When we looked over Nintendo's most recent financial results one set of statistics stood out among the relatively uneventful reports - the 3DS and New 3DS are struggling. That's only reinforced in the official translation of company President Tatsumi Kimishima's Presentation, which includes slides that show sales trending below those of the previous year.
In addressing this the presentation outlines rough plans for the 3DS family of hardware, with the most promising detail being that "several strong titles" - first- and third-party - are planned for release; time will tell on those and their potential impact.
Another key part of the strategy is focusing on evergreen titles, value offerings and expanding the "Kids and Female demographics" for the systems. The graphic below shows the sales impact, for example, of last year's Nintendo Selects range that was released in Europe. The reduced price re-releases drove sizeable increases in their respective sales.
The upcoming Pokemon Gen 1 2DS and New 3DS bundles were also highlighted as a major upcoming initiative, as Nintendo seeks to capitalise on nostalgia and curiosity around the Virtual Console releases.
Our takeaway from these explanations is that Nintendo will combine a handful of key new releases with a drive to push the value and back-catalogue of the 3DS, which is certainly logical considering its been on the market for nearly five years. Whether it pays off will be interesting to see.
[source nintendo.co.jp]
Comments 74
Nintendo, Put Advance Wars, Golden Sun, Warioware, Wario Land, More Kirby, more Mario and lastly, Rhythm Heaven and you're all set!
Oh and maybe a new Pokemon game and a Zelda game would be nice for the 3DS!
Great can't wait
Some virtual console games for wiiu would be better suited to 3ds I would like them to make that happen
I'd take a Fates EU release date Nintendo. That would be a great place to start.
Yeah it absolutely boggles my mind how the 3ds is struggling! It's cheap as chips and has some unbelievable games on it! It's close to becoming my favourite system ever!
Drop the price.
Put SNES games on (new) 3DS virtual console, they are sitting on money and a great non-aggressive way to push the New 3DS
Just give us Rhythm Heaven and Picross 3D 2!
Need them so much
@SuperCharlie78 THIS!
Sounds good. Games for everyone. Lots of games.
A new 3ds as well with a little bit bigger screen so games like Smash Bros look better.
And some advertising.
The 3DS still has some decent games coming to it. Three Dragon Quest games, two Fire Emblem games, a new Bravely default, Metriod Prime FF, Hyrule Warriors Legends, Monster Hunter x and Stories, and most likely another round of Pokémon, Yo-Kai Watch and Mario before the system quits it. Plus I'm sure Nintendo still has a few surprises for the system to come. Maybe if we are lucky we might even get a new Zelda game for its 30th anniversary. This is on top of an already fantastic library of games. How could anyone not want a 3DS?
"expanding the "Kids and Female demographics" for the systems." ?!
Can I hope to see western releases for the next Yokai Watch, the final episode of the Inazuma series, and the two LBX? _
@Nomad maybe a physical collection of all the zelda's up to majoras mask will be released on the 3ds for the 30th anniversary but I can't see a new 3ds zelda coming at all.
'Strong titles' like Mario Tennis Ultra Smash and Animal Crossing amiibo Festival?
I'm done waiting for "strong titles".
If it can run Xenoblade Chronicles to an acceptable standard... there must be a boat load of other Wii games it could run too. I wonder how much work it takes...
Is the 3ds really struggling or is it just reaching the end of its useful life? Compare it to the only other handheld out there in the Vita and it's completely blown it out of the water, it's also done better than recent home consoles. Okay it's not done as well as the DS but really who expected it to, it's on course to sell more than the NES, that's enough in my book. The 'new' idea was only ever a quick hardware revision to boost the last couple of years of its life. It's been out nearly five years now, in todays throwaway culture that's a lifetime.
More games for Kids and females... yay.
There's going to be a follow up to Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer called Animal Crossing: Happy Home Wrecker.
@Moon your fedora is showing
"expanding the "Kids and Female demographics" for the systems." Well that's a terrible idea but whatever. Incoming even more censorship
More Nintendogs please. Where's the Nintendogs Amiibos btw?
You know what would be good for the 3DS? Dropping the prices of the games. New release games cost almost as much as a new console game, which is just ridiculous. The prices never drop either, OOT3D is still full price almost 5 years after its release for example. It's put me off the system that's for sure.
