Nintendo released a lot of new information at the latest investors strategy and while some of this was highly anticipated, some of it was also just plain fascinating to see. Among this information was sales data for 3DS software and hardware sales. It seems like the 3DS is still doing pretty well in the West, though Japan is being a bit of a tougher crowd.
In terms of North America and Europe, hardware sales for the 3DS have seen an increase over last year's equivalent period, but it seems that this is largely due to the release of the New Nintendo 3DS in these regions. Nonetheless, growth is growth, and it's good to see that the 3DS continues to sell well.
For software sales in North America and Europe, sales are ever so slightly lower than they were last year and it's predicted that this disparity will widen when we factor in last October's release of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. Nonetheless, Nintendo hopes that the release of games like Yo-kai Watch in the West will help to close this gap a little more.
Numbers were also shown regarding the sales of Super Smash Bros. and Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire in both Japan and the West. Sales in North America and Europe were both higher than Japan, with North America leading the sales overall. Nintendo intends to initiate a holiday campaign in the US that'll leverage existent best-sellers and keep their momentum going. In Europe, sales have been picking up for Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Tomodachi Life and Nintendo would like to get more young consumers to pick up these and other "Nintendo Selects".
In Japan, hardware sales are down from last year's numbers, and this can primarily be chalked up to last year's releases of Smash and Yo-kai Watch in the region. Software sales were also down, but Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer and Yo-kai Watch Busters will hopefully bring numbers up. Interestingly enough, Nintendo claims that appealing to women in Japan is absolutely critical to maintaining sales momentum with the 3DS. Apparently, seventy percent of gamers playing Happy Home Designer in Japan are female, and Nintendo aims to capitalize on this by releasing New 3DS faceplates before the year is out.
What do you think? Are you surprised by any of these numbers? What are you most looking forward to this holiday season? Drop us a comment in the section below.
[source nintendo.co.jp]
Comments 22
"Nintendo intends to initiate a holiday campaign in the US that'll leverage existent best-sellers and keep their momentum going".....I wonder if this means a 'Selects' program is coming to the US? That would be great because a couple of early released games are hard to find, i.e. Star Fox 3D
I don't think it's particularly encouraging that they sold most of their hardware due to releasing a new model, that right now looks as if it was only created to make people rebut the system, and one of the biggest software hits is that shovelware AC game.
Splatoon was doing such a good job of showing them quality and new IP could succeed, but they've probably made so much more profit on AC due to much lower development costs.
@Peach64 well not realy.. if something new comes out ofc the sails will peak (Normaly) aposed to a old line.. as a majorty of ppl alredy have the old stuff so its sails wind down. (I may have completly missed your point if so sorry)
Problem solved.
Where's the damn games though Nintendo?
It seems Amiibo, QoL, mobile and other side projects are taking away from the actual, damn, games.
Sadly, I've gone from biggest lifetime fanboy to someone uninterested in 95% of their output all in a few years...
Holding back Starfox until next year would be because the sales figures from this game would be better served added to the start of the next years growth.
And in order to see a large growth in profits a new console is needed asap.
@datamonkey I must say I partially agree. I love them and likely always will. But to me Nintendo is about the games - which they don't seem to have at the moment.
Their mobile 'game' isn't even a game. Amiibo aren't interesting (and a rip off), QoL has hopefully been forgotten about.... and to top it off, their latests games have all been disappointing. (Triforce Heroes, Animal Crossing, etc)
@Artwark I'd bet a pretty penny none of those would sell a million in NA+EU combined. I blame their marketing, or the evident lack of marketing.
2016 is already a really good year for software, though. 1H2016 is the best lineup I've seen from the 3DS yet - if Yo-Kai Watch 2 is indeed a success, and Pokémon Z release - and if they localize some other titles (hint: Rhythm Heaven and MH X), I'll be darned if that didn't set off the a better software sales year than 2013.
