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  (Source: 3dsemu.com)
Engineers at Nintendo are reportedly working on the second circle pad peripheral as we speak, and the new 3DS system will "tone down" the 3D features

Nintendo's 3DS has had a rocky start since its launch in March 2011. Sales were nothing short of unimpressive, and Nintendo President Satoru Iwata even noted that a poor launch lineup was to blame. 

Only four months after the 3DS' release, Nintendo reported poor first-quarter earnings and believed the disappointing 3DS sales were partially the problem. To remedy this, Nintendo slashed the portable system's price from $249.99 to $169.99 starting August 12. 

The plan worked. Nintendo 3DS sales skyrocketed in Japan, selling 215,000 units between August 8 and 14. This was a victory for Nintendo, considering the fact that only 109,000 3DS units were sold in Japan through the entire month of May in comparison.

Now, Nintendo is keeping its focus on how to continue improving the handheld, and will do so through two new announcements: an external second circle pad add-on, and a completely new model due in 2012.

According to French site 01Net, Nintendo is developing a detachable second circle pad for the 3DS. Nintendo reportedly regretted not having two analogue sticks included in the system's launch in March, and said that the production of the 3DS was "rushed" in order to beat the PlayStation Vita. 

Engineers at Nintendo are working on the peripheral as we speak, and will sell for approximately $10. In addition, developers are working on titles to suit the add-on. 

While it is unclear when the attachment will be available, the report did know of a new 3DS system available in 2012. The new system may not even be a "3DS" anymore, since it will supposedly "tone down" the 3D features significantly. 

But before Nintendo launches another system, it needs to focus on an issue with its dev kits, according to 01Net. Third parties are becoming frustrated with Nintendo because it is only making 300 kits per month, and there is an extensive waiting list.

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RE: Weak Lineup?!
By someguy123 on 8/24/2011 7:03:32 PM , Rating: 2
Well, technically speaking the 3DS is a substantial jump in processing power from the DS. Developers worked around this and made some decent products with the sub n64 components, but it isn't nearly as powerful as the 3DS, which is slightly more powerful than the wii.

Clearly pricing is always an issue when it comes to mass market, but I think it is possible to introduce a premium handheld into the market IF you have software that justifies the price. The 3DS only had DS software backing it, and DS software is not up to 3DS's rendering capabilities, nor can they work with 3D, so while they did have quality software, it was more in support for purchasing a DSi/XL rather than a 3DS.


RE: Weak Lineup?!
By The Raven on 8/25/2011 9:50:41 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Well, technically speaking the 3DS is a substantial jump in processing power from the DS. Developers worked around this and made some decent products with the sub n64 components, but it isn't nearly as powerful as the 3DS, which is slightly more powerful than the wii.
So if that's what people want there is a thing called the PSP that BTW has "killer apps". The DS was never about processing power or stunning graphics (which doesn't even matter on a 4 in screen). And that is my point. At $180ish or lower, the DS of any flavor will sell like hotcakes. Raise the price higher than that and you are asking people to really think about if they want to drop that money on their 8 y/o. Dangerous territory. And yes, if it was a magical device that had games called "Straight 'A's Guaranteed" every kid in the world would have one at any price. But it doesn't and it is just a game in the end.
Look at PSP sales (good games included) vs. DS sales. Which do you think is more important? Games or price?

This is what I'm saying. Yes software is always a factor as is the size and weight, but the price issue is king here as is manifest by the numbers (both new and historical).

Want more proof, look at Wii sales and 360 sales after MS dropped the price to Wii levels.


RE: Weak Lineup?!
By someguy123 on 8/25/2011 6:01:42 PM , Rating: 2
Reading through the thread you made it pretty clear that your point was there was no difference, when there clearly is a hardware difference, and that there was available software, when the software is clearly DS related, and thus more supportive of DS purchases, which are already and will continue to be cheaper, which would make the claim that the 3DS has an anemic lineup perfectly justified.

At this point I don't think you had a legitimate point to begin with and just wanted to rant about the launch price. the 3DS launch price was in line with the DS pricing in terms of cost to nintendo. their current price point requires subsidizing, which they claim they've never done before with hardware.


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