I do understand what you're saying. I'm just not sure it works like that. The New2DSXL wouldn't require much R&D. It's just a New3DSXL in a new clamshell. All the hardware is the same, they just use a different screen in a new plastic shell.
As for manufacturing and shipping, please don't talk to me like I'm a kid, I understand economies of scale and business. If Nintendo has to fly the Switches overseas instead of shipping them on boats, it's because the factory that is manufacturing the Switch didn't produce enough in the first wave, not because there aren't enough boats because a bunch are all full of New2DSXL.
If you want to say that Nintendo has X amount of manufacturing capacity, liquid assets to order production runs, etc. Maybe. I personally have no idea how Nintendo runs the manufacturing side of their business. I would suspect like most big electronics companies they just hire a manufacturing company to build it to spec. So how do we know that the 2DSXL is impacting Switch production and availability at all?
With your 'business background' you should understand that companies have to make ballpark estimates, they probably estimated conservatively based on the performance of the Wii U and made too few Switches. Whether they increase production capacity now has a lot to do with just how great the demand might be, it's always a risk when a first run sells like hotcakes. On the one hand you don't want to end up short again next time, but on the other maybe that first rush was just a first rush and if you make twice as many the next time around you'll end up sitting on millions of dollars of unsold consoles. There are probably so many other factors impacting Switch availability that I really doubt this side venture is going to play a major part.
I bought a Gameboy Micro after already owning a vanilla GBA and a SP. No regrets, I still own it and it is still my preferred system to play GBA carts on. There are lots of consumers who will pay a reasonable amount for an improved form factor version of an older console if the price is right. Every console company does this. There are many gamers who don't have that much free time to game and get to stuff late, or take awhile to work through catalogs, or simply prefer to or must stay a generation behind due to cost considerations. I kept buying GBA games long after the DS was out, I still pick them up used and play them from time to time. I predict I will keep buying 3DS games until they are no longer on the shelves. In fact with digital distribution, I will likely keep buying 3DS games until the eShop closes. It's all revenue from Nintendo's point of view.
I won't speculate to supply chain and logistics questions, except to say that I doubt things are as simple as 'we make less 2DS's and then we can make more Switches.'
I keep hearing over and over in the articles and comments, 'why not focus on the Switch?' ...'is this the last blast before they focus on the Switch?' ...'why would anyone get a new 3DS family console when there's the Switch?'
The Switch is NOT a replacement for the 3DS family. It was never designed or intended to be. It is too big, it doesn't fold to protect the screen, it has features aimed at home and local multiplayer, and you have to pay for a bunch of components and features you will never use if you only intend to use it as a portable or handheld.
Handhelds have their own market, the Switch does not meet the design parameters or come in the price range people expect to find when they go looking for a portable handheld. Until there is a proper 3DS replacement to carry on the Gameboy legacy, the 3DS line isn't going anywhere. I have no idea why this is shocking or confusing to anyone.
You're still not getting it. I'm not talking about what YOU or I prefer. I'm talking about a market segment. Yes I talked about my preferences, but only to illustrate that there are people out there for whom this makes perfect sense. Just because you would personally prefer a Switch, doesn't mean that there is ANY downside to Nintendo promoting the 3DS line as a business decision. There are many, many other people like me who prefer low cost of entry gaming, prefer smaller more portable systems, or who prefer handheld to home console. The Switch doesn't fulfill that niche, it is cool that it CAN be portable, but that's really a bonus feature in my opinion. It is primarily a console. It would be bad business for Nintendo to stop supporting the 3DS line until they have a proper replacement.
You said it was bad business for them to promote the 3DS line, because it will cost them Switch sales, I'm explaining to you why there are many potential 3DS/2DS purchasers and users who would not buy a Switch because it doesn't have the design parameters they're looking for. So if they don't push the new 2DS, those are simply lost sales.
I agree about cloud services and accounts that are independent from the machines. I'm not too fussed over achievements though, gimmicks that I don't pay attention to.
As for the 3DS stealing from the Switch though, or the Switch being a handheld, you're just not getting it. I have owned every Nintendo handheld since the original Gameboy. Often multiple iterations of them. I haven't bought any of their consoles after the N64 when they were new. I have a Wii and a Wii U now that I got in the last year because they were dirt cheap. The Switch is NOT a viable replacement for the 3DS for me, or many like me. It is too damn big, and too damn expensive. I don't want to pay for all of the console features when I'm barely going to use them, and I want something I can fit in my jeans pocket. It just doesn't fill the same niche at all, Nintendo obviously knows this, and there was never any chance that they were going to consider it a handheld replacement.