@Nintendofan83 yeah I think Nintendo should release Nintendo Selects in the West and not only that but to make its tiny selection much bigger.
So this momentum seems to be because of the new model and girls buying Happy Home Designer? My most anticipated 3DS game at the moment is Fire Emblem, and I'm looking forward to Ace Attorney 6. I'm not a great Pokemon fan but a new entry with real innovation and fixing all the flaws in XY would be great.
@datamonkey I agree pretty much and it looks even darker when you look at Wi U upcoming releases...
Nintendo are expecting a significant ramp in sales before this Christmas.
It better unleash the tsunami of new games before its too late to meet this Christmas season's targets.
What are the big games announced for the 3DS this holiday season?
@Moon @VanillaLake Agreed.
As much as I liked Iwata as a person, I'm not sure he led the company particularly well from the Wii U's launch. I hope the new CEO gets them back on track with the games their fanbase have been crying out for.
@Sinister Chibi Robo Ziplash and Mario & Luigi
@Sinister Yokai Watch in NA and Paper Jam in EU. That's it for big games this holiday unless you count Super Mystery Dungeon.
It'll be nice if they could reissue 3DS titles on the Wii U.Either digitally or with hardware that would play carts, that'll definitely have some kind of boost from the likes of mtse
@datamonkey To be perfectly honest, it doesn't matter if Nintendo releases the games "their fanbase have been crying out for" or not.
Since I joined this site, I have heard complaints about not getting a new Star Fox almost friggin weekly. Now Star Fox Zero is announced and what's the response? Outcry over graphics of all things and how it looks too similar to Star Fox 64 (the only game I ever hear these people talking about--none of you talked about Command or Assault, just 64). On the complete opposite side of the coin, Nintendo announces Splatoon and it's greeted with...excitement. No one wanted Splatoon. Everyone was too busy begging for another Star Fox to even consider a new IP. Where's Splatoon now? It's one of the reasons to buy the Wii U.
No, I hope Nintendo keeps doing what they're doing games wise as opposed to listening to a fanbase that has absolutely no clue what they want...and when they get what they think they want, they whine like spoiled children.
@Grumblevolcano Thx. What a shame nothing for me tho
Well perhaps iw ill pick up a game from the select series. Zelda ALBW sounds interesting.
@datamonkey I liked Iwata as a person but not as Nintendo's president, not even as Nintendo Directs host as I had trouble understanding him. Iwata wanted to extent Wii's success to Wii U but forgot the most important thing, the games.
@kyuubikid213 Not sure about that. I was impressed by Splatoon the first time it was shown but I don't really dig the final game. I have been asking for Majora's Mask remake since Ocarina of Time 3D was released and now I'm very grateful for it even though both of them were separate pricey releases. When Super Mario Sunshine was released, most people complained about it but it was and still is my favourite 3D Mario game. When The Wind Waker was announced, almost everybody was disappointed by its visuals, yet what slightly disappointed me was the game itself. When Star Fox Adventures was released, it met lukewarm reception because it was too different but I loved it, and I liked it more than Star Fox 64. I try to be coherent and I prefer a critic person than a die-hard fan that says that everything that Nintendo does is perfectly fine. However, it's true that there are many spoiled fans, but there are also dictators and insufferable people among Nintendo fans, that hate you just because you said that you didn't like a game or you disagree about what Zelda or Mario game is best. Fortunately, there are also interesting and respectful people among them and even people that say I'm sorry which is almost impossible to read on the Internet nowadays. There are people also expecting you to start every sentence with "In my opinion" when it's evident that what I write is my opinion.
How? This is, by far, the second worst year for the 3ds, considering the game releases, how people are buying the handheld now and not before or even after.
I've exhausted all of the 3DS games I've wanted to play so now I've moved on to used DS titles. Lock's Quest is nostalgia heaven!
70% of Happy Home Designer players are female? What?! I didn't even know girls played video games!
3DS hardware and software sales are decent. Nothing spectacular, but decent.
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