[In this opinion piece, Gamasutra news editor Kyle Orland argues that tweaks like the recently revealed "expansion slide pad" for the 3DS may do more harm than good for the struggling system.]
I’m beginning to think Nintendo has swung like a pendulum from extreme over-confidence in the 3DS prior to its launch to extreme under-confidence in the system’s quality now that it’s actually available.
Think back to last summer, when the 3DS was the surprise hit of the 2010 E3 show. Press and analysts couldn't stop marveling at the quality and simple wow-factor of the glasses-free stereoscopic 3D technology.
The impressive gimmick, combined with Nintendo's unblemished track record in dominating the portable gaming market for decades, led many inside and outside Nintendo to think the 3DS would be as big or bigger than the insanely successful DS.
Fast forward to March, when initial sales for the 3DS came in much lower than expected worldwide. Nintendo's first reaction, after acknowledging the problem, was cutting the price by nearly a third much sooner than anyone expected, and offering a parcel of free, downloadable games by way of apology to early adopters.
Then came today's revelation, via a Famitsu article, that Nintendo is planning to release an optional "expansion slide pad" attachment that adds a second slide pad along the right side of the system. It's as if Nintendo is telling consumers, "Not only was the hardware we released a few months ago too expensive, but it's also not well-suited to control today's games as is. BUY IT TODAY!"
Not much is known about Nintendo's plans for this add-on as of yet -- all we seem to know for sure is that it's a first-party product and that it may be packaged with the sure-to-be-popular Monster Hunter 3G in Japan. Some reports suggest the add-on also includes a secondary battery pack and additional shoulder buttons, which would seemingly acknowledge the problems with the hardware go deeper than just the lack of a second slide pad.
Regardless, the mere fact that Nintendo feels something like this needs to exist, even for a single game, is a sign that the company has little confidence the 3DS can stand on its own in the marketplace. Now that the novelty of the glasses-free 3D effect has proven not to be enough to carry the system to a successful launch, Nintendo seems to be scrambling to find the right mix of pricing and hardware tweaking that can redeem its massive investment in the system.
But the 3DS' problem has never been with the hardware itself, or even the price. The 3DS has failed to catch on so far because of a lack of quality original software. Instead of a killer app that can act as a system seller, the 3DS line-up so far has been dominated with 3D retreads of classic Nintendo titles and quick, perfunctory ports of tired third-party franchises.
This situation seems on the verge of being fixed, at least partially, with planned holiday releases like Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7, both titles that seem perfectly targeted to get millions of kids to stop playing Angry Birds for long enough to beg their parents to shell out the cash for yet another system this Christmas.
But Nintendo isn't giving this software the room to do its job. Instead, it's busy employing half-measures that might be helpful at the margins, but do more harm than good to the system's already tarnished image. It seems that Nintendo is belatedly trying to counter the low-end iOS juggernaut on one side and the high-end PlayStation Vita threat on the other, and has ended up creating an system in the confused, squishy, and overwhelmingly unappealing middle.
Without more details about Nintendo's strategy for the launch of this add-on, it's hard to gauge the impact it will have on the 3DS market, but I can envision three likely scenarios, none of which seems ideal for Nintendo:
- The add-on reaches a signficant audience in Japan, but only does so-so numbers in the rest of the world. Developers, who might be eager to unlock the additional control options offered by the second slide pad, hesitate because of market concerns.
A few brave developers release games that require the second touchpad, but none of them sell well. Many more developers add a secondary control option that utilizes the second slide pad, but the results are inconsistent. Most such games seemingly designed with neither control option as a central focus, and both sets of controls end up feeling a little unpolished. I call this the "Wii MotionPlus" scenario, and feel it's the most likely one.
- The addition is a huge success, reaching a vast majority of 3DS owners thanks to the success of Monster Hunter (in Japan) and a bundle deal with Super Mario 3D Land (in the rest of the world). Nintendo quickly announces a new "3DS Lite" that incorporates the second slide pad without the need for a bulky expansion.
