Is the Nintendo 3DS in trouble?

[HatefulGravey]

Why do people want 3G with all their hand helds now? Adding that just means they can add a bill to your already over priced system. My phone has hot spotting and the system has Wi-Fi so I don't need to add another bill to my life just to be able to access the interenet. It all sounds good untill AT&T offer Nintendo money to exclude Wi-Fi and instead require a data plan with them, and believe me, AT&T has crap service most everywhere I have ever been and they are the exact company that will do that kind of thing.

[toptenmaterial]

Well either way, we need some iconic Nintendo games (I almost wrote "apps"!)

 

And I still think that a decent pack-in game would help. Wii Sports is great and I've gotten a ton of milage from that one.

[Rex Dart]

It ain't the price, it's the games. So you have to save a little longer to buy the system, big whoop. You're still able to buy one if you decide that you really want to play one. But few do.

[Animan]

Why do people want 3G with all their hand helds now?

 

I'm glad I'm not alone .

 

But, just because you use Wi-Fi doesn't mean you won't pay. Most everywhere I go, the hotspots require a paid account, but it'll be worthless if you go to a hotspot that has a different provider, then you need to pay more money for another account.

 

However, in Ireland it was a bit different. A company called "Eircom" seems to have a monopoly in that country for cell and Wi-Fi service. You think AT&T sucks? These guys will make you wish and beg you had AT&T. On the hotspots that didn't require you to pay, the internet speed was down in 56k levels.

 

More often then not, the free hotspots still required a username and password. When we went into the Hard Rock Cafe in Dublin, their Eircom Wi-Fi hotspot only allowed two people in at once.

Edited July 22, 2011 by Animan

[godslabrat]

Why do people want 3G with all their hand helds now?

 

I'm glad I'm not alone .

 

But, just because you use Wi-Fi doesn't mean you won't pay. Most everywhere I go, the hotspots require a paid account, but it'll be worthless if you go to a hotspot that has a different provider, then you need to pay more money for another account.

 

However, in Ireland it was a bit different. A company called "Eircom" seems to have a monopoly in that country for cell and Wi-Fi service. You think AT&T sucks? These guys will make you wish and beg you had AT&T. On the hotspots that didn't require you to pay, the internet speed was down in 56k levels.

 

More often then not, the free hotspots still required a username and password. When we went into the Hard Rock Cafe in Dublin, their Eircom Wi-Fi hotspot only allowed two people in at once.

 

Airports seem to be the one place (in the US anyway) that will consistently charge for WiFi. I know of a few that don't (ABE and MYR, you guys rule!) but I never count on it. Like you said, I wouldn't mind it so much if your paid account could travel with you, but there are so many providers and it seems like no two airports use the same one... so every time you get a layover, you pay $8.99 for a "month" of service, of which you won't need more than an hour's worth. Ummmm... no thank you.

 

That said, I see no need to do any awesome web browsing or online gaming with a handheld gaming system. To me, they seem well-suited for single-player offline gaming. YMMV.

[DickNixonArisen]

...on Monday Capcom announced that they have canceled Mega Man Legends 3 and Mega Man Universe.

 

Update: LINK TO KOTAKU STORY ON CANCELLED 3DS GAMES

 

ARRRGGGHHHHHHHH

[toptenmaterial]

...on Monday Capcom announced that they have canceled Mega Man Legends 3 and Mega Man Universe.

 

Update: LINK TO KOTAKU STORY ON CANCELLED 3DS GAMES

 

ARRRGGGHHHHHHHH

Where's all the 2D platformers? Those would look great. We need some Castlevania, Contra and DK Country up in this mofo right now!

[HatefulGravey]

Why do people want 3G with all their hand helds now?

 

I'm glad I'm not alone .

 

But, just because you use Wi-Fi doesn't mean you won't pay. Most everywhere I go, the hotspots require a paid account, but it'll be worthless if you go to a hotspot that has a different provider, then you need to pay more money for another account.

 

However, in Ireland it was a bit different. A company called "Eircom" seems to have a monopoly in that country for cell and Wi-Fi service. You think AT&T sucks? These guys will make you wish and beg you had AT&T. On the hotspots that didn't require you to pay, the internet speed was down in 56k levels.

 

More often then not, the free hotspots still required a username and password. When we went into the Hard Rock Cafe in Dublin, their Eircom Wi-Fi hotspot only allowed two people in at once.

