I was looking over one of the emails you posted titled “Email: 3DS battery life is abyssmal.” I thought it was interesting because I thought I would have been able to skip the battery shortage if I turned off the 3d features. There actually a recent hardware problem with the 3ds known as the black screen error. Nintendo tried to fix it with an update but it was still occurring after some people updated the system. They added all sorts features to the 3ds such as motion controllers, cameras and features but does it answer the most important question “does it work?” Another person I recall was complaining about how the features for the AR cards wasn’t working very well and was very sensitive and frigidity.
You know those village idiots aka the journalist think about the 3DS? You can look at metacritic scores if you want get an impression. Granted, they aren’t the important aspect of the customer interaction but it does say a lot about the people who worship the “bleeding edge technology” group. As far as customers seem to going, it certainly isn’t impressing them either.
I was contemplating whether to get a 3ds or not. There are some future titles I would be interested in buying but there are so many glaring flaws. Usually I tend to make lists of lists of games I want to purchase in the future, and tend to keep an ideal of having an indefinite amount of money to spend. I was able to list 12 games in the future I would like to purchase (although most aren’t launch titles). Only three games strongly resonate with me.
There are four of things Nintendo can do to fix the issue.
1) Promise a strong Virtual Console backing- I initially bought the Nintendo DSi with the notion it would allow me to download old portable games. Didn’t happen. Although the 3DS is promising this, how strong should it be considering how it is treated on the Wii? Also the fact that they haven’t outright said they will support Gameboy advance games.
2) Fix the hardware issues- I learned over time to avoid launch products. Why? Because they come out of the box ready to be broken. My PS2 had disk reading errors, cost $75 to get it repaired. My PS3 also got a disc reading error that will cost $175. My Gamecube cost me $99 to get a new one. And you bought the system at an inflated price, where they make a price drop sometime in the near future.
3) Await for improved hardware- Even without the errors, there tends to be benefits to waiting for new hardware, especially with Nintendo and it’s handheld line up. Take a look at this pattern.
Gamboy to Gameboy Color- Net result, access to more exclusives and reduced power consumption.
Gameboy Advance to Gameboy Advance SP- Net Result. A back lit screen and a built in rechargable battery which was a godsend for me at the time. Granted, it was more comfortable to play on the Gameboy Advance but the SP made it an overall better experience to play on the go. Hunting for batteries is never fun.
DS to DSlite to DSi- The DS original was plagued with problems. Hinges were breaking off and screens were going out. The DSlite solved those hardware issues. Even better, the DSi allowed one to carry games with them without having to carry cartridges in the form of downloadable games.
4) Better line up of games- I don’t even need to explain this one.
Instead of buying a 3DS, I am going to buy a PSP instead. When you weigh the costs against each other, I can get a brand new system with no new games I want for $250 or I can get a brand new system for $250 with about 10 games I find to enjoy for the same price. This is kind of sad actually. You constantly compare the 3DS to previous portable Nintendo systems because they were at least successful with the exception of the Virtual Boy. With the 3DS, we might be seeing an all new low we haven’t seen since perhaps the Virtual boy. Maybe if Nintendo is lucky, they will beat the Sega Nomad system.
The decline is not going to be that drastic. There is a distinct possibility that 3DS will be most popular in America and less popular in other areas (which is what occurred with the N64 and Gamecube). The decline will be more steady.
Right now, all the ‘easy to get’ customers will get the 3DS. People buy the 3DS with the expectation they are getting another DS type experience with similar DS range library. But this isn’t going to happen. By making the system revolve around 3d output, it ensures every game to be 3d. And since development costs increase, there will be less games. I LOVED the ‘middle tier’ type DS games. Not the ‘bargain bin’ DS games, but not the ‘big company games’. I liked the DS games that were in the middle. The move to 3d will probably push those companies to bankruptcy.
A big, big problem is that every 3DS owner I am seeing is saying, “There’s no games.” Well, there are games, but they are not that good. And a system’s health is its game library. N64 ports are not going to excite anyone. Mario Kart is a known quantity as is Animal Crossing. Nintendogs is already out. The big ‘core’ games of the DS would be Pokemon (which I wonder how they are going to tackle 3d if they do) and 2d Mario (have you realized it has been half a decade since NSMB came out?). Before the earthquake, Japanese user reviews were complaining that they wish they would’ve waited to buy the system until games came out. I can’t blame them there.
The 3DS also has piqued my interest in the PSP. There is already some sort of library of games already available for it. It’d be nice to just stare at one screen.
Aside from the 3d aspects of the device, the other things that I really do not like about the 3DS is the viral elements and, what we will see, the ‘push elements’. Nintendo wants the new shop to ‘push’ stuff at you. I don’t like stores pushing stuff at me. I’ll pass.
With the DS and Wii, Nintendo was not under any illusion of success. The DS was said to be the ‘third pillar’, remember that? And with the Wii, I remember Reggie’s reaction to the PS3 price announcement and it was, “Hmm, maybe we will have a chance in Japan.” I feel like Nintendo is taking their success for granted, and they are taking their customers for granted.
Right now is the honeymoon period. If you spent $250 for any product, the last thing you are going to do is complain. Even if you bought a box full of rocks, you would congratulate yourself on your purchase because the praise isn’t really about the product, the praise is really for the purchaser.
Months will go by. Then, a year. Honeymoon period will be over. The only thing people will care about are the games out and the games coming out. If interesting games are not available, you’ll start to see frustration.
I think this is the 3DS’s salad days. From here on, it will likely be a decline in reputation once the novelty wears off. Everything is going to depend on the games. And Gamecube-esque games will not save the system (Mario Kart, 3d Mario, Smash Brothers).