That probably means the fashion game sequel for girls is making it across the water. 2016 is only looking fun for RPGers thus far, but I'm not complaining! Fire Emblem is only two weeks and two days away!!!
@Morph
Totally agree, the 3DS is at the end of its life cycle, the declining sales don't have any other explanation. Everyone thay wanted a 3DS already has one.
I expect Pokemon Z, another Kirby game, and another port from Monster Games (Tropical Freeze 3D?).
Haven't turned on my 3DS in months.
Define "strong" titles.
I just hope that the possible success of Digimon Cyber Sleuth would make the localization of Digimon World ReDigitize for 3DS possible.
Can Rhythm Heaven get localized? Pretty please?
@NintyMan Yeah, I'm surprised that Wario Ware 3ds hasn't happened yet.
I love the complaints at expanding to more demographics. Nobody said that comes at the expense of games already out people. Personally I hope that means more puzzle, VN (like Ace Attorney) and rhythm games.
3DS is almost dead. i hope they focus on a new handheld. that could explain the lack of really great titles for 3DS this year
There is one thing they could VERY easily do to hit the female demographic in a way - bring over New Style Boutique 2. I've played the European version (through means of which will not be discussed), and really, the only thing that would need changed is how dates are displayed (the US typically flip flops the month and day around). Other than that, they could port it today and make money, but...
@6ch6ris6 - Are you kidding? Hyrule Warriors Legends? Project X Zone 2? FE: Fates? Paper Jam? FF Explorers? These all got/will be released this year, and I was/am pretty excited for all of those!
It looks like Nintendo has developped a very solid business plan for the futur.
Its global, internationnal, it starts small and ramp up overtime, every pieces should fall in place one after another.
Also, expect a major communication event (new Nintendo direct ?) somewhere between today and february 17th. If they want regular people to know about the launch of My Nintendo and Miitomo they need to communicate to the masses about it.
My money is on the 17th, so they can say "You can register and download the application right now !" and profit from all the buzz and talk post Nintendo direct.
Just rerelease the GameBoy Light.
@EmmatheBest good for you. i was excited for FF-explorers but the reviews were disappointing. besides that im not excited for any upcoming game on 3DS.
@Ichiban I remember I used to believe I could wait for Ocarina of Time 3D to get cheaper before I bought my first 3DS. I waited a good 3 years for a larger game library and for price drops and I remember that even used I bought it for nearly the full price of the game new when it was first released. But it's a Zelda game so that's kinda expected.
Truthfully though $40 is a lot less than the $60 a new console game costs in my opinion. And if you have Amazon Prime, or Best Buy Gamer Pro Club you can get a new 3DS game for $32 without waiting for any price drop after release. At that price it sound pretty cheap to me.
How about Etrian Odyssey Untold 3 and EO V? I'm looking at you, Atlus!
I'm wishing would make some actual game release announcements and not these vague promises. Be specific, Nintendo!
@boatie That would be amazing but guarantee it will never happen. Same goes for GBA on 3DS.
@KrakenSoup I would love GBA VC on 3DS (I also love acronyms, can you tell? :3 ), GBA had some awesome games, and re-releasing them on 3DS makes a lot of sense, you know, portable games re-released on a portable console...
Personally not keen on targeting games to a certain demographic. I'd rather they just make good games that attract players because of their quality and the fun had playing them. Targeting games means we end up with things like amiibo Festival and those games never rate well.
There's a novel idea. I'm glad someone at Nintendo was able to see the results and figure it out. Who knew that you could make more sales by selling things at a discount?
Seriously though, they should really consider that to be their big push. Step 1. There is still no select range in the US yet, so just drop the price and reproduce a bunch of select games in waves of 4. Step 2. Also drop the price of the consoles new and old by a margin. Step 3. PROFIT!
I think part of the problem with the 3DS family at this point is that everyone who wants one or who were on the fence have either purchased one or moved on from the idea of purchasing one. Concentrate on the games at this point because the "base" is there.
I feel the VC market is stronger on the 3DS than the Wii U but the Wii U gets most of the VC games at this point. I feel that Nintendo misses out on soooo many opportunities. The new Pokemon re-releases are cool but couldn't they have at least added color? The original gameplay still holds up but there's no reason to go with the original gameboy color palette is there?