Early 3DS adopters are angrier than ever about their overpriced, underpowered purchase, but Nintendo, eager to please its core audience, offers these consumers a deep discount on upgrades, costing the company hundreds of millions of dollars out of pocket. I call this the "Wii Wrist strap" scenario (yes the analogy is imperfect, but successful first-party accessory launches of this type are hard to find).
- Consumers find the add-on isn't worth the bulk and hassle it adds to the system, even when playing the games it was designed for. Nintendo eventually abandons the idea after spending lots of time and resources trying to promote it. I call this the "Wii Speak" scenario.
Overall, I can't help but feel Nintendo's position is reminiscent of that of mid-'90s Sega, which couldn’t seem to decide how it wanted to transition from the largely successful 16-bit Genesis to a new generation of hardware.
At the time, Sega rushed to store shelves with half-measure add-ons like the Sega CD and 32X, and hardware redesigns like the CDX and Nomad, confusing the market and taking both internal and external focus away from the more promising Saturn. The door was open for Sony, unencumbered by the past and focused on the future, to break into the market with the original PlayStation, and the rest is history.
If Nintendo continues down this road -- trying to "fix" the 3DS with half-measure fixes, rather than letting it succeed with quality software -- it risks alienating its fans and simply making the problem worse. Rather than scrambling, Nintendo should have a little faith that, like the Nintendo DS before it, the 3DS could survive a slow start and grow into its own without too much burdensome meddling from above.
Go Gama-kotaku-sutra... ERrr, wait. Am I on the right site, the one I joined back in 97?
But, at least this article is called out for what it is, an opinion, which is a good thing, as the current shortage of them on the web must be remedied.
Anyways, moving along, as criticizing Nintendo for their choices falls into the same category as as the Apple-is-dead group.
Not an implication, a comparison, as in these I-knows-best-for-Nintendo articles, are getting just as tiring as the Apple/Nintendo is on its way out rhetoric I've heard for years.
And as I'm also opinionated, I agree with Russell's comment below, as in this article seems like it's jumping the gun.
agreed. i'm not surprised to see more nintendo is doomed articles today and probably for the next few months because of the 2nd pad. lots of tears yesterday when 3G was announced, now its time for the 'industry' to put nintendo back into oblivion where they feel it belongs.
They seem like contrasting categories to me, as Nintendo have made a string of very suspect choices, but Apple is alive and well. How you made comparisons there I do not know.
Yeah, it sort of feels like selling a trailer with a new car because you didn't build in enough trunk space, just makes you scratch your head.
This isn't really a new thing for Nintendo though, I mean the N64 and Gamecube were both designed with expansion slots (not sure about the Wii) which were eventually filled with the little red thing you needed for Majora's Mask or the online adapter. There was also rumble packs for the N64 which I remember as kicking so much ass back in the day.
I think the most likely scenario is sort of a combination of two that you mentioned. I don't think this thing will sell well, even though the idea of it is well recieved, because people will feel like they're having to pay more for something that should've been on the machine from the start. But I would bet on the next 3DS having a 2nd pad built in, because that's what will be needed to keep focus away from the Vita.
Early adopters of the 3DS are most likely familiar with Nintendo's release model for the handheld market by now. While a successful launch of the add-on cradle will definitely lead to its permanent implementation in future models of the 3DS (by necessity, the consoles will change size and possibly shape with each iteration), it does not necessarily equate to another surge of angry consumers that would require Nintendo's further apology. As I said before, most early adopters will probably be expecting a new 3DS iteration in about a year's time, it just goes with the territory.
And one futher thing to note, back in 2004 during the glut of Gameboy remodels and version ups, the DS itself was presented as a third and experimental platform line from Nintendo. It was cautiously announced this way most likely because Nintendo was not sure it would be able to take over the market from its previous successful system (plus they survived the Virtual Boy, after all, so they could take another risk). IF, and I do mean IF, the 3DS really is going to fail (which I still have high doubts given we've barely had any time with the system and launch years are usually pretty miserable), Nintendo can repeat this success and gather a lot of interest by announcing a "third" platform to replace their handheld line yet again. Their hands aren't tied in the future.
