Is the Nintendo 3DS a Flop

Would you be surprised if I told you the Nintendo DS outsold the Nintendo 3DS last month? It's true. The Nintendo DS sold 257,000 units while the Nintendo 3DS sold 194,000 units in the month of April 2011. I was surprised at first, but after some thought it wasn't that surprising.

Nintendo 3DS is Expensive

The Nintendo 3DS is too expensive. Especially when the price of the Nintendo Wii and DS have recently dropped. You could buy a Wii and two games for less than the price of a 3DS with one videogame. That's crazy. Lets not forget the PSP Go went for the same price and died in less than two years

It's Not Really Innovative

The Nintendo 3DS is not too different from the Nintendo DS. Everything from the name to it's design brings out images of the Nintendo DS. The only noticeable differences I see are the circle pad and the design of the stylus. Everything else is small adjustments. The power and volume buttons have moved as did the place for the stylus. The 3D graphics are innovative because they don't require glasses, but that's not enough to call the 3DS a new system. Sure it makes the graphics better, but I've yet to come across a game where the 3D graphics actually improved the gameplay.

Videogame Selection is Horrible

There aren't many games out there for the 3DS. To make matters worse the most notable upcoming games are 3D ports of console exclusives. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D Edition come to mind as the most anticipated titles of the year for the 3DS. There is also a new Mario game in the works that's expected for the holiday season. Right now the only game I would recommend for the 3DS is Super Street Fighter 3D Edition. I've put well over 50 hours into that game, and I don't see myself slowing down.

It's too early to tell if the 3DS is a flop. It's only been available for 2 months. It's definitely off to a slow start. It has yet to sell one million units in the United States, and it's predecessor the Nintendo DS is selling more. This is supposed to be Nintendo's time to put a dent on the sales of the upcoming Sony NGP. Maybe sales will go up as more high profile games are released. In the mean time I'm going to save up for a Sony NGP.

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Rob Haines

May 15, 2011

I don't necessarily disagree with your thesis, but I don't think your chosen statistic is particularly illustrative. Comparing the end-of-generation sales of a $130 system with a vast (if highly variable) back-catalogue of games against the second month sales of a $250 system with a smattering of launch titles - especially since most early-adopters would've picked it up the previous month, and everyone else is waiting for a price-drop and/or a wider selection of games - isn't really the most appropriate comparison.

Better, perhaps, to compare the first month sales of both systems: from Wikipedia's admittedly questionable figures, we're looking at around 500K for the DS and 440K for the 3DS. A difference, certainly, but probably not enough to get Nintendo shaking in their boots just yet. (It might also be worth noting that the DS was launched on Black Friday, which may have skewed the figures in its favour).

Personally I remain to be convinced by the 3DS, but I think it's too early to tell. We'll probably have a better idea by Christmas whether it has taken off or not.

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Daniel Feit

You asked "Is the Nintendo 3DS a flop?" and then answered your own question in the last paragraph: "It's too early to tell if the 3DS is a flop. It's only been available for 2 months. It's definitely off to a slow start." Very anti-climactic.

Richard Bywater

May 16, 2011

The best time to tell when a product is a flop is usually in hindsight. Not every console sells like hotcakes immediately like the Wii, and usually it takes awhile for it to get into it's stride. For example, the Wii's sales are now starting to drop as it reaches the end of it's product life cycle, but in contrast the X360's sales are starting to take off after almost 6 years after its launch.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it took the DS awhile before it started selling like crazy. Sometimes these things just need time to develop an identity before consumers are more willing to jump in.

Keith Schloemer

The slow 3DS launch sort of reminds me of the PS3 launch.......

Both had high-firepower tech and few games at launch (as do all new consoles)

Both were wildly expensive.

Both were attempting to replace a very successful "console" (in the DS and PS2)

So it doesn't surprise me that the DS is outselling its replacement-in-waiting. After all, didn't the PS2 outsell the PS3 for quite a few months post-launch?

Matthew Anfuso

I think your second argument points out the biggest problem with the 3DS. It doesn't seem all that different from the original DS. With the DS Lite, DSi, and DSI XL, the 3DS comes off as just another model of the DS, just with 3D capabilities. However, this is not the case as the 3DS is much more powerful than the DS, in the same way that the Gameboy Advance was more powerful than the Gameboy Color, but Nintendo doesn't bother to make this a selling point. They just like to play up the 3D aspect. If Nintendo ever gets around to playing up of the power of the system and showing off games that are not only good, but also graphically display that the 3DS is the next evolution of the DS brand instead of a new model with the novelty of 3D, then I think the 3DS will be just fine.