Pokémon confirmwd it's the 20th anniversary so no main series game is a mistake as the hype is now! Maybe they'll shock us with a delta emerald and a Pokémon Z explaining the 2 year gap or even better both games in one like gold and silver with Johto and Kanto. Still very happy to see that Nintendo has plans for the 3ds!
@Vriess
"I'm done waiting for strong titles"
Think you're the only one still waiting. Everyone else has been enjoying strong titles for half a decade, with 2 more releasing in just 2 weeks.
I'd love to see some of those Nintendo Selects here in the US
Hey, so when is that new Pokemon game being announced Game Freak/Nintendo? You've been teasing it for an eternity.
Nintendo really needs to put the SNES on the 3ds!!!
Bring that catalogue and don't say its not possible. Sales will blow up.
@JaxonH There are very few games this generation that could really be called "strong" thanks to Nintendo cheaping out and decreasing the scale of their games. There's been no open world collectathon platformers, only a slew of linear ones. Zelda has been taking an eternity to come out and Metroid isn't coming at all. And many of their "strong" titles are just recycling what they've already done on other consoles. So yeah, the truly strong titles have not happened.
Shrugs
Looking back around this point in the DS lifecycle, circa 2010, we got Pokemon remakes, a belatedly localized Dragon Quest, WarioWare, and various smaller titles. If Nintendo localized Rhythm Heaven, 2016 would be about on par.
So long as new hardware has enough software next generation, this is fine.
Though I do wish we could have something Kirby-related.
@6ch6ris6 The new handheld is called NX.
Censorship controversies aside, 2016 is looking to be one of the 3DS' stronger years in terms of software. The problem is that pretty much everyone who wants a 3DS has one by now, and Nintendo isn't giving people enough of a reason to upgrade to the newer model.
I'll be looking to expand my own kids and female demographics in the upcoming years.
I am thankful for the multiple Fire Emblem games coming out, but my favorite portable game from Nintendo has always been Advance Wars. If they produced a new Advance Wars (or a compilation of the old ones) I would instantly buy that. If they would be willing to use the power of the New 3ds to port Gameboy Advance Games/Super Nintendo games I would also buy a ton of those. I am very satisfied with my purchase of the 3ds but those games, perhaps a few new surprises would easily get my money. As for now, I will continue to enjoy Steam World Heist and look forward to the new Fire Emblem games.
@Kokusho That would be smart. They could also talk about Fates and TP since that would be releasing soon after.
It would be great to get another look at what will hopefully but unrealistically be a much improved Star Fox as well.
Yay! More games for kids and girls: exactly what we don't want or need.
In other words, legacy support confirmed. Time to prep retailers for new 3DS successor hardware and get it on shelves. Time for a stylish new Mario and Animal Crossing and Pokemon app compatibility. Let FY 2017 results shout for joy!
Huge titles for 3DS this year include and are mostly limited to:
Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam
Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright/Conquest/Revelation
Hyrule Warriors Legends
Final Fantasy Explorers
Project X Zone 2
Bravely Second: End Layer
Dragon Quest VII/VIII
Mega Man Legacy Collection (shouldn't count too much though since it's just a rehash of a rehash of 6 other games that were pretty good back in the day)
Hopefully a Direct or equivalent will seek to illustrate these other huge games coming out this year because after April we really don't have anything on the horizon.
Metroid Prime Soccer doesn't count either... Ever.
I personally feel since they upgraded the 3ds to the NEW 3DS with more power and better 3D viewing that the 3DS could go on another 2 years at least. But they only brought out 1 game that shows off what the unit can do (Xenoblade) of course though just having better 3D tracking for myself is huge. I still haven't been able to afford a NEW 3DS but will be picking one up within the next 3 months or so. It's seems that the units are already in place why not release some kickass software and not worry so much about the console sales. How many millions of 3DS units are already placed out there?
@Bolt_Strike
Gotta disagree, strongly.
And to clarify, his remark was concerning 3DS. And 3DS has had strong titles for years. Again, 2 more release in just 2 weeks.
As for Wii U/3DS, ya, Metroid is missing. So is F-Zero. So are others. But missing a few doesn't mean there are no strong titles.