I tend to think this signals a redesign of the 3DS and that the 3DS will be a WiiU controller...
...but this add-on hasn't been talked about by Nintendo yet, it is SPECIFICALLY being made for Monster Hunter 3, and Capcom has stated MH3 is NOT coming stateside.
...so is it possible this device isn't coming stateside either?
I tend to think it will, but I wonder if the lack of factual information is making us speculate a bit too much at the moment.
"Instead of a killer app that can act as a system seller, the 3DS line-up so far has been dominated with 3D retreads of classic Nintendo titles and quick, perfunctory ports of tired third-party franchises.
This situation seems on the verge of being fixed, at least partially, with planned holiday releases like Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7"
That's an oxymoron. If you're claiming that the problem with the 3DS is the lack of new IPs, and the repetitive porting and sequeling of old classics, then how can you claim that the solution is to introduce another sequel to old classics?
A major sequel (Mario kart 7, Mario 3d land) is very different than a simple stereoscopic rerelease (Zelda, star fox, 3d classics, street fighter, etc etc)
A proff for this was that the launch of Zelda this summer didn't expand the installed base. Zelda sold to the die hards who already had the 3DS purchased at launch.
I think the thing is, much like Sony with the PSP, Nintendo didn't realize how much a second stick was needed to control the camera in 3D (polygonal that is) games.
Nintendo realized they needed to fix this issue and did so, without screwing over the current 3DS owners. Sure, they have to buy a goofy looking thing, but they solved the issue.
If Sony had done this with the PSP when it got revised, maybe it wouldn't have been such a bomb in the West in terms of software? The most popular genres were much harder to play on it, and developers didn't even try after a few years.
I mean, realistically, we're talking about a device that will probably sell 50 million in its lifetime (that's a very low estimate). How many have sold so far? Maybe 3 million?
if this leads to 3DS becoming a real controller for WiiU, then its all good.
on the other hand, i feel that they are trying to preempt the backlash they will get once the redesigned 3DS is released next year, and at the same time making more money :)
Whist the article is opinion I must confess I think its very easy to form one especially in the case with Nintendo. Nintendo's strategies have rarely been clear and I think outside of the true Nintendo fan the Wii and now the 3DS are fine examples of gaming community being stumped by lack of direction.
Wii found itself in a niche market to the casual player but alienated hard core players. Even this console required the addition of Wii Plus widget (incorporated in new Wii Remotes) to improve the poor motion detection capabilities. Even earlier on the motion control had very little support in AAA Nintendo titles. Gamecube had the GBA add on etc.
As highlighted in the article 3DS seems to have an identity crisis as well. But I think the lack of new genuine software is the root cause.
Almost seems Nintendo have difficulty grabbling with how to market their innovations. Wii U controller is another fine example. Is it a tablet, a hand held console, controller, all of the above, etc.
Pretty much sums it up for me. Nintendo appear to have lost track of how the business works and seem to be struggling to move with the times. They've been so desperate to change the world of gaming they've forgotten how to actually make any games for it.
(1) a large fraction belong to casual gamers who don't buy much new software for them, and
(2) a smaller but still substantial fraction belong to hardcore gamers and are now sitting on a shelf collecting dust while they play games on their 2 or 3 other systems.
So they made a bit of money selling the original hardware, but since then the overall attach rate for the Wii has to be on the low side. Nintendo still hasn't figured out how to court 3rd-party developers to produce decent games for their system.
I buy a dozen games a year for the Xbox360 but almost nothing for the Wii. I haven't even hooked it up for over a year.
