Self-Conscious Gaming?

Self-Conscious Gaming?

Repercussions of Nintendo's Re-Branding.

Like most of my generation, my first console was purchased in the Nineties and was manufactured by a certain Japanese company known as Nintendo. As my introduction to the magical world of video games, I've always had a soft spot for Nintendo and everything that comes with it. Years and hundreds of hours of Mario, Samus, and Donkey Kong later, my love of the company has diminished, but, while I was puzzled by the Gamecube and cringed for the Wii, I've still held high hopes for the future of “hardcore” gamers with Nintendo consoles. With the announcement of 3DS details and the launch of the system looming on the horizon, though, I've been doing some thinking about Nintendo and more specifically on the question, “Why don't I want to play DS in public?”

I'd like to think that I'm a well-versed gamer: I've played my share of most genres, and I'm comfortable with my nerdy trivia knowledge of games past and present. If I play DS in public, though, I feel like I've got to show the screen to everyone around me just to try to convince them that I'm not playing one of the many movie tie-ins or kids' games that have been released for the handheld. Perhaps the very fact that my youth was punctuated by the Gameboy chime makes me think feel slightly childish while playing, and it doesn't help when games require me to pull out the stylus or blow into the mircophone. In the self-conscious world we live in, Nintendo seems to have fallen from the cool side to the less than cool side.

When you look at the sales numbers, the DS won the handheld console war with no questions asked, but while those numbers don't lie about the total sales, one has to wonder how many of those were sold to “actual” gamers. How many soccer moms and grandparents were lured in by Brain Training or Crossword DS? How many bright pink systems were sold to gradeschool-aged girls? If I had a nickle for every seven-year-old walking around with a DS, I might be a rich man. Nintendo has made millions by appealing to a new audience, but they've diluted their customer base to the point that there's no way that they can make everyone happy. The problem is that when the casual gamers don't see something interesting in the new system, they melt back into the teeming masses of non-gamers, while the unhappy hardcore will grumble as they play their Kid Icarus and assortment of remakes. Nintendo knows where the big money is, and they're going to go after it whenever they can.

It will be hard for me to pass up the 3DS when it comes out in a few months, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Nintendo is slowly but steadily moving toward the casual market, and those of us on the fringe are going to have to start moving one way or another. We'll either have to start playing those Brain Training games, or we'll have to move on to bigger and brighter things. It should be interesting to see how Nintendo will respond to Sony's announcement of the NGP, or what amounts to the PSP 2. Will Nintendo take this as the chance to win gamers back over with an experience that puts them back into competition with Sony's software support. I never though I would say this, but Nintendo has some catching up to do.

--Tom

How Much Will the 3DS Cost?

How Much Will the 3DS Cost?
Some simple math and a price point.


Nintendo's recent announcement and subsequent media storm surrounding their new portable gaming console, the 3DS, have lead to both fan-boy delight and skeptical scoffing. The first big announcement came at E3, when the Big N first gave us a look at the 3DS. While the external design of the unit might not have changed significantly, it was clear from playable demos and in-game video that the system's processing power had been upgraded. Footage of upcoming games seem to show graphical capabilities that approach or rival the PlayStation 2.

All of this information was given out at the Nintendo press conference in June. What is new, however, is the news of the launch price point. On September 29, Nintendo released the intended Japanese price and launch date. The system will hit store shelves in Japan on February 23, 2010, and will set you back 25,000 Yen. For those of us who don't know the exchange rate, that translates into about 300 US dollars (200 British pounds). The 3DS may have similar capability to that of the Playstation 2, and it will, apparently, attempt to bank on those similarities by retailing for the same initial price that the PS2 came at nearly ten years ago. The 3DS may try to capitalize on a few commonalities, but it's certainly got its own message for the gaming world: get out of my way.

The Nintendo DS is the best selling game console of all time. You can hardly turn around without bumping into a child half your height whose eyes are focused intently on the back-lit dual screens. When the original DS was released in November 2004, it was a major success, selling over one million units in the first month. If launched at the equivalent price in dollars, the 3DS would be exactly twice the price of the original DS. Can the 3DS sell as many copies as the old DS when the price has skyrocketed? How much will the 3DS cost when it comes across the Pacific? An educated guess will either require a little math or skipping to the final two paragraphs.

The original DS sold for $150 in the States and 15,000 Yen in in Japan. The 3DS will sell for 25,000 Yen and an unknown amount of dollars. To make any assumptions about the American price, we'll have to assume that the ratio between the Japanese and American prices will be the same (quite the limitation, but there's little else to work with). First, we can determine the ratio of change between the Yen prices (15,000/25,000), the answer comes out to 0.6. Now, we can apply that ratio to the American price (150*0.6), our final amount will be the increase in cost, which turns out to be $90 dollars. So, based on these equations, the 3DS price will be 240 US dollars (or, about 150 pounds).

When the PSP Go debuted for $250, it was met with almost universal derision, can a new DS costing just ten dollars less expect anything different? The DS has an uphill climb, but it offers some good reasons not to give up hope: the 3D technology is likely to wow consumers and gamers are already salivating over the games that are set to make up its library. Maybe it will pull in the cash and maybe it won't, but Nintendo has a proven track record of reaching new audiences with innovative technology, and there's no real reason to doubt that the 3DS will be any different. Still, all of this is cold comfort to those of us who shelled out the extra cash for a DSi, the 3DS may sport many of the same features, but the rise of the new console will undoubtedly signal the obsolescence of the old.

What do you think? What price would you be willing to pay for the new Nintendo handheld? Are you planning to boycott the 3DS and wait for the “3DS Light” or equivalent? Tell us in the comment section below.

--Tom