A good number of members here (including myself) consider the 3DS library to be the best Nintendo handheld spread to date. And there's a reason for that. Best handheld Mario Kart, first Smash, best Zelda (possibly even better than the console entries too), remakes of numerous N64 faves, Fire Emblem Awakening (and soon Fates Birthright and Conquest), Kid Icarus, Stella Glow, Bravely Default... the list goes on and on.
Female? Okay gay friendly cool.
@JaxonH 3DS was a little better off than Wii U, but it still lacks the bold ideas that define Nintendo. This generation is definitely the weakest for Nintendo, especially in terms of creativity and originality. There's a few notable exceptions like Splatoon, but in general the lineup has been extremely derivative.
@Bolt_Strike
I used to think Wii U was going to have the best library to date, knowing it wasn't filled out yet, but now in hindsight I see the GC and SNES still have it beat. But it's definitely the 3rd best in Nintendo console history- NES was garbage, N64 had a decent handful but they all suck compared to Wii U games, and Wii just wasn't as good.
As for handhelds, DS had the worst library of any Nintendo console to date aside from Virtual Boy, and GameBoy is a joke compared to current games. GBA was amazing, but, just not as good. It had more solid games quantity wise, but all of them fall short of their 3DS counterparts.
Well it confirms that i wont be owning a 3ds again anytime soon
I love my 3DS. I have 3 of them. I do feel kind of shafted about buying the N3DS. It does have a great library. Sure it is missing a Metroid, but that's all. This years line up is through the roof. Fire Emblem Fates:Birthright/Conquest/Revelation, Hyrule Warriors Legends, Final Fantasy Explorers, Bravely Second: End Layer, Atlus games and the crim dala crem Dragon Quest VII/VIII. I couldn't ask for a better year. It is so good. I might hold off on buying the NX at launch ,if it comes out this year. This "kid and female" Blahk, yuck, Fooey. As long as I get these games I am happy.
"Expanding 'kids and female demographics.' I'm not sure what this means, tons of kids and girls/women play the 3DS. I'm really not sure there's anything the could do to expand those demographics as most games are already appealing to those groups.
I'll wait and see what these 'strong' titles are, as I've learned not to get my hopes up when it comes to Nintendo.
@readyletsgo I doubt we'll get one either, that's why I said maybe if we are lucky. You never know though, Nintendo can be a bit unpredictable.
The female adult demographic alone makes up more than 50% of game sales on the 3ds, or it did before they stopped making good games in favor of slamming us with a flood of RPGs. Then there is the kid demographic - most of what they release now for kids is just Eshop games and a lot of parents don't buy those for kids, for various reasons. Obviously these ignorant oversights by Nintendo are costing them dearly. They better hurry and get this turned around because many of us are ready to move on with nothing on the 3ds worth playing anymore.
And I agree with @Barbiegurl777 as we really need Disney Magical World 2 and Style Savvy 3. Those would help bump up the sales figures considerably!!
Nintendo actually realise that lowering prices, leads to higher sales?! My God, did they actually peek out through their window into the real world?!
@Kiyata_Hamasaki Nothing on the 3DS worth playing anymore? You obviously haven't seen this year's lineup of ganes.
Looks like the perfect time to send Monster Hunter X to the west and revive the dying 3DS.
@Sakura All games are targeted to some demographic. To assume otherwise is naive. That doesn't mean that there isn't an overlap; just that there is a certain market with a statistically attributed interest set. Guys still play style savvy and the sims, girls still play Dark Souls and F-zero.
@abbyhitter Why are you speaking collectively? Gaming is diverse...which means there are genres for everybody. Since Nintendo is a company looking to make money they are looking at any untapped markets or under utilized markets. And yeah games aimed at children and the stereotypical (I say that because I'm female and it grates me that I'm expected to like Barbie or pink...etc) female gamer is still potential revenue and still has an audience. And they are don't have the same presence on the 3ds as they did on the ds. Just because you don't see a bunch of posts on every new game announcement demanding more style savvy or My Little Pony games doesn't mean that people don't want them.
@Ryu_Niiyama Yes. It's the extent to which privileging the targetting of a demographic over making choices that enhance the game in a more natural way, that I wonder about.
Tap here to load 74 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...