I think this is Nintendo being very scared of Apple. Face it, even at the reduced cost it is already not an easy sale to buy a 3DS as opposed to an iPod Touch. Given the current economic climate, I think that rightfully Nintendo is scared out of their minds and doing any little thing they can to help its sales.
However, I think its a losing battle, and that no matter what they do unless they can start selling games at the 3-15$ price point they're going to take a hit. Same with the Vita...
It'd be an easy sell if only it had any games. I love my iPod Touch, but there's nothing on there that even comes close to the quality of a great Mario game, or the depth of something like Dragon Quest.
"I think this is Nintendo being very scared of Apple."
Last time I looked at them, every Apple device lacked any kind of input buttons, seems odd to me, if you are scared of the products of your competitor to make something completely different.
And I can't say much about the quality of the iOS games, but on Android, there is nothing comparable with a AAA Nintendo or Sony title.
"It'd be an easy sell if only it had any games. I love my iPod Touch, but there's nothing on there that even comes close to the quality of a great Mario game, or the depth of something like Dragon Quest."
As a 3DS owner, I think a 2nd analog stick would provide an unnecessarily complex control scheme. If anything, my biggest complaint with the 3DS hardware is not about the lack of 2nd analogue input. I think the screens are the biggest problem!
One under-looked, yet important, feature of the original Game Boy and Game Boy Color was the screen's quality during use in broad daylight. Using them outside on a sunny day yielded the most crisp and clear view possible; using them inside or in the shade, even with unnatural lighting available, made play uncomfortable. This taught Game Boy owners to go out into the world and use their gear outside, in between their daytime activities. Surely, many peoples' interest in portable video games were first piqued due to the screen!
I don't know if Gunpei Yokoi and his crew recognized the significance of this feature about the Game Boy when they designed it... It encouraged Nintendo consumers to "go handheld during the day, sit down in front of a console at night", which lends well to most humans' tendency to function outside one's home during the day, then staying inside shelter at night.
As for the 3DS... sunlight ruins the 3D effect AND casts the screens into shadow. Even the max brightness setting is uncomfortable to view outside. Imagine that, turning up the brightness in a setting with plenty of light... Conversely, using the 3DS inside or in the shade yields the best visual acuity. I personally have over 300,000 "steps" counted on my 3DS, yet I have almost never showed it to anyone; simply because being certain of uninitiated viewers' focus clarity is so unintuitive. If I did show others my 3DS while outside, they would probably be scared off and be more likely to buy a smartphone for games!
In my opinion, Nintendo's priority for any future revision to the 3DS should be a hardware return to the "day-night cycle encouragement" of the screens, following in the footsteps of the late Gunpei Yokoi's greatest gaming achievement.
I thought this was an add-on meant only for Monster Hunter 3G, adding a slide pad and two shoulder buttons to make the 3DS more like the Classic Controller Pro that MH3 was designed for. Either way, this article seems to judge a Japanese product from a western perspective.
Since Monster Hunter is on PSP as well and PSP continues to sell well (in JPN) the (rather hideous) craddle doesn't get any traction as the fans prefer playing on the traditional platfrom where the franchise shines.
The market is even more reluctant towards 3DS since the hardware price and specs are changing too quickly than what you normally expect. At best, the ones looking for buying the 3DS will wait some more to have the 3DS Lite (early 2012), with complete input options enableing it to play all the games for the platform. The buying-dated-hardware anxiety drives hardware sales into the ground.
As the markets get slower we see even more cancelations or postponements of games for 3DS. The publishers are more cautious than ever in delivering content on this market, the launches are rare and investments are shy so quality of the software suffers. Nintendo is left alone to support with AAA software (well, that's not really new, actually).
During the holiday seasons MarioKart sells well but not amzing while 3D Land sells less than very well.
Sales on Nintendo e-shop continue to be very slow as well.
