Nintendo 3DS (thread twooooo)

[wakka]

There were compatibility issues with the DSi - certain games like Face Training required its cameras, along with some other shovelware Imagine titles IIRC. Due to its lack of GBA slot it was also incompatible with titles like Guitar Hero DS and the Daigasso Band Brothers expansion pack. The issues were pretty few and far between though, and I imagine it'll be the same with the New 3DS - the odd game like Xenoblade that only works on the new system, and perhaps the odd older game that has compatibility issues for whatever reason.

Frankly anyone picking up Xenoblade probably knows what they're about when it comes to games anyway.

I do broadly agree that the whole DS/DSL/DSi/2DS/3DS/Wii/WiiU naming system has gotten pretty ridiculously confusing for your average non nerd over the years though. But on the other hand I think a new version to stimulate sales is a good idea at this point, and I think it will prove fruitful in terms of extending the 3DS's life at retail.

[importaku]

DS/DS lite/DSi/DSiXL it's no different to now really, except people are all of a sudden acting dumb like putting the word new in front makes their minds implode as it's too much to take.

There will be 5 variations of the 3DS once the 2 new ones come out 3DS/3DS XL/new 3DS/new 3DS XL/ 2DS so thats one more model than the DS had. Most people nowdays have internet access so are fully capable of reading up before purchasing if they can't be bothered to read up & do their homework to what is what then i have no sympathy. It's tiring having to listen to the internet drone because herp a derp shoppers can't use their brains.

God help them if they ever go out & buy a pc they will go into meltdown at the choices & confusing specs LOL

[Neon Ignition]

If Nintendo was to irradicate the confusion with their next handheld and cease the DS line I wonder what they'd go with. Maybe something in line with whatever they call the next console. They seem to be getting a nostalgia vibe but I'm assuming a return to Gameboy is off the cards because it'd be deemed not gender neutral enough these days. Things were so much simpler when they just had to add words like Super, Mega and Ultra to the name

[Dogg Thang]

DS/DS lite/DSi/DSiXL it's no different to now really, except people are all of a sudden acting dumb like putting the word new in front makes their minds implode as it's too much to take.

There will be 5 variations of the 3DS once the 2 new ones come out 3DS/3DSXL/new 3DS/new 3DSXL/2DS so thats one more than the DS had.

Yes, and it's combined with the DS line which was confusing at launch and became an issue again when Nintendo decided to make a 3DS called a 2DS. The DS didn't have that because, sensibly, it was a new brand. The situation is not the same because the DS didn't launch with any hardware confusion and they then didn't compound that again and again.

As for doing their homework, to me if you've got to do homework before the purchase then that's a surefire indicator of a branding failure.

[importaku]

If you go into most places that sell games nowdays you'll be lucky to find them selling 3DSXL & 2DS hardware hardly anywhere has the original 3DS model on the shelves new. As the new ones come out the old XL will probably get phased out like the original meaning there is just 3 choices left.

If you are blowing over ?100 on something i think it's a good idea to be reading up on what you are buying, sorry but ignorance isn't an excuse. In my entire life i have never just walked into a games shop gone to the shelves picked up a console i knew nothing about & bought it.

[Guts]

If you are blowing over ?100 on something i think it's a good idea to be reading up on what you are buying, sorry but ignorance isn't an excuse. In my entire life i have never just walked into a games shop gone to the shelves picked up a console i knew nothing about & bought it.

I hear that. I remember I got called out on this forum when I defended the naming of Wii U, and that people should take at least some responsibility in what they choose to purchase. In the internet age there are no excuses for ignorance and if you cannot use the internet then there are the shop clerks for that purpose. If you're a lazy idiot who spends their money on a whim and who's too lazy to google for 10 minutes, you got only yourself to blame.

[Dogg Thang]

Have Nintendo got modern branding issues?

[charlesr]

This will be great for retailers.
"Please can I have a 3DS?"
"Do you want a New 3DS?"
"Of course I want a new one"
SOLD

[wakka]

If I ever mention my 3DS to people I just call it a Nintendo...3DS just seems too embarrassing of a name.

Wii was a good name. WiiU was a bad decision.

[Asura]

Torn about which one to get, as I'm probably getting at least one of them.

I have the 3DSXL now, but the new smaller one might be better, with the slightly bigger screens than the regular 3DS - plus the battery life is probably going to be longer. Decisions, decisions...

In my entire life i have never just walked into a games shop gone to the shelves picked up a console i knew nothing about & bought it.

That's you, though. Your command of grammar alone suggests you're unlikely to have this kind of problem.

I worked for a video games retailer years ago. You think you've seen everything the first time someone buys a GameCube game thinking that it's an Xbox game. The 20th time it happens, you just start to lose faith in humanity. And true, you might say that some people know nothing about video games - but I've never splashed ?20 on something without spending FOUR SECONDS to read one word on the cover.

I believe Nintendo have named their recent products poorly; I mean I've literally overheard the whole conversation in GAME:

"This is for the 3DS, you know that, right?"
"Oh I only have the 2D one..."
"The 2DS? Well that's OK."
"Yeah, the lite one."
"Oh no, that's the wrong one."
"But it's 2D, like not 3D like the 3DS."
"Yes but..." etc.

[Neon Ignition]

I don't think so anymore, they eventually seemed to have gotten over the initial 3DS name confusion. The WiiU's reputation seemed to eventually mean many cottoned on that it wasn't the same as a Wii, sadly the quality of that reputation did its own damage

[nakamura]

DS/DS lite/DSi/DSiXL it's no different to now really, except people are all of a sudden acting dumb like putting the word new in front makes their minds implode as it's too much to take.

There will be 5 variations of the 3DS once the 2 new ones come out 3DS/3DS XL/new 3DS/new 3DS XL/ 2DS so thats one more model than the DS had. Most people nowdays have internet access so are fully capable of reading up before purchasing if they can't be bothered to read up & do their homework to what is what then i have no sympathy. It's tiring having to listen to the internet drone because herp a derp shoppers can't use their brains.

God help them if they ever go out & buy a pc they will go into meltdown at the choices & confusing specs LOL

I think the key here is though, they all have DS in the title so people think they will all be compatible.

When you get a new iPhone, everything the same works on it, content wise.

[speedlolita]

The other day I was in Game. Guy walks in, talking large to his GF/wife about his PS4 - or something.

See Destiny behind the counters, store guy explains it in two sentences, guy decides to buy based on that description alone and because he just got fast internet - apparently.

Bizzare to overhear.

Anyway, that was just an example to back up what others have said.

importaku is completely correct in my book though, I'd never buy something without prior research, let alone something ?100+!

[importaku]

I remember back when there were 4 or 5 different handheld gaming platforms how did anyone cope with such choice?

Apple is a good point, they have literally yearly upgrades with equally confusing branding. Iphone with a number & a letter with no indication with whats changed plus most of them look nearly identical it's only if you start doing your homework that you find out what's new. Don't see masses of rage online about that, not all apps work when you upgrade some stop working on newer versions of ios as they were not programmed to support it and unless they recompile & update it then it stays broken.

Anyway getting off topic now, time will tell if people are genuinely confused when it eventually gets released in UK. Although the branding is least of Nintendos worries, the fact that they release sod all in the UK gamewise means a new console is not going to fly off the shelves if there are no new games to tempt gamers with as well.

[Dogg Thang]

importaku is completely correct in my book though, I'd never buy something without prior research, let alone something ?100+!

And yet that doesn't affect the question, which is why I asked it in one yes or no sentence. Some have answered but I'm just curious to see what the response is without the side issues or tangents.