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[The Dutch Slayer]

And if we needed any proof that the 3DS line-up was crap.

3DS owners are probably just buying DS games.

100% this.

Its just not compalling enough for the mainstream to buy right now 250 and heavy cost of games + games are crap (Streat fighter is ok buy you need to like fighting games for that).

OoT will be #1 in the week of release.

 

[mxgt]

Were DS games £39.99 when it released?

Because that's what I see 3DS games priced for in shops. Kind of absurd really, no wonder people don't buy them.

 

[Oxx]

Are 3DS games still expensive?

I hadn't really been following that kind of thing, and I was shocked when they were all £35 in Tesco at launch.

I don't know what I was expecting, but it was still another reason for me to wait on the 3DS.

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

Were DS games £39.99 when it released?

Because that's what I see 3DS games priced for in shops. Kind of absurd really, no wonder people don't buy them.

Game are selling them for £34.99, HMV are selling them for £39.99.

Some DS games also hit £34.99 as well, but most were £29.99 (which was already well above the US price for DS games anyway), with budget games like Brain Training going for £19.99.

Just as an aside, most online retailers seem to be sticking with a price of £29.99 for 3DS games.

 

[AdventureRacing]

Zing!

Call me crazy but it might help things if Nintendo put out some decent adverts with actual in game footage in them instead of those stupid adverts with vacuous smiling numpties saying nothing more than 'Ooooo this is so awesome', 'Ooooooo this is sooooo magic', people have little idea what they are talking about.

Or release a decent game. The launch line up is abysmal and does nothing to differentiate the 3DS from the DS.

 

[supermackem]

Are 3DS games still expensive?

I hadn't really been following that kind of thing, and I was shocked when they were all £35 in Tesco at launch.

I don't know what I was expecting, but it was still another reason for me to wait on the 3DS.

£35-£39 in game atm.

 

[Majine]

I have a feeling that 3DS is going to be the next PSP.

 

[zomgbbqftw]

3DS fail.

It's really looking more and more like the PS3 launch, overpriced accompanied by poor software. If that charge sticks it will take a while to shake the image. Sony had to redesign and cut the price before they shook off the expensive/no games image. I feel that Nintendo aren't going to be as forthright as Sony in changing the image.

 

[herod]

I have a feeling that 3DS is going to be the next PSP.

Not really possible, from a gaming point of view. Nintendo have internal teams dedicated to it and a decent library of portable exclusives. Of course the ultimate issue will be whether or not its cartridges are easily pirated.

 

[m.i.s.]

Concidering that the 3DS is pretty much a brand new system (this is the 3rd week as mentioned earlier in the thread) and that the 3DS is the succesor of one of the most popular gaming device in history, i'm surprised to not see one 3DS chart this week. I didnt expect the chart to be flooded with 3DS games, but not a single game, not even if 40th place, that is surprising to me.

3DS being the successor to the most popular system doesn't mean diddly squat. Remember the PS2 to PS3 transition? In-fact, when you're on top, the only place you can go is down.

Not only that, I wouldn't be surprised if gamers and causals are suffering "format fatigue". ie too many increments in too short a space of time. The 3DS would have had a much greater impact if it went from DS to Lite to 3DS. Dsi had cameras and the Wii like channel selection system but launched without a single retail game. If the 3DS debuted with features first seen in DSi it would have been seen as much more compelling.

 

[nli10]

100% this.

Its just not compalling enough for the mainstream to buy right now 250 and heavy cost of games + games are crap (Streat fighter is ok buy you need to like fighting games for that).

OoT will be #1 in the week of release.

OoT? Really? I'm not sure about that being a killer ap in the UK/Europe. Zelda sells ok, but a remake on a system that's pretty expensive doesn't interest me.


Ghost Recon:Shadow Wars is the best turn based 'board game sim' strategy game I've played in several generations. Samurai Warriors is a great version of a great series. As you say SF is great for fans of that, as is Pilotwings (but I'm not a fan so just played others copies). Once it gets a mainline FPS I can see it being more popular but I heard talk that they wanted to release them alongside the main console versions for maximum cross selling potential so we won't see those until Xmas!