I commend Nintendo for creating quality software and for attempting to take a stand against the quantity over quality strategy. Unfortunately, while no iPhone games have reached the crazy levels of quality present in a Nintendo title, they are still high quality enough to be noteworthy and share with your friends. Nintendo has hit a point of diminishing returns on game quality. It's not like we're dealing with terrible games a la the 80's. For the most part iPhone games that are innovative, good looking, and fun are released on a weekly basis and they're way cheaper than traditional games. The ratio of fun per dollar ... :) / $ ... is much higher on an iPhone/iPod even if the sheer quality of Nintendo's experience is unmatched.
Peripheral or no peripheral it doesn't matter. Nintendo has been toppled as the king of handhelds. They might as well do whatever they can to please diehard fans. This particular peripheral isn't really that big a deal (like the Sega CD or 32X). I think the Wii Motion Plus is a good example. It's not used in most games but it helps propel the few that do use it to a better place.
While I take very little issue with articles or opinions questioning the dramatic about-face being performed by Nintendo right now, but I'd like to point out a few things which suggest more research should have been done before this op/ed made it to the News section of the site:
1. "Slide Pad!? Oh my god, forget the price cut, forget the 50% paycuts, forget the public announcement that Nintendo was going to do everything in its power to increase sales so as to attract third party developers before it's too late, they added a second slide pad!"
Personally I see a slide pad add-on as a curious move indeed, but when compared to the other things Nintendo has done (for the first time, rather than a Wii-wheel, Zapper, and Nunchuck peripheral emphasis) I continue to think the public announcements and paycuts should indicate that this is well within the bounds of Nintendo's plans. It's worthwhile to delve a little deeper into the things Nintendo has officially said to put this seemingly sensational bit of news into perspective.
From Satoru Iwata himself:
"In short, we have concluded that, for Nintendo 3DS to expand enough to become the successor of Nintendo DS, we have to take a drastic approach." (http://wii.ign.com/articles/118/1184948p1.html)
Oh. Wait, in that case, a slide-pad peripheral might just be what the doctor ordered. Or at least a good faith attempt.
Nintendo's public admission that the 3DS is not where they want it to be, and that they're going to try their best to fix it, really makes this opinion a provocative restatement of known fact. It rather disproportionately focuses on the latest and greatest hypothetical train wreck and seems to ignore the flaming ruin trailing behind it. I'm not sure if an editor looked this over, but this really isn't an article about Nintendo's latest mistake anymore than it might be a blogger's outrage making mountains out of molehills.
2. "There is no way this could play out well for Nintendo."
Speculation in and of itself is always risky, especially when attached to any sort of journalistic integrity. Misleading speculation, misinformed speculation, and misguided speculation especially damages publications, and I'm a bit curious as to how well the arguments here hold up.
Scenario 1:
The fact remains that Monster Hunter sells systems in Japan, and the peripheral enables the developers to provide the experience which Japanese gamers have and most likely currently want. How this spirals out into a negative scenario when other developers decide that it's not worth the risk is beyond me. If the 3DS sells systems thanks to Monster Hunter, and developers decide to develop for it, the peripheral did its job, even if it never sees use past that first game.
Scenario 2:
Nintendo has already committed to staying the course and releasing a hardware upgrade for the 3DS later rather than sooner, so a runaway success with the pad would line Nintendo's pockets, expand the possibilities for developers, and charge gamers a bit more. Note the part where it's a runaway success, which means that gamers might grumble, but they'll also agree that the extension is worth the money. Is it worth noting that the fact that this extension exists at all suggests Nintendo was planning on peripherals from the get go?
Scenario 3:
This scenario would require some amount of poor decision making on Nintendo's part, and a rather significant failure on Capcom's to make a winning game. Its unlikelihood aside, the situation is certainly less than ideal, but this shouldn't be the last possible scenario. It's worth noting that the Wiimote Plus now bundles in the gyroscopic sensors, and that the 3DS already ships with a charging dock. Packing the extension into every new 3DS isn't out of the question, and there's no ruling out a breakout hit from Nintendo or even some unheard of studio transforming the peripheral into the must-have gadget for the next holiday season.