Look at it this way, I will not be buying a Switch in the near future, at least not for probably 3 or 4 years at the soonest when the prices might hit current Wii U levels. Nintendo can either a) continue to support a true handheld line and keep making money off me, or they can b) drop the handhelds, dump everything into the Switch, and lose a shitload of business. Either way, I'll keep playing my 3DS and I won't buy a Switch.
Oh, and even if Nintendo stops making games for the 3DS family this year or next, there is already such a huge library that I'll be playing for years, maybe the next decade or two. And what, do you think people just buying one now for the first time will be disappointed because there are no new releases? Do you people not play old games that are 'new to you'? God gamer culture has gotten completely stupid.
I really don't get all the hate for this thing. Everyone crying about 'why not just get a switch' is missing a few things, first is the cost, I'm not going to pay 400+ bucks to get a handheld. I hardly play consoles at home on the TV. I'm not paying console price for portable handheld. Affordable handhelds has been Nintendos calling card since I picked up an original grey Gameboy when I was 5.
Second, the Switch isn't a portable handheld. It's frigging huge. The 3DSXL is already borderline too big and the Switch dwarfs that. I'm an adult now, I don't wear a backpack everywhere or sit in the backseat while my parents drive me around. I want something truly portable.
Third 'we didn't need this'... well you might not have, but lots of us do. My 3DSXL is getting a bit old now, I'd like the option to play the New 3DS exclusives and VC, I'd like the extra buttons for Monster Hunter and I almost NEVER use the 3D effect. Plus the updated form factor is nice. So actually yea, this is the perfect opportunity for me to finally upgrade for a more reasonable buy in.
'I don't personally like or need this so it's stupid, Nintendo is so stupid.' how bad is your guy's aspergers?
Comments 7
Re: Reggie Explains the Reasoning Behind the New 2DS XL
@JasonATL87
I do understand what you're saying. I'm just not sure it works like that. The New2DSXL wouldn't require much R&D. It's just a New3DSXL in a new clamshell. All the hardware is the same, they just use a different screen in a new plastic shell.
As for manufacturing and shipping, please don't talk to me like I'm a kid, I understand economies of scale and business. If Nintendo has to fly the Switches overseas instead of shipping them on boats, it's because the factory that is manufacturing the Switch didn't produce enough in the first wave, not because there aren't enough boats because a bunch are all full of New2DSXL.
If you want to say that Nintendo has X amount of manufacturing capacity, liquid assets to order production runs, etc. Maybe. I personally have no idea how Nintendo runs the manufacturing side of their business. I would suspect like most big electronics companies they just hire a manufacturing company to build it to spec. So how do we know that the 2DSXL is impacting Switch production and availability at all?
With your 'business background' you should understand that companies have to make ballpark estimates, they probably estimated conservatively based on the performance of the Wii U and made too few Switches. Whether they increase production capacity now has a lot to do with just how great the demand might be, it's always a risk when a first run sells like hotcakes. On the one hand you don't want to end up short again next time, but on the other maybe that first rush was just a first rush and if you make twice as many the next time around you'll end up sitting on millions of dollars of unsold consoles. There are probably so many other factors impacting Switch availability that I really doubt this side venture is going to play a major part.
Re: Reggie Explains the Reasoning Behind the New 2DS XL
@Luna_110 @jasonatl87
I bought a Gameboy Micro after already owning a vanilla GBA and a SP. No regrets, I still own it and it is still my preferred system to play GBA carts on. There are lots of consumers who will pay a reasonable amount for an improved form factor version of an older console if the price is right. Every console company does this. There are many gamers who don't have that much free time to game and get to stuff late, or take awhile to work through catalogs, or simply prefer to or must stay a generation behind due to cost considerations. I kept buying GBA games long after the DS was out, I still pick them up used and play them from time to time. I predict I will keep buying 3DS games until they are no longer on the shelves. In fact with digital distribution, I will likely keep buying 3DS games until the eShop closes. It's all revenue from Nintendo's point of view.
I won't speculate to supply chain and logistics questions, except to say that I doubt things are as simple as 'we make less 2DS's and then we can make more Switches.'