 

 

I pay $20 a month for my phone to act like a hot spot and while it isn't perfect the level at which it works is much more then ok by me. Android is changing the game for everyone. Its a data device that offers hotspotting and isn't exclusive to 1 carrier. This means soon enough your cell phone company will have these devices affordable and ready to do all kinds of cool things for you.

 

This only matters when I'm on a bus, on in a waiting room. There just aren't a pile of times that I really care to get online with my hand held. Granted I have a phone that does that so I don't need 2 devices. Thats the point, just about everyone has a cell phone and smart phones are getting cheaper all the time. We don't need more 3G.

[the.golden.ax]

Got to see one at a Play N Trade for the first time yesterday. When I asked about it they said, no, they don't let customer see them. when I said I wasn't going to buy them for my four kids until I do finally see one in person, they showed me a used one. I was not allowed to see any games, just some crappy Pokedex of a random character. It looked 3d (yeah I can see it) but it certainly didn't make me feel like buying one. Play N Trade sux.

 

AX

[toptenmaterial]

Got to see one at a Play N Trade for the first time yesterday. When I asked about it they said, no, they don't let customer see them. when I said I wasn't going to buy them for my four kids until I do finally see one in person, they showed me a used one. I was not allowed to see any games, just some crappy Pokedex of a random character. It looked 3d (yeah I can see it) but it certainly didn't make me feel like buying one. Play N Trade sux.

 

AX

 

I have never heard of Play N Trade... but that doesn't sound like a good way to do business. They should have let you play a used cart as well.

 

The 3D is the real deal. It's the same effect that you get in the movies. In fact, my girlfriend and I were in Sears watching 3D televisions not long ago, and I personally believe that the 3DS offers superior 3D than what is offered on those.

 

I don't own one, but my nephew does. The only game that he has so far is Pilotwings, and the 3D and graphics overall is excellent. Regretfully, the entire map and most of the objectives are a rehash of Wii Sports Resort. It really is all about games, and the fate of the system rests upon getting some original ones ready by this holiday season. If Nintendo manages to get it's ducks in a row by then, the 3DS will be around for years to come. If not, then we will see many Atari-esque threads on AA about how awesome the 3DS could have been under the right cirumstamces.

Edited July 23, 2011 by toptenmaterial

[Seob]

Got to see one at a Play N Trade for the first time yesterday. When I asked about it they said, no, they don't let customer see them. when I said I wasn't going to buy them for my four kids until I do finally see one in person, they showed me a used one. I was not allowed to see any games, just some crappy Pokedex of a random character. It looked 3d (yeah I can see it) but it certainly didn't make me feel like buying one. Play N Trade sux.

 

AX

 

I have never heard of Play N Trade... but that doesn't sound like a good way to do business. They should have let you play a used cart as well.

 

The 3D is the real deal. It's the same effect that you get in the movies. In fact, my girlfriend and I were in Sears watching 3D televisions not long ago, and I personally believe that the 3DS offers superior 3D than what is offered on those.

 

I don't own one, but my nephew does. The only game that he has so far is Pilotwings, and the 3D and graphics overall is excellent. Regretfully, the entire map and most of the objectives are a rehash of Wii Sports Resort. It really is all about games, and the fate of the system rests upon getting some original ones ready by this holiday season. If Nintendo manages to get it's ducks in a row by then, the 3DS will be around for years to come. If not, then we will see many Atari-esque threads on AA about how awesome the 3DS could have been under the right cirumstamces.

The 3d effect on the 3ds isn't the same as 3d tv. On the 3ds the 3d effect is more like watching into a childerens shoebox full of animals inside, the 3d effect will never feel like coming out of the box to you. While the 3d effect on tv's is more live like, you feel you have to duck when something comes to you.

[DickNixonArisen]

not all 3dtv's are the same, for one. As far as Iv'e seen, i prefer the 3d effect on a 3ds.

 

I second pretty much every complaint ever made about it, though. Battery life, not being able to move around much, lack of great games. Leading with a remaked, even of "the greatest game of all time", is a poor choice. Then there's the whole third party thing - everyone complained about nintendo systems, for ten-twenty years, "the first party big franchise games are good, but no third party support". I never really saw that, maaaybe on the Wii, but no other system of theirs. Now for the 3ds and announced for the Wii U we have a bunch of semi-headscratchable sequels to third party titles that never appeared on nintendo systems and other thirdparty games, and we get the OPPOSITE complaint.

