A big obstacle for one of the founding names in the gaming industry has been the rise of smart phone technology. Nintendo’s portable gaming profits dropped by almost a billion dollars in the same time period while iOS and Android increased their intake from $500 million to $1.9 billion. Adding the convenience of gaming to a device people are already carrying creates major competition for more specific gaming systems.
Nintendo saw the boom in their competitor’s business as an opportunity to offer something that other systems didn’t but the recent release of the 3DS didn’t live up to the hype they were hoping for. Falling short of Nintendo’s initial expectations they only sold 710,000 3DS units worldwide in the second quarter. Now 5 months after its US debut the 3DS has taken a substantial price cut from $249.99 to $169.99 and it still isn’t selling as well as their other hand held devices.
The situation surrounding the 3DS is like a mine field and the gaming giant is doing its best to make it out alive. People who went out and bought the system at full price are upset over such a sudden dramatic price drop so Nintendo is offering free downloadable games to help them feel better about the whole thing. The release of their next console innovation the Wii-U is coming up and Nintendo is trying not to alienate their existing fan base by making them believe that the new system will drop in price as quickly as this one did.
Shareholders aren’t so sure though and the company’s stock prices have dropped as quickly as the sticker on the gaming system. Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata as well as other executives have taken pay cuts to reduce costs and avoid layoffs. Instead they are seeking support and involvement from Western developers.
Even though they are losing money on the latest incarnation of their hand-held systems don’t discount Nintendo’s ingenuity or loyal fan base. They have already revealed an add-on to the 3DS that gives gamers a second analog stick for an enhanced gaming experience. They are also striving to make their games with greater quality. Smartphone’s limited memory won’t be able to keep up with the capabilities or graphics of their cartridge based games.
In my family opinions are split on the 3DS. Here’s how it breaks down:
Brodie (8) – I want that!
Bing (10) – It has some cool games.
Ron (31) – The 3D hurts my head.
Heather (35) – I’m not investing in any more technology until I find my camera.
Santa (?)– Didn’t I bring you a DSi last year and a DS the year before?
Is the 3DS on your Christmas list? Let me know in the comments below.
By Heather Fairchild - Heather is a multimedia developer with experience in web, film, photography and animation as well as traditional fine arts like painting and sculpting. In addition to writing for Nexxt, she is co-founder of design and promotion company. Heather’s spare time consists of making puppets, teaching Sunday School, building Legos and doing science experiments with her children.
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