If Nintendo is partially successful, the 3DS sells. If Nintendo is overwhelmingly successful, the 3DS sells. If Nintendo and Capcom manage to fall flat on their face, that's probably a bad thing. But what does "ideal" even mean if all three of these scenarios are less than ideal? Nintendo's goal is to sell systems in anticipation of the holiday season, and this peripheral, at worst, will have been been an expensive marketing tactic. I don't see this being a poor move on Nintendo's part, not unless the author knows something we don't about the extension.
Featuring an article like this on the front page of any site makes me wonder who decides what's worth reading and what isn't; I'm not here for baseless speculation or sensationalist journalism, so if something has changed in the way this website is run, I'd like to be told, not surprised by opinions like these.
But, at least this article is called out for what it is, an opinion, which is a good thing, as the current shortage of them on the web must be remedied.
Anyways, moving along, as criticizing Nintendo for their choices falls into the same category as as the Apple-is-dead group.
Not an implication, a comparison, as in these I-knows-best-for-Nintendo articles, are getting just as tiring as the Apple/Nintendo is on its way out rhetoric I've heard for years.
And as I'm also opinionated, I agree with Russell's comment below, as in this article seems like it's jumping the gun.
This isn't really a new thing for Nintendo though, I mean the N64 and Gamecube were both designed with expansion slots (not sure about the Wii) which were eventually filled with the little red thing you needed for Majora's Mask or the online adapter. There was also rumble packs for the N64 which I remember as kicking so much ass back in the day.
I think the most likely scenario is sort of a combination of two that you mentioned. I don't think this thing will sell well, even though the idea of it is well recieved, because people will feel like they're having to pay more for something that should've been on the machine from the start. But I would bet on the next 3DS having a 2nd pad built in, because that's what will be needed to keep focus away from the Vita.
And one futher thing to note, back in 2004 during the glut of Gameboy remodels and version ups, the DS itself was presented as a third and experimental platform line from Nintendo. It was cautiously announced this way most likely because Nintendo was not sure it would be able to take over the market from its previous successful system (plus they survived the Virtual Boy, after all, so they could take another risk). IF, and I do mean IF, the 3DS really is going to fail (which I still have high doubts given we've barely had any time with the system and launch years are usually pretty miserable), Nintendo can repeat this success and gather a lot of interest by announcing a "third" platform to replace their handheld line yet again. Their hands aren't tied in the future.
I tend to think this signals a redesign of the 3DS and that the 3DS will be a WiiU controller...
...but this add-on hasn't been talked about by Nintendo yet, it is SPECIFICALLY being made for Monster Hunter 3, and Capcom has stated MH3 is NOT coming stateside.
...so is it possible this device isn't coming stateside either?
I tend to think it will, but I wonder if the lack of factual information is making us speculate a bit too much at the moment.
(regardless it sure is not comely!)
This situation seems on the verge of being fixed, at least partially, with planned holiday releases like Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7"
That's an oxymoron. If you're claiming that the problem with the 3DS is the lack of new IPs, and the repetitive porting and sequeling of old classics, then how can you claim that the solution is to introduce another sequel to old classics?
That makes no sense.
Nintendo realized they needed to fix this issue and did so, without screwing over the current 3DS owners. Sure, they have to buy a goofy looking thing, but they solved the issue.
If Sony had done this with the PSP when it got revised, maybe it wouldn't have been such a bomb in the West in terms of software? The most popular genres were much harder to play on it, and developers didn't even try after a few years.
I mean, realistically, we're talking about a device that will probably sell 50 million in its lifetime (that's a very low estimate). How many have sold so far? Maybe 3 million?
on the other hand, i feel that they are trying to preempt the backlash they will get once the redesigned 3DS is released next year, and at the same time making more money :)
Wii found itself in a niche market to the casual player but alienated hard core players. Even this console required the addition of Wii Plus widget (incorporated in new Wii Remotes) to improve the poor motion detection capabilities. Even earlier on the motion control had very little support in AAA Nintendo titles. Gamecube had the GBA add on etc.
