banned
KirbYuuYuu
Member
More like people let them get away. When it comes to simple things, that's all it takes. I mean, they said RIGHT in the open that it won't be packed in. And it took like.... 8 months or so for a rage thread?
10101
Gold Member
I dont get all the defence in this thread, it really is an issue there is no denying it. Sure you can "just buy one at the same time" and "Nintendo is saving the environment" (lol) and yeah "it's old news why are you complaining now".
Come on. I for one have just heard about this, no one else does this practice and it could have been easily designed around EU socket requirements. They are being cheap to save £££ that's all there is to it.
Come on. I for one have just heard about this, no one else does this practice and it could have been easily designed around EU socket requirements. They are being cheap to save £££ that's all there is to it.
Needs to be posted again. NOA wins here, for once. I got a charger with my XL.
Screamapillar
Member
I... still don't see the reasoning. That's extremely petty. I don't like the fact that the Vita doesn't come included with a memory card even though it needs one to actually play games, and I think there's a million better ways they could've handled that. But I don't refuse to buy a Vita because of that; I refuse to buy one because said cards are overpriced to the moon and back.
You can get the XL cradle and charger in the UK, it's just a bit of plastic but popping it on there makes it easier to deal with. Still have my launch 3DS and its awesome cradle too.
Well, I'm sure you have plenty of money to spend on whichever consoles you want and their respective accessories. I don't, and like I said, if I drop €200 on any handheld, I don't want to be spending any more money on anything but games.
I'm not sure how the Vita situation compares, I'm not really that well-informed about it. It still seems like a slightly better situation than the 3DS XL,
The 3DS XL, as sold in Europe and Japan, is nothing more than a fancy paperweight. You can do nothing with it. How is this OK? How do you think it's OK to sell a product like this?
...buy an original 3DS, if you're that intent about it.
Euros/yen. Heh heh.
A few dollars.
A few dollars.
They're also massively overpriced. 32GB is around a hundred-ish, I believe? Where you can get a 32GB SD card (which is basically what the Vita cards are, but SD cards won't work with it) for about twenty dollars?
LorDjidane
Member
Some games require a memory card to be playable, yes. But that doesn't make up for an excuse, it is incredibly wrong too.
Grok4Spock
Member
I think I'm part of the problem since I gave Nintendo $19.00 for a piece of plastic (3DS XL Charging Cradle)... Sorry guys :-(