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Nintendo NPD PR: 3DS has surpassed 60 million unit worldwide
- Thread starter Ryng_tolu
- Start date
With numbers of games, the GBA/DS (like the Gameboy before them) also received huge amounts of licensed shovelware that has now largely disappeared to mobile.
Shame really- I remember when licensed games for kids could be great (amidst the hoards of dross). I still play Capcom's Darkwing Duck on Gameboy now!
At least on mobile they tend to be free, which as a parent I appreciate much more for something unlikely to hold their attention for long.
It doesn't (as I've highlighted budgets and ROI come into play) but it's clear that 3DS getting less than half GBA third-party releases (huge drop) is part of why 3DS performance outside Japan were disappointing.
It also show that something else is stealing funds and developers (mobile and DD on PC) which 15 years ago would have been on handhelds.
olimpia84
Member
This 60 million mark is nothing but outstanding considering the 'competition' of smartphones and tablets eating up the marketshare. I see young people playing games on a daily basis on their phones but only saw very few people playing a 3DS or Vita in public so I wonder where all these 60 million people are lol
But western third party still ignore the system. From the initial reveal of the system, I have wanted to play a quality racing game on 3DS which wasn't named Mario Kart or Ridge Racer. But I got nothing.
What am I talking about. In this day and age, even the home consoles don't get a proper racing game, and here I am asking one for handhelds. I guess another fun genre is dying.
What am I talking about. In this day and age, even the home consoles don't get a proper racing game, and here I am asking one for handhelds. I guess another fun genre is dying.
tenderbrew
Member
Maybe the best console library of all time combining DS and 3DS. God what a great system.
Toadthemushroom
Member
To be fair, the barriers to entry for all sorts of developers have fallen, and developers who'd traditionally need publisher funding and backing to make the kind of games they'd make in the PS2 generation can do so independently.
So I think the number of releases still bears importance, so long as they aren't (on average) selling low figures or being ignored by customers like some of the Nintendo Web Framework stuff.
This piece on The Great Software Pipeline across the hardware generations provides some interesting context.
Admiral Alliteration
Neo Member
That's really impressive. Only two million sales more and it surpasses the NES/Famicom, Nintendo's second most successful home console. But then again, handhelds usually sell better than consoles (my sister and me have one Wii U, yet four 3DSes, that's what I mean). And the 3DS is currently Nintendo's worst selling handheld it needs 20 million more sales to surpass the GBA, which the 3DS certainly won't archive. But given the market situation, I still think that's kinda impressive.
The 3DS won't magically stop selling once the NX is there. The sales in the west might pick up a little due to a pretty good lineup this year + Pokemon. There still is a new mainline Dragon Quest coming out in Japan. It will sell a few million more before it's dead over there.
There is always christmas where Nintendo hardware sells pretty well. The 3DS will most likely see a pricedrop once the NX is there and have a christmas after that.
So 10 more million don't sound totally of the question worldwide. At least to me.
Slight correction but Q4 2008 would be the 4th holiday season for DS.
edit: I'm wrong, for some reason I discounted it's launch being a holiday season in my head. Probably because no other Nintendo handheld launched during the holidays.
Except I wouldn't even say it is that. A lot of it is parents no longer buying their kids the $100-$200 handheld videogame system when they can just give them their old phone or tablet.No one is arguing that the nearly 60% drop from the DS to the 3DS can't be accounted for. Smartphones hit dedicated gaming devices hard. The Vita is more than proof of that.
The 3DS weathered the storm better than Sony's handheld did, however, a 60% drop from your previous product is not really excellent sales.
As for RIM/Blackberry:
Marketshare took a huge dive, because iOS/Android blew the market open, but their sales numbers actually continued to increase or slowly decrease well beyond the point that people where starting to declare them dead.
True to an extent I guess. Blackberry faltered because they couldn't match/keep up with iOS or Android in terms of features and cross platform synergy. Dedicated handhelds have declined because a lot of people are happy with the gaming experiences they can get on the mobile device they already own.
It is that ease of use. A majority of people don't care what their kids are using as a lot of them used handhelds as a means to keep their kids quiet. A real shame honestly.
But the ease of just handing down old iPod touches, then iPads and then iPhones and all the android equivalents just became too easy. Add on to that the proliferation of the sub $80 tablet and it is amazing that the 3ds put up numbers like this at all.
Doesn't help that Nintendo is god awful at courting 3rd party developers etc. Look at all the free apps available on android and ios a lot of the Lego "free" games that interact with their toys. There is no reason Nintendo couldn't have found a way to get stuff on 3ds other than it has never been a priority.