As highlighted in the article 3DS seems to have an identity crisis as well. But I think the lack of new genuine software is the root cause.
Almost seems Nintendo have difficulty grabbling with how to market their innovations. Wii U controller is another fine example. Is it a tablet, a hand held console, controller, all of the above, etc.
With 88 million consoles sold, I think it is a little bit strange to name that a niche market.
(1) a large fraction belong to casual gamers who don't buy much new software for them, and
(2) a smaller but still substantial fraction belong to hardcore gamers and are now sitting on a shelf collecting dust while they play games on their 2 or 3 other systems.
So they made a bit of money selling the original hardware, but since then the overall attach rate for the Wii has to be on the low side. Nintendo still hasn't figured out how to court 3rd-party developers to produce decent games for their system.
I buy a dozen games a year for the Xbox360 but almost nothing for the Wii. I haven't even hooked it up for over a year.
However, I think its a losing battle, and that no matter what they do unless they can start selling games at the 3-15$ price point they're going to take a hit. Same with the Vita...
Last time I looked at them, every Apple device lacked any kind of input buttons, seems odd to me, if you are scared of the products of your competitor to make something completely different.
And I can't say much about the quality of the iOS games, but on Android, there is nothing comparable with a AAA Nintendo or Sony title.
...yet.
One under-looked, yet important, feature of the original Game Boy and Game Boy Color was the screen's quality during use in broad daylight. Using them outside on a sunny day yielded the most crisp and clear view possible; using them inside or in the shade, even with unnatural lighting available, made play uncomfortable. This taught Game Boy owners to go out into the world and use their gear outside, in between their daytime activities. Surely, many peoples' interest in portable video games were first piqued due to the screen!
I don't know if Gunpei Yokoi and his crew recognized the significance of this feature about the Game Boy when they designed it... It encouraged Nintendo consumers to "go handheld during the day, sit down in front of a console at night", which lends well to most humans' tendency to function outside one's home during the day, then staying inside shelter at night.
As for the 3DS... sunlight ruins the 3D effect AND casts the screens into shadow. Even the max brightness setting is uncomfortable to view outside. Imagine that, turning up the brightness in a setting with plenty of light... Conversely, using the 3DS inside or in the shade yields the best visual acuity. I personally have over 300,000 "steps" counted on my 3DS, yet I have almost never showed it to anyone; simply because being certain of uninitiated viewers' focus clarity is so unintuitive. If I did show others my 3DS while outside, they would probably be scared off and be more likely to buy a smartphone for games!
In my opinion, Nintendo's priority for any future revision to the 3DS should be a hardware return to the "day-night cycle encouragement" of the screens, following in the footsteps of the late Gunpei Yokoi's greatest gaming achievement.
Since Monster Hunter is on PSP as well and PSP continues to sell well (in JPN) the (rather hideous) craddle doesn't get any traction as the fans prefer playing on the traditional platfrom where the franchise shines.
The market is even more reluctant towards 3DS since the hardware price and specs are changing too quickly than what you normally expect. At best, the ones looking for buying the 3DS will wait some more to have the 3DS Lite (early 2012), with complete input options enableing it to play all the games for the platform. The buying-dated-hardware anxiety drives hardware sales into the ground.
As the markets get slower we see even more cancelations or postponements of games for 3DS. The publishers are more cautious than ever in delivering content on this market, the launches are rare and investments are shy so quality of the software suffers. Nintendo is left alone to support with AAA software (well, that's not really new, actually).
During the holiday seasons MarioKart sells well but not amzing while 3D Land sells less than very well.
Sales on Nintendo e-shop continue to be very slow as well.
