Fire Reggie?
Also,
plz
Fire Reggie?
Also,
he said, as friggin' Super Mario 64 DS continues to sell.Release something besides the same old Mario games. Want to expand the audience? Make something new.
You can turn off the 3D, you know.No idea besides massive massive unrealistic hardware changes both internal and external.
Personally the combination of 3d+bad ergonomics means that even if it was 50$ I wouldn't even be tempted.
As much as I would miss the memes, I think the answer is to replace Reggie and restructure NoA. They need somebody who will steer the American branch to being as aggressive as NCL is being in Japan. Reggie's apparent strategic preferences work great when their system is printing money, but not so well when they need to lift their system out of the doldrums, and NoA have shown a slowness to adapt.
I don't think Iwata's targets are attainable with the way that smartphone gaming has impacted the market in America. The gap in the shape of the US and Japanese markets is only widening. That said, the 3DS could be performing much stronger than it has been as a platform for dedicated gamers.
First, they should discontinue the DS. People are still buying that platform for the large back catalogue. Sales exceeded expectations over the past year. Killing through competitive price drop is not enough, they need to clear that hardware out of retail and drive people to buy a 3DS if they want to buy Super Mario 64 DS.
Secondly, they should do a lot more to bring small and indy developers to the 3DS. Big western developers have no interest in developing for a dedicated handheld, and attempting to fight for their support would be futile. The indie sphere overwhelmingly targets iOS and there's no hope of changing that, but it's possible that there's a good number of garage devs out there that would like to release their games on the less crowded market of a dedicated handheld, with a userbase potentially more open to certain styles of game. Nintendo need to court these developers by making it a hell of a lot easier to acquire their development tools. They still adhere to an outdated, overly restrictive policy that seems to have been designed to stop low quality junk ware from flooding platforms like NES and GameBoy, but it's ridiculous in an age with such a competitive indy development scene.
This is the only kind of western support they have a good chance of picking up, so Nintendo need to start taking it more seriously, and soon. Making the platform one strongly associated with fun, small, quirky experiences using traditional game controls would be one way to carve out a lucrative niche for the platform.
Thirdly, games, games, games. Skipping major Japanese titles that NoA and western publishers doubted the financial viability of worked in the past, but with the horrible state of western support, it doesn't cut it anymore. I'd wager that the huge gaps in the 3DS schedule in the west are seriously hurting its perception. Nintendo's first party heavy hitters can only carry the system so far. Ramping up localization efforts is the only way to ensure the system has a steady steam of new games. Even if some of these releases are turbo bombs, it would be a worthwhile investment for the system because it would be clear evidence that Nintendo are constantly working behind the scenes to ensure 3DS owners have something to play. With Nintendo now introducing DD for retail titles, as well as a relatively risk free means of selling niche games at retail in the form of game download cards, they now have no excuse not to start bringing over all the major Japanese games to America and Europe. I think even something as niche as Hatsune Miku would be profitable with a well priced, DD exclusive, quick and dirty text translated release.
For the future, I think Nintendo need to try a lot harder with the unique selling point of their next handheld. 3D, a purely visual enhancement, clearly wasn't good enough. They need something so unique that many in the mass audience will be willing to pay to play the system in addition to their smartphones.
I've got good news for you, Nintendo revealed in the financial results briefing today that they're gonna start selling full 3DS (and WiiU) games digitally as well, starting with NSMB2 this August.Like I said, I just think the "fishing for game cartridges to insert into your handheld" is what died with the smart phones. 16-32GB filled with as many games as you can fit on there instead of 15 tiny plastic squares in my pocket to fish through to load the game I want. It's cumbersome and we have evolved past it now.
If I could take my 3DS without having to worry about also the pocket full of games, I would be a happy man. Instead I just end up fiddling around with the one device I always have in my pocket, my iPhone. (I own a 3DS and many games, so I'm not shitting on the system, but I think the days of portable hard games needs to be over in order to compete with the new daddies on the block, iOS/Android.)
Yes! My money is ready Nintendo. Just release a new version with two sticks!two thumbs sticks and more good 1st party games.
3x is a hella high bar, I think they'd be satisfied with a ratio similar to DS. I've got good news for you, Nintendo revealed in the financial results briefing today that they're gonna start selling full 3DS (and WiiU) games digitally as well, starting with NSMB2 this August.
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/120427/04.html
Just pointing out that it will still be around even if it's declining, because Japan will keep it alive. That's why the market still gets attention and why it's "difficult [...] for people/companies to grasp."
You can turn off the 3D, you know.
Yeah, this summarizes my thoughts.Nintendo has positioned some heavy hitters and I think they'll keep pushing KI as well to become a hit, but what they missed out, which was especially important last holiday season was a title with the appeal of MHTriG, ie; not a Nintendo game.
Revelations could've been a key title in their strategy, and while I'm aware western gamers aren't to empathical towards these type of games on handhelds, I think it got lost between marketing blitz in February when it could've been a much bigger November title that while not a the biggest seller, it could've set a different tone in regards of the 3DS library.
It's impossible to transition the PSP audience in the west because there is no PSP audience, and that's the biggest challenge they face. But what can be done is actively working with their third party partners and ensure a timely localization with a big enough push so they can create buzz in conjunction. Of course, first things first we'd need NOA to get off their ass and start putting out content themselves.
It's gonna be relatively tough sailing between now and August, with only Mario Tennis being the only noticeable hit.
3DS Lite
Better battery life, built in 2nd pad
Pokemon 3DS
Well maybe thats just what I'm waiting on
They've been doing that non-stop. Doesn't work.
he said, as friggin' Super Mario 64 DS continues to sell.
Yeah, Kid Icarus is exactly the type of game to expand the 3DS' audience.
Disregarding the fact that it's not new, it's an old series that's mainly selling due to nostalgia and Pit's popularity in Brawl
haha what
Great argument.
They need a strong multiplayer game that uses streetpass in a intuitive way.
They need Pokemon
- Cut the price and phase the OG DS family out completely. It's time for this thing to cost $149.99, and for there to be no alternatives for cheap DS game playing. Speaking of cheap DS games....
- Cut the price of games. Default software price needs to be $29.99 for *every retail game*. No reason for $5 Squenix tax or $10 RPG tax or any of those things. Gotta close the affordability gap between these games and any other entertainment competing for time with users.
- More advertisements. The only games that get advertised are Nintendo's. Should be more ads for the bigger 3DS games. Speaking of bigger 3DS games...
- More 3DS software of relevance from people who aren't Nintendo. If Nintendo has to pay these companies to put acceptable versions of whatever is relevant from 3rd parties on the 3DS, maybe they should do that. It's good that there are Metal Gear ports and quasi-decent Sonic games and that excellent RE game, but they're going to need more stuff soon.
This is the 1st year of 3DS, and it's been pretty good...but for it to get into that next level, they're going to need to push the machine wholeheartedly. Make it disposably priced, get the games priced properly, and keep the games flowing. It'll sell even more.