We can all agree that the 3DS is going to be a pretty huge deal; glasses-free 3D in the palm of your hand from the company that brought you the DS, a console so ubiquitous it's a wonder that they're not giving it away free with packs of cereal these days.
However, as excited as you may be, chances are you're not as pumped as HMV UK & Ireland CEO and MD, Simon Fox.
Speaking to Gamesindustry.biz recently, Fox practically had to be held down during the interview, such was his sheer enthusiasm for the forthcoming console:
I think the 3DS is the first really new handheld that we've seen for a long time - and I think it's vitally important that there's a fight back on the handhelds. The market is going to the iPhone and digital, so to have a really exciting new handheld gaming machine - with the software that goes with it - we're very excited about that. I think there'll be huge consumer interest. I think Nintendo always does a fantastic job of launching new products, so bring it on.
Bring it on, indeed. However, Fox managed to take several deep breaths and calm himself down enough to issue a word of warning concerning the 3DS' mooted price point of around £199.
"In a tougher economic environment the price point of a console is massively price sensitive," he said. He went on to admit that "at the moment" he was happy with the way things have worked out - especially in the wake of several high-profile console price cuts last year - but his words to suggest that he's a little uneasy with the whopping RRP being placed around the neck of the new handheld.
[source gamesindustry.biz]
Comments 20
So are these guys like Best Buy or something?
"The market is going to the iPhone and digital", as much as I hate to admit it, it's true. Lets face it, little kids will be just as happy playing shovelware like "Lets Stack Toothpicks! The Game!" as they will with playing good stuff, like Super Mario Galaxy 2.
@Mickeymac: Nah, they're like a retail store version of play.com - they specialize in music, gaming and film.
@ Simon Fox easy there, tiger.
@ 3. Raylax so like F.Y.E. basically?
@ Robo-goose Don't forget about "Fun! Fun! Can Shoot!!". Oh how I hate shovelware
Giving away DS' with cereal? One thing I've never understood is that if the DS is soooo popular, then why is it time and time again that I see the PSP being played in all of the shock/thrill movies (that crapfest 2012 comes to mind)? Movies are supposed to be "politically correct" so is there really people around every corner playing a DS? There should be.
Hopefully the 3DS changes all of that, and it becomes twice as popular as the DS, especially with the whole 3D craze going on right now. It might be able to overtake the Iphone even, until Apple comes out with a 3D model of the touch.
The price point concerns are understandable. Part of the Wii's success was that the competition was considerably more expensive, people do care about price.
I just hope the handheld is innovative enough that people are willing to take the hit on their wallets.
Well, they had a sweepstakes to win a DSi on boxes of cereal in the U.S. recently...does that count?
@PSICoffee: No, that's because Sony pays for product placement and Nintendo prefers other forms of advertising.
@Mickeymac-I hope not, Best Buy offers anything but what its name suggests.
@5- That will probably never happen. Remember what the big N said about why the 3DS won't have the top screen be a touch screen too?
@Raylax
So like FYE then?
@Ickaser I was speaking to a genuine expert in the field of 3D last week and he seems to think there'll be 3D iPod Touches and iPads within the next 12 months. I'd be inclined to agree with him, he's frighteningly knowledgeable!
A parallax barrier sure would be problematic on a screen intended to be viewed both portrait and landscape.
@11: Not Everybody lives where you live. Where is that?
@14: I don't see apple being THAT innovative
Ah, good old HMV. I only go there for the games, cause I have no interest in music (which is their main area) but they always have great selection. Even though they overcharge for everything.
HMV started out as a music store but moved into movies & games and they sell a few accessories like headphones and such. They were never the cheapest place but they have gotten better in recent years. I guess it only exists in the Commonwealth countries judging by the comments here.
I hate Best Buy with a passion so I'd probably go to HMV before them.
@Mickeymac: yeah, HMV's pretty much an FYE. never seen 'em in the US before (not where I'm at, anyway), but i know they're in Japan.
According to HMV's website, they aren't in America. But FYE really is just like them right down to the overpricing, so I don't suppose it matters much that we don't have both.
europe is the one that gets milked. every dam time when some hardware component cost 200 euro here, it goes for 200 dollars in the states. And still those state people are whining and whining and whining. While we pay ALOT more.
anyway about the iphone thingy:
This are the reasons i dont go with a iphone:
-there battery life time while gaming is crap. look at iphone 4 it cant handle any decent gpu 3D game without blowing up the battery.
besides this, i dont life in the future, i life today. the 3D screen. I aint gona buy a 2000 euro tv screen. while there are no 3D games / 3D movies available. While on the nintendo 3DS there is. The 3D without glasses is just a perfect thing really.
This all makes the jump from the ds / psp towards the 3DS a must. Finally something really news.
Why would i buy a iphone?, it has nothing excitings for me atm.
about the price, i mean the price of the 3DS kinda weird between those why i dont want a iphone, but i cant edit it
When a user is from another country and their first language may not be English, please be nicer about it and more understanding when you attempt to correct them. You knew what he meant, no need to be a jerk. -- TBD
I do agree with you on the iphone being full of suck. Yes, it does everything....... Except it does a good job of nothing. To quote myself - post 31, http://3ds.nintendolife.com/news/2010/10/dont_expect_any_3ds_titles_from_epic_games_anytime_soon
The current iPhones also cost like 600 dollars without a contract. That's considerably more money to sink down than a PS3. Plus the guy at my local AT&T store told me the iPhone is the least durable smartphone on the market. At least if I'm on the run and I cram the 3DS in my pocket with my loose change and keys (the rubber shock protector for iphone is useless against bludgeoning by sharp or blunt objects), or lose it in the sofa, drop it more than six inches without said rubber protector on it, etc. My DS phatty survived blunt force trauma to the shoulder buttons from heights of over four feet and still works fine. And seriously, wtf up with this ipad? For that size and less $$$, you can get a netbook and do a whole lot more stuff with it
I may be old fashioned, but I prefer quality over convienience. I have a Samsung flipphone to make calls, a Nikon Coolpix for taking pictures, a Cowon A3 media player for music, movies, pictures, and other digial media, a DS for playing games, and a netbook for surfing the web. And each one is cheaper than an iphone and beats snot in what it does best, compaired to the one-gadget-does-everything iPhone. My Samsung doesn't drop calls, my Nikon can take gorgeous macro shots at up to 12 Mpix, the Cowon plays virtually every non-DRM'd format I throw at it, open or not, DS/DSi/3DS pwns at games, and my netbook let's me do homework, surf the web, and run literally any software I want.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...