[Mendon]

Just saw an ad for the new glasses-free HTC 3D Smart Phone. Has many of the features (built in 3D camera, 2D-3D slider, Netflix, etc) of the 3DS except for the 1st party games.

 

I don't know..... 3D Smart Phones might make selling the $250 3DS difficult as hell.

 

 

Mendon

Edited July 24, 2011 by Mendon

[Animan]

Just saw an ad for the new glasses-free HTC 3D Smart Phone. Has many of the features (built in 3D camera, 2D-3D slider, Netflix, etc) of the 3DS except for the 1st party games.

 

I don't know..... 3D Smart Phones might make selling the $250 3DS difficult as hell.

 

 

Mendon

 

I read in reviews the 3D on the HTC 3D wasn't very good, and was a lot more headache-inducing than the 3DS. That, and the 3D slider is only an on/off switch; you can't adjust the 3D.

[Mord]

I don't know..... 3D Smart Phones might make selling the $250 3DS difficult as hell.

 

Unless Nintendo starts porting their own franchises to those smart phones, they have their fanbase by the balls. It'll be a 3ds or nothing. It's worked since the NES era, it'll continue to work into the future so long as they actually release new games for the franchises on the console. So far only the zelda remake is out I believe. We'll see where it stands by christmas.

[HatefulGravey]

I don't know..... 3D Smart Phones might make selling the $250 3DS difficult as hell.

 

Unless Nintendo starts porting their own franchises to those smart phones, they have their fanbase by the balls. It'll be a 3ds or nothing. It's worked since the NES era, it'll continue to work into the future so long as they actually release new games for the franchises on the console. So far only the zelda remake is out I believe. We'll see where it stands by christmas.

 

Most people I know are loosing interest or have completely lost interest in keeping up with the original Nintendo stuff. Zelda and Mario don't do as much for people as they used to. If Nintendo is just resting on their old franchises they might be running into trouble. If the fanchises were as good as they thought they were the Zelda re-release would be selling better on this system. You can't rehash the old stuff and expect the same results. Thems the facts.

[Rex Dart]

The 3d effect on the 3ds isn't the same as 3d tv. On the 3ds the 3d effect is more like watching into a childerens shoebox full of animals inside, the 3d effect will never feel like coming out of the box to you. While the 3d effect on tv's is more live like, you feel you have to duck when something comes to you.

 

Not true; that depends entirely on how the software is programmed to display. You can adjust the settings in the 3D photo viewer & have them pop out at you, but games tend not to do that because the effect just isn't as good when the screen's not the size of a wall.

 

Doesn't jive in your brain when an image in "front" of a screen ends where the screen ends, but it makes sense when it's "behind" the screen.

 

 

Zelda and Mario don't do as much for people as they used to. If Nintendo is just resting on their old franchises they might be running into trouble. If the franchises were as good as they thought they were the Zelda re-release would be selling better on this system.

 

 

That's not so much the fault of it being an old franchise as it is the fault of it being a re-re-release of an old game. If they tried selling Super Mario Bros 3 again, I bet it wouldn't sell so hot. This new Super Mario Bros 3D, however, should sell very well.

Edited July 25, 2011 by Rex Dart

[Reaperman]

Most people I know are loosing interest or have completely lost interest in keeping up with the original Nintendo stuff. Zelda and Mario don't do as much for people as they used to. If Nintendo is just resting on their old franchises they might be running into trouble. If the fanchises were as good as they thought they were the Zelda re-release would be selling better on this system. You can't rehash the old stuff and expect the same results. Thems the facts.

I'm feeling this as well. I know that nintendo characters were designed to have "universal appeal," but in an age of talking, emoting characters, it seems that they've chosen to skew them heavily toward the pre-teen crowd. Older images of mario, link and kirby have far more universal appeal than their current renderings, but I now see that's largely because of their lack of detail.

 

When I go for a game starring the typical cast of Nintendo cartoon personalities, I do so in spite of the characters, rather than because of them. Because underneath it *may* still be a good game, even with it's lame casting. Every time, I can't help but think games would just be better without them.

 

I'd rather buy 'Nintendo Soccer' than 'Mario Strikers.'

