Nintendo 3DS (thread twooooo)

[sj33]

I don't think Japanese people are more clued up about gaming really, to be honest. But Nintendo are MUCH better at marketing the thing here. They'll plaster the TV with adverts explaining the main differences. They won't simply rely on people buying new hardware 'just because'. They'll emphasise that its faster, lighter, has more buttons etc. The naming isn't quite as confusing because obviously people don't use the English term 'new' in anything except brand names like 'New 3DS'. It's different from somebody asking for an 'atarashii 3DS', which means the same thing.

Even then though, Japanese take-up of new hardware has become extremely slow. You will remember that 3DS sales were extremely slow at first, as were Vita sales and now PS4 sales. It's not that people don't understand the differences - Nintendo and others explain that very well. But software sells here, and people have no qualms about using their existing DS, PS3, PSP etc. until games they want actually come. This is where Nintendo and Sony have both struggled. Expect the same to happen with the New 3DS - first week of sales spike followed by stagnation until Nintendo release something that doesn't actually work on their existing 3DS.

I still see more people playing PSPs than Vitas.

[importaku]

The lack of games problem is their biggest hurdle that they need to overcome more than anything else. They need a constant stream of good games coming either from Nintendo themselves or a 3rd party, after all this time of the 3DS been out i still only have the grand total of 18 games for the 3DS the library is really small when compared to the DS. Even in Japan where there is a lot more games for 3DS released there it's still not enough, the DS really spoiled me with large amounts of quality releases thats for sure.

There are maybe an extra 7 or 8 games that i would like to pick up but then that's it until more are announced, i have literally spent several hours going through evey game released on 3DS and made a list of all the games i'd like, the volume of quirky games is nowhere near as high as i'd like. Maybe thats the problem my tastes are too weird for a constant release of odd stuff.

Still they keep making cooking mama games so im happy, plus there is Level 5 churning out gold & hell even Sega is releasing a few good games like hero bank. Plus there is that Fujiko F Fujio character based board game coming, haven't had a good boadgame videogame in aaaages.

[Asura]

I still see more people playing PSPs than Vitas.

This is threatening to become a de-rail about Japanese gaming habits, but there's also the factor that used games are massive over there, and far more organised than in the UK. I remember back when I lived there; I could go to any random gaming shop and they'd have a range of preowned Saturn games as good as when the system was new, both in terms of variety and price, all of them in very good condition (practically looking new). This was in 2007.

In terms of handhelds, they have a big culture of public transport. People in the UK, I think, see public transport as something to use when other methods fail, when over there, you always seem to prefer to use that first if you can. That makes handhelds quite big business.

The lack of games problem is their biggest hurdle theat they need to overcome more than anything else.

The big problems with this are still the same; smartphone gaming and Nintendo's dominance.

Many developers have jumped ship to smartphone devs, leaving behind their publishers and interest in conventional gaming, preferring to chase being the person that comes up with the next Candy Crush or Flappy Bird, with the chance to make so much money in a year that they can retire wealthy.

The other side to this though is that it's difficult to justify funding a 3DS title in the current climate, when any investor is likely to prefer iOS developers due to both the lower initial cost and the potential high earnings. Also, the AppStore's race-to-the-bottom has created a culture where video games are percieved as having no value, and there are literally thousands of games available for free, irrespective of quality (or lack thereof).

Nintendo's games sell really well, too, so developers have to be careful not to release at a similar time. Then you have companies like EA and Ubi who have literally said they've no plans to do proper Nintendo platform titles again.

[importaku]

Just bought mine as Amazon Jp have preorders up, yay no ripoff playasia prices.

A New 3DS with 9 faceplates & a charging stand for 33,480yen

[wakka]

Bloody hell 9 faceplates? Did you spend as much on the faceplates as the system? o_O

[importaku]

Got all the ones i 100% wanted as i have no idea how long they will be available for, i can pick up the secondary colours im kind of interested in later. The faceplates are such a great idea, can change the look without having tons of limited editions hogging up space. plus you can split them & combine for even more choices. I know each country will probably get exclusives so even more choice as they can't region lock a faceplate, hmmm or can they. If the faceplates come with a code to get the matching theme for your 3DS that might cause problems but i have no idea if they do yet.

[punio75]

Just bought mine as Amazon Jp have preorders up, yay no ripoff playasia prices.

A New 3DS with 9 faceplates & a charging stand for 33,480yen

Jealous!!!!!! I'll be all over those faceplates- think they're a terrific idea.

[importaku]

When it arrives if anyone wants questions answering i'll be happy to dispell the myths.

[wakka]

Look forward to your impressions

Hope they bring it to Europe quickly. I hate the stupid region locking.

[importaku]

Not sure how much use i'll be with the C stick as i don't own any control pad plus games or have any games that use it on preorder.

Still need to source a decent micro sd card, i know it will probably come with one but it will most likely be a small sized one like with previous 3DS models.

[speedlolita]

I always just use Amazon for memory cards.

[fuse]

The Poogie faceplate is an essential purchase, surely.

[importaku]

Just looked up the preorder price for smash bros, ?26 on Amazon, ?42 on playasia WTF how can they hike the price so high?

[importaku]

The Poogie faceplate is an essential purchase, surely.

Is that the pig one? Im assuming thats a MH related one?

[fuse]

Is that the pig one? Im assuming thats a MH related one?

Yep! He is one of the series' mascots, and is very awesome