The games built-in the machine are much more appealing to the mainstream than the store offerings though, so frankly like with Wii Sports the extra £40 games are not as good value.

At the £220 (or £185) price point I never expected the machine to set the world on fire, but it should do OK once the May announcements & games round out the launch period. Nintendo are learning that a gradual launch where the good games come out over time is better than a 20 game start with nothing for 6 months.

 

[hamchan]

Also helps that the 3DS has nearly a year head start on the NGP.

 

[Spiegel]

Not really possible, from a gaming point of view. Nintendo have internal teams dedicated to it and a decent library of portable exclusives. Of course the ultimate issue will be whether or not its cartridges are easily pirated.

Psp has no games

 

[zomgbbqftw]

OoT? Really? I'm not sure about that being a killer ap in the UK/Europe. Zelda sells ok, but a remake on a system that's pretty expensive doesn't interest me.

Agreed. I can't see myself buying a £200 system to play a game I have already played a bunch of times unless it is a full remake.

 

[Carl]

Agree with the general 3DSlol

 

[doicare]

Yeah I thought it was ok, but that's quite subjective, the best objective measure we have is metacritic, a quick comparison gives:

Dance Central 82
Kinectimals 74
Kinect Sports 73
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 73
Joyride 52

Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition 85
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars 78
Ridge Racer 3D 74
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D 73
Nintendogs + Cats 72

So the 3DS lineup is, using this measure, stronger than Kinects. I imagine Move performs even worse than Kinect in this regard.

Also worth noting, Kinect vs 3DS is all new IPs vs all established IPs.

Move had:

Sports Champions 76
Tumble 74
Start the Party 55
Kung Fu Rider 36

Then it had a bunch of move enabled games:

Heavy Rain: Move Edition
Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition
EyePet: Move Edition

So yeah not that great. Move's best selling game Sports Champions stayed in the top 40 for 8 weeks.

 

[BlazingDarkness]

Okay, tell me where you got your hardware figures from! Because if you don't have any, you don't know the 3DS ain't "sellin"

I'm just using common sense
The masses aren't going to buy the 3DS just to purchase/play DS games, what would be the point, when the DS is much cheaper to pick up? No 3DS games in the chart must mean modest 3DS hardware sales imo
Early adopters will continue to buy the 3DS throughout the year as the 'hardcore' titles release, but the price of the 3DS will keep away Nintendo's bigger demographics, until they offer a cheaper/bundle variety in the holiday season - this is when 3DS will finally see the sales people have come to expect from Nintendo

 

[Nirolak]

Nintendo should consider giving out dev kits more than twelve months before launch.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

3DS owners are probably just buying DS games.

We can make the comparison to early PS3 then! I'm buying my PS3 to play PS2 games!

Nintendo should consider giving out dev kits more than twelve months before launch.

I've been saying it for months now but if this wasn't a rushed launch then I don't know what it. Terrible launch (my wife is playing DS games/Pokemon on it) but cool AR stuff.

 

[Barrett2]

3DS being the successor to the most popular system doesn't mean diddly squat. Remember the PS2 to PS3 transition? In-fact, when you're on top, the only place you can go is down.

Not only that, I wouldn't be surprised if gamers and causals are suffering "format fatigue". ie too many increments in too short a space of time. The 3DS would have had a much greater impact if it went from DS to Lite to 3DS. Dsi had cameras and the Wii like channel selection system but launched without a single retail game. If the 3DS debuted with features first seen in DSi it would have been seen as much more compelling.

I think there is some merit to this. Even though the 3DS is significantly more powerful than DS, it's starting to feel like the cell phone market. A new iteration comes out every year, and after a while you lose interest in buying the latest model.

Mostly I think it's games, though. Expensive hardware plus lackluster software, I think a slow-ish start sounds about right.

 

[nli10]

Also helps that the 3DS has nearly a year head start on the NGP.

I love my 3DS, but if Sony are smart then the machine will launch with that years worth of software and be aimed at the people who can drop £300 in a heartbeat. I think the PSP & PSP Go should have taught Sony that portable gaming is DIFFERENT to home gaming and needs to be treated as such.