Edited July 25, 2011 by Reaperman

[n8littlefield]

Just saw an ad for the new glasses-free HTC 3D Smart Phone. Has many of the features (built in 3D camera, 2D-3D slider, Netflix, etc) of the 3DS except for the 1st party games.

 

I don't know..... 3D Smart Phones might make selling the $250 3DS difficult as hell.

 

 

Mendon

 

I read in reviews the 3D on the HTC 3D wasn't very good, and was a lot more headache-inducing than the 3DS. That, and the 3D slider is only an on/off switch; you can't adjust the 3D.

I tried it in store when picking my last phone and I was completely underwhelmed. The 3DS effect worked better for me - probably thanks to the adjustable slider. The phone felt very gimicky.

 

With that said, I think the 3DS is in a bit of trouble right now. When the DS library lacked depth, it was ok, because the competition was either nonexistant or much more expensive - now the competition is looking good and at the same price. I'm a Nintendo lover and I haven't bought a 3DS and I'm pretty sure I'll be going Vita this next round of hardware - my son will probably have one next year though - his loyalty lies with Pokemon.

[Rex Dart]

Man, the current competition is the far-cheaper DSi. It's got to be cannibalizing sales, especially when decent games are $12 at Fry's.

[Video]

The big problem is the lack of a killer app. I mean, yeah the 3D zelda is Ok...ish, but when it comes down to it, it's also a 15 year old game. Most the people that bought it either missed it the first time around, or had it and gave enough of a crap to buy it again.

 

They need a killer new game for the thing before it will take off. Even if it's an old chain game like Pokemon, that would attract gamers (especially if they could finally make it look good, though I wouldn't expect it to be the level of the PokeDex3D)

 

Also, it's to early. Most systems released early in a year did fairly poorly until christmass. Thing is, stuff like this is the perfect christmas present. Lots of people want one, they just don't want to buy it for themselves when they know that loved ones will likely buy it for them.

 

That, and the 3D is another gimmick tacked on to an already overly excessivly gimmick ridden console. I think the real thing is people are gimmicked out and while 3D is cool, and I can easily see it's potential, it's just yet another one tacked on to the to many already there.

 

I actually see the PSP Vita doing quiet well, (in comparison to the 3DS) not because of anything like what it does, but the fact that it looks and should feel more traditional. If all the games require the touch screen and the back scratch pad thing, it'll tank too.

 

Funny thing is, I see the 3DS making less use of all it's features on most games than the average DS game did (why I didn't like the DS over all) While it looks like a DS, it plays much more like the GBA. And for me, that's a good thing.

Edited July 25, 2011 by Video

[Animan]

I would say Pokemon will help sales, but it might not.

 

At my school, I see more of my peers playing the DS games in an emulator on their laptops than actual DS's. That's a problem.

[Mendon]

That, and the 3D is another gimmick tacked on to an already overly excessivly gimmick ridden console. I think the real thing is people are gimmicked out and while 3D is cool, and I can easily see it's potential, it's just yet another one tacked on to the to many already there.

 

I honestly disagree with this portion of your post. As I posted earlier, I see 3D as no more of a gimmick than HD graphic's. HD graphic's can enhance your gameplay and so can 3D so I see nothing wrong with either.

 

 

Mendon

[DickNixonArisen]

I don't know, Nintendo IS selling mario 3 right now (through the wii) and it's still one of their biggest sellers. I think nintendo could ride their flagships near-forever as long as they keep game quality up, which so far has been the case. Sonic had plenty of bad games, but people are willing to go back to him because of his glory days, and things are slowly getting better with his game quality, but the main Nintendo franchises never really dipped like that. Mario/Loz/Metroid/Kirby - hasn't been a bad main-storyline game in those franchises yet; and until that changes, MOST people won't get bored with them. That's not what's wrong with the 3DS. Design, battery life, price, game roster, lack of a pack-in and TIMING is what's wrong. Plus the incremental upgrade thing, true. If the game roster was hot enough, nobody would really be waiting for the 3ds2xl or whatever; because they'd really "need" to play Samurai Shodown perfect, Sonic & Mario: bareback boyz, River City Ransom MMO, whatever.

 

I also think that nintendo has made a mistake in promoting fighting games on the 3ds. I LOVE fighting games - i'm one of those kids who knows all the special moves for games that are NOT street fighter 2 and MK... but even I do not want to play them on a tiny handheld screen. Has ANY system had this many fighting titles this early? SFIV, DOA, and Blazblue?