Markets change, products change, companies change. The 3DS successor will be its own product with its own successes and failings. It's a tough market, but since Nintendo is likely to do something stupid it's too early to make firm predictions. The GBA didn't follow the same pattern as the DS/PSP, and they didn't follow the same pattern as the 3DS/Vita. New system, new trend. The real problem is that I doubt Nintendo will create a good product for the market, but they've suprised before.
tearsintherain
Member
I wonder how many 3DS' are in active use still, like connecting to the eShop at least once a month or something? I know in my household we've owned 4-5 3DS's but only one (mine) is active anymore, the rest are all just in closets and probably gonna be donated this christmas. I'm sure its above 50%, but is it 70, 80, 90%?
Father_Brain
Banned
What exactly, other than wishful thinking, leads people to conclude that the impact of mobile gaming has already come and gone? Mobile hardware sales may be slowing, but the mobile gaming market is continually growing even as sales of 3DS hardware and software shrink.
Literally nothing about 3DS' sales trends suggests a healthy market that isn't continually shrinking.
Literally nothing about 3DS' sales trends suggests a healthy market that isn't continually shrinking.
dragonyeuw
Member
Crazy to see that the entire handheld market has shrunk to a degree that the PSP alone moved more consoles than the 3ds and Vita combined.
AcademicSaucer
Member
I wonder if the NX handheld is going to sell atleast 30 million LTD
Jon Carter
Member
The N64 was a success in North America. It's its performance everywhere else that made it a big sales disappointment.
Those numbers don't include digital games. Independent games are the equivalent of low- to mid-budget retail releases of the past. Those numbers include Face Racers: Photo Finish but not Mutant Mudds. Driver Renegade, but not IronFall Invasion. Nano Assault, but not Nano Assault EX.
Maybe for certain genres of games can be done on a lower budget of development and/or by independent developers. However, for the genres that I like to play-Racing and SRPG/Tactical RPG games-typically aren't done by independent developers. I do recall one poster stating that for SRPG/Tactical RPG games typical requires heavy AI logic which is really difficult to implement.
Sumio Mondo
Member
I play them in my car on my break. I think most people play these systems in bed or generally just in the house more, honestly.
You say it is too early to make a prediction but yet you say Nintendo is likely to do "something" stupid. Nintendo make a few mistake with one of there handhelds(out of four) and the trend is for Nintendo to make the same mistake with the next handheld...
SonicAaron
Member
Really tempted to pick up a New Nintendo 3DS tomorrow . . . is it definitely worth it? Are all games now looking better? I have a 3DS but not sure whether to take the plunge.
7DollarHagane
Banned
I think it's pretty impressive for how the market is going today. How many other companies have sold 60 million of any handheld device or gadget that doesn't use a cellular connection or isnt in some way a cell phone?
DS was better of course but it also appealed to a demographic that is now playing free games on a phone.
DS was better of course but it also appealed to a demographic that is now playing free games on a phone.
The New 3DS does not improve games that were not made for it. It does natively support games that had circle pad pro support. So when you load up Majora's Mask, you can use the nub for camera control. Only a couple of games specifically support/require the New 3DS, like Xenoblade, SNES VC, and a few indie games like Binding of Isaac.
The native benefit of improved system power is that the operating system, switching applications, and loading times in general are much faster.
Personally I think it's great. I'll be using my system for years, even after they discontinue it. I have a ton of games still to play.
Ruud_Luiten
Member
They did strange things with almost all of their handhelds.
Gb, awesome device!
Gbc, stopgap device for fullprice. Other than that; great device.
Gba, lack of buttons / light, no normal headphone jack in gba sp, low first party support etc.
Ds, launchgame is mario64, but ds has no analog. Weird online; if available. Hardware locked downloads, ugly first release,
Virtualboy, f#cking faillure; red black headache!
3ds, high price, 3d not suitable for biggest audience, regio-locked
Calm Mind
Member
Announce it casually in a corporate email, followed by a few well placed "leaks" and then an initial reveal with price and games at E3 2017 with a launch soon after.
Calm Mind
Member
for truth.
Manny Calavera
Member
Excellent system with some truly great games and I still play with it almost daily. Most recently Link's Awakening on VC.
Honestly, I'm hoping that the next handheld is released in 2018. With a release date that late Nintendo should be able to used a 10nm SoC; possible a more energy efficient screen(s), faster and for efficient ram; and the latest battery tech. The next handheld should be a giant leap tech-wise even with the screens being 480p or 540p.
It was quite disheartening to see that the Western developers abandoned the platform when I first brought my OG 3DS XL and 2DS back in 2014. I was looking for all types of games from different genres and (arcade racing, 3d platforming, arcade shooters etc) they were no where to be found.
On another note, it was ridiculous that third parties publishers complains that Nintendo releases crowed out their sales. Then when given the opportunity to not complete with Nintendo (Nintendo held back first party games), instead of releasing high quailty games third parties released trash and old, feature missing and rehashed ports. Then, when the 3DS sales started tanked due to their poor quality games, third parties rushed to canceled and publishers dumped the 3DS entirely even though the 3DS sales have had recovered. When thinking about this some more I honesty think that are several players in the gaming industry that wanted the 3DS to fail.