Peripheral or no peripheral it doesn't matter. Nintendo has been toppled as the king of handhelds. They might as well do whatever they can to please diehard fans. This particular peripheral isn't really that big a deal (like the Sega CD or 32X). I think the Wii Motion Plus is a good example. It's not used in most games but it helps propel the few that do use it to a better place.
1. "Slide Pad!? Oh my god, forget the price cut, forget the 50% paycuts, forget the public announcement that Nintendo was going to do everything in its power to increase sales so as to attract third party developers before it's too late, they added a second slide pad!"
Personally I see a slide pad add-on as a curious move indeed, but when compared to the other things Nintendo has done (for the first time, rather than a Wii-wheel, Zapper, and Nunchuck peripheral emphasis) I continue to think the public announcements and paycuts should indicate that this is well within the bounds of Nintendo's plans. It's worthwhile to delve a little deeper into the things Nintendo has officially said to put this seemingly sensational bit of news into perspective.
From Satoru Iwata himself:
"In short, we have concluded that, for Nintendo 3DS to expand enough to become the successor of Nintendo DS, we have to take a drastic approach." (http://wii.ign.com/articles/118/1184948p1.html)
Oh. Wait, in that case, a slide-pad peripheral might just be what the doctor ordered. Or at least a good faith attempt.
Nintendo's public admission that the 3DS is not where they want it to be, and that they're going to try their best to fix it, really makes this opinion a provocative restatement of known fact. It rather disproportionately focuses on the latest and greatest hypothetical train wreck and seems to ignore the flaming ruin trailing behind it. I'm not sure if an editor looked this over, but this really isn't an article about Nintendo's latest mistake anymore than it might be a blogger's outrage making mountains out of molehills.
2. "There is no way this could play out well for Nintendo."
Speculation in and of itself is always risky, especially when attached to any sort of journalistic integrity. Misleading speculation, misinformed speculation, and misguided speculation especially damages publications, and I'm a bit curious as to how well the arguments here hold up.
Scenario 1:
The fact remains that Monster Hunter sells systems in Japan, and the peripheral enables the developers to provide the experience which Japanese gamers have and most likely currently want. How this spirals out into a negative scenario when other developers decide that it's not worth the risk is beyond me. If the 3DS sells systems thanks to Monster Hunter, and developers decide to develop for it, the peripheral did its job, even if it never sees use past that first game.
Scenario 2:
Nintendo has already committed to staying the course and releasing a hardware upgrade for the 3DS later rather than sooner, so a runaway success with the pad would line Nintendo's pockets, expand the possibilities for developers, and charge gamers a bit more. Note the part where it's a runaway success, which means that gamers might grumble, but they'll also agree that the extension is worth the money. Is it worth noting that the fact that this extension exists at all suggests Nintendo was planning on peripherals from the get go?
Scenario 3:
This scenario would require some amount of poor decision making on Nintendo's part, and a rather significant failure on Capcom's to make a winning game. Its unlikelihood aside, the situation is certainly less than ideal, but this shouldn't be the last possible scenario. It's worth noting that the Wiimote Plus now bundles in the gyroscopic sensors, and that the 3DS already ships with a charging dock. Packing the extension into every new 3DS isn't out of the question, and there's no ruling out a breakout hit from Nintendo or even some unheard of studio transforming the peripheral into the must-have gadget for the next holiday season.
If Nintendo is partially successful, the 3DS sells. If Nintendo is overwhelmingly successful, the 3DS sells. If Nintendo and Capcom manage to fall flat on their face, that's probably a bad thing. But what does "ideal" even mean if all three of these scenarios are less than ideal? Nintendo's goal is to sell systems in anticipation of the holiday season, and this peripheral, at worst, will have been been an expensive marketing tactic. I don't see this being a poor move on Nintendo's part, not unless the author knows something we don't about the extension.
Featuring an article like this on the front page of any site makes me wonder who decides what's worth reading and what isn't; I'm not here for baseless speculation or sensationalist journalism, so if something has changed in the way this website is run, I'd like to be told, not surprised by opinions like these.