 

3 of the 28 are fighting games. 7 Of the 28 are license/movie tie-ins. Only Three are first-party titles, nintendogs, which is probably a big system mover, Pilotwings Resort, which is about the quality of a Wii sports resort as a packin but is NOT a packin, and Steel Diver, which is destined to go down as a footnote. Having no (major) packins is a bad idea. With the Wii, they went with an unproven packin, almost a tech demo, but it worked because it was a good social/party game, the controls were still novel, and it had appeal. For the "Casual market", it was a good choice. They followed it with more - wii play, sports resort, another wii play. Also, it was a separate, physical item. "It comes with a game" or "it comes with everything you need" means a lot to grannies who do not care about video games but want to please little tyler/taylor/austin/gavin/hunter/dylan. The 3DS is NOT a party game system, and should NOT have launched with a (suggested pack-in, separately priced) game that's cut out of sports resort. It should have launched with pilotwings AS a pack-in, AND at least ONE solid, first-party, franchise title all-new game available at launch or very soon after. Just one would have done it. Mario preferably, but whatever. Then LoZ OOT should have been the followup. Hell, even if they'd taken all of those silly built-in titles out, and put them in a cart, and given it a generic name like "3d arcade", the perceived value would have gone up. "It costs 250, but it comes with a game which would cost 40, so it's more like 200". Nevermind the fact that "a game costs 40" is semi-arbitrary, it's all about how people think. Right now, it does not "come with a game", since digital content native to the system is not perceived as a full game - and in this case, that's fair, since content-wise it's not even close.

 

Maybe they should have had a first-party franchise title attached to a smaller experience, like a tech demo or minigame? That's all link's crossbow training was, but it had a lot of appeal. Why couldn't Mario have glided around mushroom world, or link and his big bird from skyward - that would have been a good early tie-in cross promotion. Leave the engine intact and re-skin pilotwings (a franchise name that's mostly forgotten to all non-penguin life) into something that people will shell out for.

 

Anyway, here's a rough list of what's out now:

 

 

asphalt 3d

balloon pop

Blazblue continuum

Bust a move

Captain america - L

Combat of dinosaurs

DOA dimensions

Dream trigger

Green Lantern - L

harry potter - L

lego star wars 2 - L

madden NFL

Nintendogs

pilotwings resort

pro evolution soccer

Rabbids travel in time

Resident evil mercenaries

ridge racer

spongebob - L

Street fighter 4

steel diver

super monkey ball

LoZ OOT

sims

thor - L

ghost recon

splinter cell

transformers - L

 

In my estimation the "bigger" titles out so far are:

 

Blazblue continuum

DOA dimensions

madden NFL

Nintendogs

pilotwings resort

Rabbids travel in time

Resident evil mercenaries

ridge racer

street fighter 4

super monkey ball

LoZ OOT

ghost recon

splinter cell

 

Which is 25% fighting game. That's too much fighter for a handheld, only certain kinds of people buy fighters nowadays. Mercenaries has bad press because of that save issue. Monkeyball isn't a big deal. So basically, we have ocarina, madden, and nintendogs. So that's your problem there. Very few people want all of those. I want just one, and barely.

Edited July 26, 2011 by DickNixonArisen

[Reaperman]

Has ANY system had this many fighting titles this early? SFIV, DOA, and Blazblue?

I think SNK's handheld line was about 50% fighting, but they weren't exactly a poster child for success. Fighting games were going out of style back then already (though there were enough *big* fighting games afterward).

 

Actually, the GBA launch lineup had about the same number of strong titles as 3ds:

Army Men Advance

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

ChuChu Rocket!

Earthworm Jim

F-Zero: Maximum Velocity

Fire Pro Wrestling

GT Advance Championship Racing

Iridion 3D

Konami Krazy Racers

Namco Museum

Pinobee: Wings of Adventure

Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure

Rayman Advance

Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2

Super Dodge Ball Advance

Super Mario Advance

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

 

Castlevania was what made me a near launch buyer on it. There are several other decent titles in there, but COTM was what moved the system. (a system I eventually bought 9 of) I hate to say it, but the emulator that was out prior to launch really helped too enforcing that demos are important. The xmas releases that year were very strong as well, so maybe there is hope for 3ds. I just can't see it being my thing, though.

Edited July 26, 2011 by Reaperman