Re: Talking Point: Weighing Up the Logic Behind the New Nintendo 2DS XL
I keep hearing over and over in the articles and comments, 'why not focus on the Switch?' ...'is this the last blast before they focus on the Switch?' ...'why would anyone get a new 3DS family console when there's the Switch?'
The Switch is NOT a replacement for the 3DS family. It was never designed or intended to be. It is too big, it doesn't fold to protect the screen, it has features aimed at home and local multiplayer, and you have to pay for a bunch of components and features you will never use if you only intend to use it as a portable or handheld.
Handhelds have their own market, the Switch does not meet the design parameters or come in the price range people expect to find when they go looking for a portable handheld. Until there is a proper 3DS replacement to carry on the Gameboy legacy, the 3DS line isn't going anywhere. I have no idea why this is shocking or confusing to anyone.
Re: Reggie Explains the Reasoning Behind the New 2DS XL
@JasonATL87
You're still not getting it. I'm not talking about what YOU or I prefer. I'm talking about a market segment. Yes I talked about my preferences, but only to illustrate that there are people out there for whom this makes perfect sense. Just because you would personally prefer a Switch, doesn't mean that there is ANY downside to Nintendo promoting the 3DS line as a business decision. There are many, many other people like me who prefer low cost of entry gaming, prefer smaller more portable systems, or who prefer handheld to home console. The Switch doesn't fulfill that niche, it is cool that it CAN be portable, but that's really a bonus feature in my opinion. It is primarily a console. It would be bad business for Nintendo to stop supporting the 3DS line until they have a proper replacement.
You said it was bad business for them to promote the 3DS line, because it will cost them Switch sales, I'm explaining to you why there are many potential 3DS/2DS purchasers and users who would not buy a Switch because it doesn't have the design parameters they're looking for. So if they don't push the new 2DS, those are simply lost sales.
Re: Reggie Explains the Reasoning Behind the New 2DS XL
@JasonATL87
I agree about cloud services and accounts that are independent from the machines. I'm not too fussed over achievements though, gimmicks that I don't pay attention to.
As for the 3DS stealing from the Switch though, or the Switch being a handheld, you're just not getting it. I have owned every Nintendo handheld since the original Gameboy. Often multiple iterations of them. I haven't bought any of their consoles after the N64 when they were new. I have a Wii and a Wii U now that I got in the last year because they were dirt cheap. The Switch is NOT a viable replacement for the 3DS for me, or many like me. It is too damn big, and too damn expensive. I don't want to pay for all of the console features when I'm barely going to use them, and I want something I can fit in my jeans pocket. It just doesn't fill the same niche at all, Nintendo obviously knows this, and there was never any chance that they were going to consider it a handheld replacement.
Look at it this way, I will not be buying a Switch in the near future, at least not for probably 3 or 4 years at the soonest when the prices might hit current Wii U levels. Nintendo can either a) continue to support a true handheld line and keep making money off me, or they can b) drop the handhelds, dump everything into the Switch, and lose a shitload of business. Either way, I'll keep playing my 3DS and I won't buy a Switch.
Re: Reggie Explains the Reasoning Behind the New 2DS XL
Oh, and even if Nintendo stops making games for the 3DS family this year or next, there is already such a huge library that I'll be playing for years, maybe the next decade or two. And what, do you think people just buying one now for the first time will be disappointed because there are no new releases? Do you people not play old games that are 'new to you'? God gamer culture has gotten completely stupid.
Re: Reggie Explains the Reasoning Behind the New 2DS XL
I really don't get all the hate for this thing. Everyone crying about 'why not just get a switch' is missing a few things, first is the cost, I'm not going to pay 400+ bucks to get a handheld. I hardly play consoles at home on the TV. I'm not paying console price for portable handheld. Affordable handhelds has been Nintendos calling card since I picked up an original grey Gameboy when I was 5.
Second, the Switch isn't a portable handheld. It's frigging huge. The 3DSXL is already borderline too big and the Switch dwarfs that. I'm an adult now, I don't wear a backpack everywhere or sit in the backseat while my parents drive me around. I want something truly portable.
Third 'we didn't need this'... well you might not have, but lots of us do. My 3DSXL is getting a bit old now, I'd like the option to play the New 3DS exclusives and VC, I'd like the extra buttons for Monster Hunter and I almost NEVER use the 3D effect. Plus the updated form factor is nice. So actually yea, this is the perfect opportunity for me to finally upgrade for a more reasonable buy in.
'I don't personally like or need this so it's stupid, Nintendo is so stupid.' how bad is your guy's aspergers?