(NOTE: Originally posted 04/15/2011 for the MyIGN Blogs)
Back in mid-February I wrote a post called “2011: A Disastrous Year For Nintendo?” in which I was, and still am, of the opinion that, in the long run, the 3DS would not sell as well here in the States. My opinion was based on many reasons which varied from price to the handheld’s versatility, game titles, and a shift in consumer’s interest from gaming handhelds to smart phones and tablets. Now it seems that my theory could have some validity based on the 3DS sales, here in the States, during this month.
Currently the 3DS has sold under 400,000 units during its launch week while the original DS, released back in November 21, 2004, sold 480,000 units during it’s week. Now that is a substantial difference. Yet what could have caused such a thing to occur? Is it because interest in gaming handhelds have dropped significantly since the DS debuted? Could it be caused by the poor selection of launch titles or the handheld’s $250 price tag?
Well it seems that Reggie Fils-Aime, President of Nintendo of America, believes that this sale discrepancy is due to the fact that the 3DS was launched in March while the original DS was released in November.
“When we launched DS, we launched going right into the Thanksgiving week (in 2004). From a pure timing seasonality, you are not going to be able to compare the two launches.”
While I can see some merit in that train of thought I don’t think it is a big enough reason to justify a sales difference of over 100,000 units. Given that the gaming population is constantly, and rapidly, growing each year I would have thought that such a difference wouldn’t be so big even with the time of year playing a factor in sales.
So if it isn’t due to the time of year, what is the cause for the 3DS’s lower-than-expected-sales?
It could be that a large number of older gamers are disenchanted with the Nintendo brand while the younger gamers are entranced by the notion of smart phones and tablets. Perhaps many consumers are still enjoying the latest version of the DS and don’t want to spend more money on yet another new handheld even though it is newer and more powerful. Yet whatever the case is, the interest in the 3DS was not enough for the sales numbers to come close to rivaling that of the original DS.
What is even more interesting is that, for the past two weeks in Japan, the PSP has outsold the 3DS. Sales, for the 3DS, have been spiraling downwards since it was first launched in Japan and, according to one analyst, a similar slump is starting to happen here in the States as well.
But what do you guys think? Could it be that my theory of the 3DS not selling as well as the DS here in the States be valid?
Author’s Note:
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