And if they do, then I'll get my first Sony console since the PS2. (not counting all my Sony-Erricson phones & Sony headphones/CD players)

This would be the perfect situation, encouraging competition, and with both systems in my bag I might be able to play games all the way to my destination without having to recharge! (stupid reality, limiting my battery tech...)

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

I'm just using common sense
The masses aren't going to buy the 3DS just to purchase/play DS games, what would be the point, when the DS is much cheaper to pick up? No 3DS games in the chart must mean modest 3DS hardware sales imo
Early adopters will continue to buy the 3DS throughout the year as the 'hardcore' titles release, but the price of the 3DS will keep away Nintendo's bigger demographics, until they offer a cheaper/bundle variety in the holiday season - this is when 3DS will finally see the sales people have come to expect from Nintendo

Given the focus that Nintendo has placed on the internal software, it's quite possible that they're happy playing with the AR and Mii StreetPass stuff and picking up a few cheap DS games along with it.

 

[herod]

Psp has no games

PSP has poor software sales in the West. I assume this was what Majine was talking about.

 

[Majine]

PSP has poor software sales in the West. I assume this was what Majine was talking about.

Yes.

 

[Graphics Horse]

I have a feeling that 3DS is going to be the next PSP.

One more historical thingy:
Ridge Racer PSP stayed in the Full Price top 40 for 7 weeks.

 

[BlazingDarkness]

Given the focus that Nintendo has placed on the internal software, it's quite possible that they're happy playing with the AR and Mii StreetPass stuff and picking up a few cheap DS games along with it.

That's reasonable conclusion but I don't think that's gonna make people buy a 3DS

 

[herod]

One more historical thingy:
Ridge Racer PSP stayed in the Full Price top 40 for 7 weeks.

When were all these consoles launched though? I mean, launching in March seems pretty crazy for a handheld to me.

 

[Spiegel]

PSP has poor software sales in the West. I assume this was what Majine was talking about.

I got confused because you said it was from a gaming point of view, not sales.

 

[Nirolak]

When were all these consoles launched though? I mean, launching in March seems pretty crazy for a handheld to me.

While they were holiday launches, I think an important take-away is that almost nothing launched this week, and we are seeing the top 40 SKUs, so it's not exactly like the 3DS titles are being crowded out by vast amounts of extremely well selling titles.

Edit:

Nevermind, apparently they weren't holiday launches.

Eh?

DS launched in March here, PSP in September.

 

[herod]

I got confused because you said it was from a gaming point of view, not sales.

Yeah, sorry I can see how that could be ambiguous. I wanted to separate it from hardware sales.

 

[Opus Angelorum]

This is what happens when the system itself is overpriced, if you can just about afford the 3DS...it's likely you won't have any money left to buy any games alongside it.

Especially when they are £30-£40 (outrageous).

Sony, take note. If the NGP is £230+ it's dead on arrival.

 

[m.i.s.]

At the £220 (or £185) price point I never expected the machine to set the world on fire, but it should do OK once the May announcements & games round out the launch period.

Hit the nail on the head. Let's see if NoE are willing to show greater flexibility or if, as I suspect, they're going to be stubborn and dig in in their heels.

 

[cw_sasuke]

Nintendo should rethink their holdin back software strategie - if the games are ready give the crowd what they deserve and want. Reserving big titles like Mario Kart for the holiday season makes sense....

 

[Nirolak]

This is what happens when the system itself is overpriced, if you can just about afford the 3DS...it's likely you won't have any money left to buy any games alongside it.

Especially when they are £30-£40 (outrageous).

Sony, take note. If the NGP is £230+ it's dead on arrival.

I think another issue is, if people have the money to buy a game, what game are they going to buy?

What is the game that people are compelled to pay all this money for?

 

[[Nintex]]

Nintendo should rethink their holdin back software strategie - if the games are ready give the crowd what they deserve and want. Reserving big titles like Mario Kart for the holiday season makes sense....

