All-Star Roundtable #3: 3DS Announcement Edition
By:
Marc N. Kleinhenz
|
September 30, 2010, 2:51 pm

Did you stay up all night last night to watch Nintendo’s big, Japan-only 3DS conference?

The crazy folks at GameXplain did, and they brought some of the biggest names in
gaming journalism along for the ride. Hell, they even started a pre-game tailgate party
a good 24 hours before the event was schedule to kick off – and it was in boring, old-
fashioned 2D.
 
Joining Micah Seff and Andre Segers for this session of the table round is the
usual roster of Sam Bishop, Marc Kleinhenz, and Sir Gordon Wheelmeier from
TotalPlayStation.com, along with special guests Aaron Thomas, representing
BitMob.com, and the incomparable Doug Perry, of Next Generation/IGN/Games Radar/
EGM/MetaCafe fame.
 
Contemplate the face of the (3D) future all night long…
 
Marc N. Kleinhenz, TotalPlayStation features editor:

With only (some) 24 hours left before the big conference tomorrow in Nihon, rumors
are flying: a November 11th launch date in Nippon (with an American launch date,
supposedly, not too long afterward), a $229 price point, and a software lineup of only
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and Mario Kart 3DS.
 
What do you think – accurate or definitely askew? And would it be smart on Nintendo's
part to price its new handheld at $199 – or higher?
 
Sir Gordon Wheelmeier, gaming guru:

Two launch titles? A relatively high price? This brings back memories of the Nintendo 64
launch…
 
I haven't been following the 3DS's development closely enough to say whether this
seems likely or not, but it seems like it'll sell a ton whenever it comes out. The >$200
price point and only two launch games (what's the timing on more?) may slow its
movement right after launch, however. That price needs to come down pretty quickly.
 
But it's a Nintendo handheld product, which, so far, has been equivalent to printing
money.
 
Sam Bishop, TotalPlayStation editor-in-chief:

Nah, something's definitely up. There have been 3DS dev kits in the hands of
developers for quite a while now. I don't doubt we're going to go without a brand-new
Resident Evil game or Snake Eater port or whatever day-and-date, but there are a
ton of concepts that could be easily adapted for the system that will almost certainly
be there to really help carry the system's launch. They won't all be hardware-pushing
titles or anything, but who wouldn't want to see some of the DS mainstays plunked into
ViewMasterVision?
 
The price points I could definitely buy (though Nintendo could easily sell the thing here in
 
the States for $250 and be sitting pretty with early adopters), and the JP launch seems
like a fairly solid number to me. The single best way to maximize profits (and we know
that's the Big N's MO from the get-go) is to grab as many buyers as possible when
the price point is highest. Given that the DS is still outselling, uh, everything right now,
there's no reason they couldn't crank it out in time for Black Friday and keep the gulf in
prices between the 3DS and DS nice and wide.
 
If the PSP can still go for its original launch price, the 3DS most definitely could handle
being priced at parity – and the 3DS would show up the six-year-old hardware without
much effort. How can you fight the threeee deeees?!
 
Marc N. Kleinhenz, TotalPlayStation features editor:

Ah, the wheel of fire turns, does it not? This is exactly what happened to Sony: throw
some fancy technology together, sell it for a completely ridiculous price point, and wait
for the faithful to come flocking like (not so silent) lambs to the slaughter. I have the
funny feeling that it won't work – or, at least, not work nearly as well – for Nintendo this
time 'round.
 
And, of course, there's still the PSP2 to consider in all these machinations.
 
If Sony were smart, however, it'd just get the hell out of the handheld market while the
getting was (still relatively) good; like Vietnam or Iraq, the quagmire only gets worse the
longer one is trapped in it.
 
Sam Bishop, TotalPlayStation editor-in-chief:

I honestly don't think it's anything like Sony's position. They were entering a market
they'd never tried before – one that had repeatedly and without fail reduced anyone who
wasn't Nintendo to a has-been competitor – and they managed to move more PSPs than
the GameCube and Xbox combined. I know I've mentioned that fact in the past, but it
bears repeating. From an install base standpoint, the PSP wasn't just a success, it was
one in an area where everyone from SNK to Sega to Atari to Bandai had tried and failed.
Miserably.
 
