6 replies to this topic

[Strum la Frantique]

Simple topic. You are an idiot in this day and age to buy and new gaming console/handheld within the first six months of release, and it's this truth that will kill a lot of good hardware in the future. If everyone waits six months, and the sales expectations are met and the investors start asking questions, the price will drop and everyone knows this.

Nintendo has shot themselves in the foot with the 3DS, it's not even the 3DS' fault (well it partly is), through Nintendo's constant rereleasing of better versions of the GameBoy Advance and the DS, consumers already knew to wait for the better 3DS. They also knew to wait for the price drop, because the 3DS was way overpriced for it's hardware capabilities. Add to that the gimmicky nature of the system with the restrictive 3D people are skeptical of, the technology obviously needs another year or two in development, and you have an unsellable system on release. In Australia the price drop is from $350 to $250, that's a staggering amount for a system only four months old. Even still, I reckon you can hold off a few more weeks from when the price drop happens mid August (atleast that's when it takes effect in Aus, I haven't checked other countries) and I reckon you could get Zelda for free with the system.

Sadly this industry practice has will continue to make gamers way of whether a new system will actually be the popular system and thus get all the games, or whether their day one cash splurge will be rewarded 12 months down the line when the console is still holding it's price. Will the Vita sell Sony's forecast at release? Not a chance, they already fucked up with the PSP, price drops and multiple game giveaways. Wait six months on that one and your patience will be rewarded too.

EDIT - Oh and Nintendo's 'Ambassador' program is a load of shit, you could give away 50 NES and GBA games and they're still not reward enough to say you weren't fucked out of more cash than necessary from Nintendo.

[Smacktalks]

The drop was inevitable, it was never going to sell well when you cant actually show the technology working in your ads. Add in the points you mentioned about the constant updated hardware releases and gamers will always be skeptical to begin with. Then there's the release of the Vita coming up, so you can expect them to put together some sort of bundle to compete with that when it launches.

If I had stock in Nintendo i'd be really worried going forward, the 3D technology is all the 3DS has over it's competition and in my opinion there's not gonna be anywhere near as many people choosing 3D over the high quality graphics that the Vita has going for it. Even looking ahead to the WiiU, it's a really risky strategy to go with the controller that they've chosen as it's not something that would attract the casual gamer. If it wasnt for the vast library of Nintendo franchises and the fanbase for them, I could see Nintendo ending up the same as Sega.

[ALL STAR]

The problem with the 3DS is that it is aimed at a market that has drastically changed since the DS released, portable gaming now features on the likes of Android and IPhones along with the Ipad and these games are a fraction of the cost. As the years move forward I really can't see a stand alone portable gaming device lasting because the markets are moving past that.

As for the 3D I have used it and while it is good for some games it's not something that is a selling point for me, it is more of a gimmick than anything else and a gimmick that is dying out.

Oh and the Vita shares the same problem the PSP putting console games on a portable system is redundant, yeah lets play Uncharted on a small screen or I could play it on a 32 inch HDTV. These games are not designed for short bursts of gameplay which is the problem.

[Smacktalks]

Your right about the market changing, the iPhone, iPad, etc. completely changed it.

I think a smart move in future would be for Sony, Nintendo, etc. to look to release a virtual console (Emulator) to run on the likes of the iPad, Android, etc. then sell the games from within it that run on the emulator cross-platform. That way they only need to develop the virtual console itself for the different systems, with the games then coded in the console language so they dont need to develop different versions of each game for each system.

[Strum la Frantique]

I still don't understand who the Wii U is for, a console for the PS3/360 users...which already own one or both of those consoles. Nintendo is just 5 years late to that party.

One point with the Nintendo marketing of the 3DS, I was watching Transformers 3 in 3D the other week and before the movie in the ads they had a 3DS ad....in 2D. Even local stores for furniture had 3D ads, Nintendo's Ocarina of Time ad was played in 2D. It's opportunities like that that are costing them, Transformers 3 ad space is expensive, and they don't use it to it's potential.

I don't think you can sell a handheld in today's market without a phone built in. Granted iOS needs to make serious changes for the iPhone to be taken really seriously as a gaming platform, the app store is a mess, and the sorting of all apps has become archaic compared to newer smart phones. Apparently these changes are coming with iOS 5 though.

Maybe Nintendo's money would have been better spent producing some more first party games for Wii and DS to spur along those hardware sales, wait a couple of years to see where the handheld market sits.

[ALL STAR]

The major problem I see with the Wii U is the fact it will be a more powerful or about the same as current consoles which already have dated hardware and as soon as the Wii U is released Sony and Microsoft will show their hand. They will release with superior online services with a greater focus on download services which have proven successful in this current generation it will be a much more refined tool for downloading products. Where as if you look at Nintendo, friend codes? their online service is a total joke for todays standerds.

Nintendo get a lot of credit for inovation yet when it comes online inovation they are pathetic, I really can't understand what is behind some of those decisions.

Oh and one last thing about the Wii U and getting the hardcore audience back they are putting out multiplat games such as Arkham City like a year later and are some how prowd of this?

[Aero]

i traded my dsi xl for £110 when i paid £130 for it... i still have said £110 on a gift card... im notconvinced its worth blowing on a 3ds... im thnking batman AC, assassins creed(whater its called" and something else.

yes the 3ds has a few better conversions, yes its graphics are much better... but when theres most likely a new phone coming out by the end of the year with a 2gb dual core processor... i fell the 3ds is still under achieving.