It's going to be interesting to watch Nintendo's response to this. I'm sure investors are desperate to know just how they're going to fix this problem.

 

[Majine]

This is what happens when the system itself is overpriced, if you can just about afford the 3DS...it's likely you won't have any money left to buy any games alongside it.

Especially when they are £30-£40 (outrageous).

Sony, take note. If the NGP is £230+ it's dead on arrival.

I think Apple has proven of the years that if you make a product desirable enough, people will buy it regardless of the price.

 

[[Nintex]]

I think Apple has proven of the years that if you make a product desirable enough, people will buy it regardless of the price.

Apple products don't need 45-50 euro games.

 

[cw_sasuke]

It's going to be interesting to watch Nintendo's response to this. I'm sure investors are desperate to know just how they're going to fix this problem.

True, let's hope we will get soon final details on the eShop, upcoming games and so on. They can't be satisfied with those results - AR games and face raiders are a nice addition but no system sellers.

 

[Graphics Horse]

While they were holiday launches

Eh?

DS launched in March here, PSP in September.

 

[Nirolak]

Eh?

DS launched in March here, PSP in September.

Whoops, sorry, I'm getting my regions confused.

 

[Graphics Horse]

Whoops, sorry, I'm getting my regions confused.

heh, no problem. September is a fairly traditional launch time though. Edit: Actually I think I just made that up.

 

[Opus Angelorum]

I think another issue is, if people have the money to buy a game, what game are they going to buy?

I think the days of 'the system seller' (see PS3) are over. Although I take your point.

I think Apple has proven of the years that if you make a product desirable enough, people will buy it regardless of the price.

Yeah but...

Apple products don't need 45-50 euro games.

...

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

Hit the nail on the head. Let's see if NoE are willing to show greater flexibility or if, as I suspect, they're going to be stubborn and dig in in their heels.

The problem with the price stems from the fact that NOE ARE being flexible! They have an open pricing policy with the 3DS (a first for this industry), where the retailer is free to set whatever price they want.

They sell the 3DS at £173 wholesale to retailers, they are the ones placing a £50 margin on the console here, not NOE.

 

[Michan]

Is Nintendo running some kind of campaign on Wii/DS games? Look at all that climbing their games have done this week!

3DS is fucked. Just put mine in the dumpster. Dont even give a shit. NGP for life.

No self-respecting 20-something would be seen playing a 3DS anyway.

They sell the 3DS at £173 wholesale to retailers, they are the ones placing a £50 margin on the console here, not NOE.

I hope you're joking here. If NOE was setting the RRP, it would be at least £199. Pretty standard protocol on such devices.

 

[Chris1964]

Wait until you see 3DS NPD numbers.

Spoiler

they will make Japan sales look huge

 

[m.i.s.]

The problem with the price stems from the fact that NOE ARE being flexible! They have an open pricing policy with the 3DS (a first for this industry), where the retailer is free to set whatever price they want.

They sell the 3DS at £173 wholesale to retailers, they are the ones placing a £50 margin on the console here, not NOE.

That's not really flexibility now is it? You can sell at whatever price you wish but our price to you is this much: ie an extortionate £173 [us $282.91]. No way can NoE justify that price. 3DS is not and never was cutting edge tech.

 

[Opus Angelorum]

Wait until you see 3DS NPD numbers.

Spoiler

they will make Japan sales look huge

:O

 

[zomgbbqftw]

The problem with the price stems from the fact that NOE ARE being flexible! They have an open pricing policy with the 3DS (a first for this industry), where the retailer is free to set whatever price they want.

They sell the 3DS at £173 wholesale to retailers, they are the ones placing a £50 margin on the console here, not NOE.

Actually the original wholesale price was much higher, but once pre-orders fell through at the £230 price NoE gave a rebate for a limited period, but the wholesale price will go up again at some point. Think of it as an introductory discount.

 

[Majine]

Apple products don't need 45-50 euro games.

Sony or Nintendo products don't have hardware revisions EVERY year either.

 

[zomgbbqftw]

Wait until you see 3DS NPD numbers.

Spoiler

they will make Japan sales look huge

That bad!?!