So, Sony's done pretty well for themselves... but they aren't Nintendo. You know who
is? Nintendo. They are the undisputed kings of both the home market and traditional
portables (at least in terms of hardware sales), and there's a very good chance the DS
will end up dethroning the PS2 as the best-selling videogame system of all time. That's
crazy momentum, and there's a combination of unprecedented support out of the gate
for the 3DS from third-parties that want to get in on the new platform, along with the
fact that, short of the Virtual Boy, no Nintendo handheld has done anything but sell like
hotcakes.
 
The PSP2 will be Sony's second foray, and they're a much, much different company
than the guys that were doing white-wall-crying-baby ads. This is their chance to get rid
of Marcus and cheese you can take outside and just target the handheld at the same
audience that built the PS3. If they can do that (mirroring a lot of what made the original
PSP so fun at first), then they'll do just fine, and if they can match the success of the
original system without the successor falling victim to piracy in the same way, I'd say
Sony could very comfortably eke out a sustained place in the portable market. I want the
 
kind of games the PSP provides – but, of course, now the 3DS is no hardware slouch
like previous Nintendo handhelds were. There's a good chance if Nintendo doesn't want
to make console-like experiences, plenty of third parties could give it a go...
 
Andre Segers, GameXplain Founder:

I honestly have no clue what Nintendo's going to do. I really hope the 3DS launches in
time for Black Friday, but I also wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't, considering Nintendo
could still wring another Christmas out of the standard DS line (and we all know how
much Nintendo loves money). The 3DS is going to sell out regardless of when they
release it, but I do feel they'll be missing out on a lot of free press if they miss the holiday
season, which could prevent it from reaching Wii-like levels of attention.
 
As for launch titles, I really hope Nintendo plans to have something original instead of
just a bunch of remakes, like with the original DS. I’m pretty sure Sakurai has stated he’s
aiming to deliver Kid Icarus as a launch title – here’s hoping he succeeds. Otherwise,
we’ll have a very nice, but mostly worthless, system on our hands for a few months.
 
And, of course, with any decent games, it’s going to be hard to justify its rumored $200+
cost. However, I’m expecting (hoping?) it to come in at $199. If it does come in higher, I
suspect it’ll drop to that price within the first six months.
 
Finally, what’s a PSP?
 
Doug Perry, gaming journo legend:

I agree with most of what Sam and Andre said, except maybe on price. Nintendo always
prices its hardware at the most "affordable" market price, and, in the US, $199.99 seems
like the magic number.
 
The launch date really doesn't matter; it's the first gaming handheld of its kind to provide
3D, and it will generate even more press if it ships in Q1 (think CES and GDC) or Q2
(think E3). Plus, during those quarters, there will be less to write about and, therefore,
more ink for Nintendo.
 
As for software, I can't name a title, but my guess is one big first-party title and a handful
of others nobody will remember in three months’ time.
 
Aaron Thomas, Bitmob editor:

While the Japanese launch date sounds plausible, I think that it's highly unlikely that we'll
see a North American release this year. Nintendo products – especially handhelds – sell
exceptionally well in Japan, and I simply don't think Nintendo will be able to keep up with
the demand created by launching in two markets within a month or so. One question
this raises is: when the heck is Europe going to get their hands on the 3DS? Those folks
always seem to get hosed, and I'm going to bet that it's going to happen again.
 
As for the price, I don't think Nintendo's worried about hitting that magic $199.99 number
at launch. There are plenty of affordable DS options out there, so I wouldn't be surprised
to see the system priced above $200 when it's released. I know I'll pay it, and I'm pretty
sure plenty of others will as well.
 
If you think back to the launch of the original DS, its launch titles were craptastic – bad
enough that I was legitimately shocked when the system wasn't DOA. Nintendo never
floods the market with games when they release a new console, but I think they need
to release more than one "must own" game to really get people excited. I also think that
packing in some of the simple demos shown at E3 would be a wise move – even the
Pong clone did a great job of showing what the system was capable of.
 
One last prediction: most of my predictions will be wrong.
 
Micah Seff, GameXplain Founder:

I think Aaron's right on track with this one – I just don't see how Nintendo could get
product ready in time for a worldwide launch this year. Look at how hard it was for them
to get Wiis to stores for years after the console's launch. I have a feeling that something
similar will happen with the 3DS due to the novelty of the hardware. I bet Europe doesn't
get this bastard for a good long while, though.
 
I honestly don't think Nintendo would allow the price of the console to creep up past
$200, but I also didn't think they'd launch the Wii at $250, so what do I know? I'm pretty
sure I won't be buying one for personal use at a price point that high, but that could just
mean that I'm cheap rather than saying anything about Nintendo.
 
I'd love to see Nintendo pack in some demos with the 3DS, especially if the lineup is
going to be anywhere near that anemic, but I kind of doubt it'll happen. The DS had such
a lackluster launch that everyone I talked to was convinced it was going to flop miserably
in the face of Sony's "superior" PSP. While breadth of launch titles might be important
to some, it obviously isn't make-or-break for a handheld, so the handheld will likely be a
roaring success even if it launches with Ocarina of Time and Mario Kart as the only two
launch games.
 
Sir Gordon Wheelmeier, gaming guru:

There is sort of a wildcard with the system, and that would be some folks not being able
to really see the 3D all that well. It's fine for most people, but there are people who don't
get the effect much – or even at all. If the price is great, then that might not be the worst
thing, as you can turn the effect down, but if it's expensive and enough people mention
that it doesn't work for them, the mass market might become skeptical enough to wait for
a lower price before taking the risk.
 
I know that the number of people that can't see it is small, but the number of people that
were actually affected by the iPhone 4's reception problems was small, as well (in terms
of actual dropped calls and whatnot), and those stories were everywhere.
 
We also don't know what fatigue is going to be like. It felt to me like my eyes were
already straining slightly when previewing it at E3. Maybe it just takes a minute to get
used to it and everything is great for long-term play, or maybe it goes downhill fast.
If there's eye strain and enough people can't see the effect to get it talked about in the
story-hungry press, Nintendo may have to fight a PR battle with the mass market.
 
Sam Bishop, TotalPlayStation editor-in-chief:

See, this is the big question. How is Nintendo going to position this thing? Will they
play up the 3D? Not only does it have some issues with a certain segment of the player
population, but it's a battery drain, and some people that can see it just flat-out hate the
tech – not to mention it's extremely sensitive to being in the sweet spot for both your
eyes to get different images. On a train or something jostle-riffic, the illusion is totally
destroyed. The beauty of it being that with that lenticular screen, eye strain shouldn't
be much more than viewing a normal screen if you just chill in that sweet spot for long
enough, but there is that linchpin in there in that the system is no slouch in terms of
hardware; you aren't going to be sacrificing a ton if you turn 3D off (and, indeed, there
may be some performance gain), and the games are still going to be visually impressive.
 
I hate to keep bringing this back to the PSP (last time, I promise), but it's relevant in that
the PSP successor will almost certainly have one screen. Does that change things? I'll
be frank: two screens did nothing for me – not ever in the DS's amazing library did I feel
like it was used in a way that changed the game. Myopic? Oh, almost certainly, but I
didn't have a ton of exposure to the offerings like some may have had. A single screen
is how I would prefer to play stuff – portable or otherwise – and I'm curious how the 3DS
might change that.
 
I will say this: Nintendo has zero issues with PR – right now. There have been naysaying
reports of the Wii dying off and the whole "fad" thing coming true for as long as people
have ached to have it be so. It's not happening. Even if it did, and if sales completely
died this second, it would be a massive uphill battle for MS and Sony to claim that top
spot. It won't happen. Could the 3DS fix itself in the public consciousness to the degree
the Wii – or more importantly the DS – has?
 
Marc N. Kleinhenz, TotalPlayStation features editor:

Well, now it's all official: February 26, 2011 at $300. (God, I remember when I lived in
Japan, just three short years ago, that 25,000 yen was $250.)
 
Having an '11 release makes much more sense, given that (a) Nintendo was so mum
about both date and price during E3 and (b) the software library would have been
extremely slim if it launched any sooner (as the rumors [accurately] reflected). Here's
something that makes less sense, though, if only to me: one of the elements that made
the DS so revolutionary was its Amerika-first, Nihon-second release strategy, a first for
the big N (and something which the Wii repeated). Does the 3DS indicate a slide back
to the Japan-is-dominant mentality? If so, this small gesture will be indicative of a much
larger, much more troublesome scenario for the company; if it can delude itself into
thinking it has America in the bag, without any second thoughts, nothing is going to stop
it from charging the outlandish price of $250 for the system and an equally inane $50 for
games (sound familiar, Sammy?).
 
Everything else about the handheld, however, makes me smile. A Game Boy Virtual
Console? Miis that carry over – and can be created with the (3D) camera? A bundled
memory card? And 3D NES/Super NES games? I'm starting to think that my previous
editorial < http://www.gamexplain.com/article-234-1281395481-nintendo-3ds-diviner-
of-the-future%3F.html> just may end up panning out: the 3DS, it might just transpire,
will signal a new era for Nintendo's online presence, one that is not only much more
ubiquitous, but much more integrated, as well.
 
And it's about damn time.
 
And I'm very much tickled to see just what Resident Evil: Mercenaries 3D is all about,
even though it sounds like a glorified expansion of the RE3 minigame.
 
Color me excited.
 
:)
 
Micah Seff, GameXplain Founder:

That price point is ridiculous. There has never been a handheld worth that kind of
investment, and I don't think the inclusion of 3D will make this worth it. I almost feel
like this price might be a huge limiting factor in the adoption rate of the device, as what
parent wants to buy a $300 handheld for their kid who has about a 70% chance of losing
it somewhere?
 
I'm a little shocked. Nintendo usually knows how to hit the sweetspot on price, but it
seems like this time, their tech is too good for their usual practice of making a profit on
every unit sold.
 
Andre Segers, GameXplain Founder:

It's not going to retail for $300 stateside. Nintendo's consoles have historically cost
less in the US, instead of just a straight-up yen-to-USD conversion. With that said, it's
still expensive, but I'm not so sure I'd call it ridiculous. After all, it's packing in more
technology than any system Nintendo's ever delivered, with it looking as if it might be
even more powerful than the Wii (at least in certain respects).
 
Despite this, I still found the conference to be a barrel of suck: higher-than-expected
price point, a launch date that's still six months away, and little information we didn't
already know. However, I am intrigued by some of the features they elaborated on, such
as tag-mode, even if it seems like it's very Japanese-centric (I doubt people in suburbs
will be able to take advantage of this at all.) The other features, such as multi-tasking,
are cool but near worthless. I already have a smart phone; if I want to browse the web or
take notes, I'm going to use it, and not my 3DS.
 
Micah, what makes you think Nintendo isn't still going to make a profit on this? Screen
aside, the 3DS packs little that a $229 iPod Touch doesn't, and I'm certain Apple's
making a profit.
 
Aaron Thomas, Bitmob editor:

Initially, I thought that the $300 price point was too high, but then I remembered that I
paid over $500 to import a PSP when it came out. Okay, so maybe I've only proven that
I'm insane. That is a hefty price tag, but I have a feeling that there are plenty of early
adopters out there that are willing to pay the high cost. Once the demand slows, they
can drop the price $50 in the summer and another $50 for Christmas to hit get it under
$199.
 
I'm really surprised by how much extra "stuff" the 3DS can do. Based on my hands-on
 
time with the system at E3, I figured it was just a DS that did 3D – nothing more. This
seems to be a much more robust upgrade than anyone anticipated. But like Andre said,
some of the features seem a bit Japan-centric, while others don't necessarily add a
whole lot of value to adults or people with smartphones. I could care less that the thing
can transfer my Mii. You know how long it would take me to make a new one? About two
minutes. Needless to say, that's not a big deal to me.
 
Now, I don't know what to think about the 3DS. I think I'd rather it had fewer bells and
whistles, which would translate into a lower price.
 
Marc N. Kleinhenz, TotalPlayStation features editor:

If Nintendo continues to operate in its current (read: bloated and arrogant) economic-
psychological ethos, the American system will sell for $250, accompanied by
$50 games. To say that this is inanely – as well as insanely – expensive is an
understatement, but the trail’s already been blazed by Sony (who, in turn, followed the
trailblazing done by Microsoft with next-gen console pricing), and it allows for an even
greater return on investment (you better believe, Micah, that Nintendo will make a pretty
penny off of a $250 price point).
 
If Nintendo were operating within its traditional mindframe – the one that priced the GBA
at a modest $100 at launch (followed by a quick drop to $90), as opposed to the present
one that raised the price of the DS with the release of the DSi/XL – the system would be
$200 with $45 titles. Not much better, no, but it still beats the deal we’re getting now.
 
With all this said, however, you better believe that I’m still getting mine on day one come
next March.
 
I’m a sucker, I know.
 
Marc N. Kleinhenz is features editor at TotalPlayStation.com, as well as a freelance videographer. His latest fiction, a 12-page experimental webcomic entitled Immaterial Material Culture, can be found here.
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