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[lowrider007]

Sony is in the exact same boat with the Vita.

Are they though?, perhaps games that offer the 'full console experience' on the vita are the only types of games left that will have a chance at being able to sustain a top tier price, I like the way Sony are going with the Vita, you have mini's at a couple of quid, then PSX titles for a few quid more, then you also have access to PSP games, and then we have premium Vita titles like Uncharted, Resistance etc at full RRP, something for everybody's pocket.

 

[popeutlal]

outdated hardware, games worse looking for most of them than psp, 3D that isnt verry appealing to mass, same form as previous machine, overpriced for what is it , and most of all , not enough game at all..

i dont think this will be the same for vita

Age of expensive dedicated portable gaming devices with $40 games is over. Its not 3DS vs. Vita. Is 3DS/Vita vs. Android/iOS.

3DS and Vita are in the same boat.

 

[walking fiend]

I really don't know what they're going to do about it. Pretty much all the 3DS games I've seen so far should've been £20-£25 (excepting OoT) and some of them deserved to sink at that price, being sub-par and all that. The problem is, I don't see how they can establish a £20-£25 price point for most of the games and then pull out the occasional blockbuster £40 game. Consumers may see the £40 as a money grab rather than the £20 as a money saving. I don't envy them.

for the same reason that most of the time you are charged for books much more than the amount of paper that has been put into making them, you will never get good games at app prices. The reason is quite simple, after the app dumping is done sooner or later, game developers will understand that they can charge the premium price for their games if they have the value in them and still sell them, the reason simply being that there are no cheaper entertainment that can rival value of good games at a price less than 30$-60$.

angry bird will keep selling at app price, because it is the market they can compete in, if they could make mario or call of duty, they would have been making those, but since they can, they dont; and those that can won't sell their games at 1$, because they can sell their games at a much higher price and there will be enough demand for them to make several times more money than angry bird.

from app store, 15 billion apps have been downloaded (on 200 million device supporting it)since it came into existence, even if we assume all of them to be 2$ games, that would amount to 30 billion dollars.

Spoiler

While in reality Apple has paid developers 2.5 billion.

it is not a healthy market for the whole industry, for those who develop games, and so they won't jump both feet in, they will devalue themselves. App games won't take over the industry, because it cause those who work in the industry make much less money compared to those in other industries.

I don't know what to say other than I find the graphics I've seen so far utterly underwhelming including RE:R (although I've not seen that running on an actual 3DS). On the plus side, graphics may not be a priority for the demographic Nintendo want to attract.

you either have something against 3DS, or your eyes have problems, or you haven't seen much on 3DS; since I can farely assume you don't have vision problems, I think it is wither first or the last. Sorry dude, but I can't find any other reason for calling every game shown on 3ds 'utterly underwhelming', even compared to PSV, let alone to DS or PSP.

 

[BurntPork]

I don't know what to say other than I find the graphics I've seen so far utterly underwhelming including RE:R (although I've not seen that running on an actual 3DS). On the plus side, graphics may not be a priority for the demographic Nintendo want to attract.

In other words, anything less than Vita doesn't count as a generational leap because you're so used to the HD twins that you take their graphics for granted. What you're saying is the same as saying that the Gamecube wasn't enough of a leap over the N64 to be a true successor. FYI, hardly anyone expected Nintendo to skip a graphical generation with 3DS and I don't know why you would have expected it.

 

[Mr_Brit]

In other words, anything less than Vita doesn't count as a generational leap because you're used to the HD twins. FYI, hardly anyone expected Nintendo to skip a graphical generation with 3DS and I don't know why you would have expected it.

No one expected Vita visuals from 3DS but the fact still remains that Nintendo under delivered on the graphics/power of the system. Even something much cheaper like an ipod touch is more powerful than the 3DS which is just downright shameful. Had Nintendo gone for a more modern architecture they could have recieved the same support iOS and Vita are getting and it could have gotten a lot more ports but Nintendo's cheapness has cost them that yet again for the third time in a row and it's a shame that Wii U is their only system that will break that trend.

 

[lowrider007]

for the same reason that most of the time you are charged for books much more than the amount of paper that has been put into making them, you will never get good games at app prices. The reason is quite simple, after the app dumping is done sooner or later, game developers will understand that they can charge the premium price for their games if they have the value in them and still sell them, the reason simply being that there are no cheaper entertainment that can rival value of good games at a price less than 30$-60$.

angry bird will keep selling at app price, because it is the market they can compete in, if they could make mario or call of duty, they would have been making those, but since they can, they dont; and those that can won't sell their games at 1$, because they can sell their games at a much higher price and there will be enough demand for them to make several times more money than angry bird.

from app store, 15 billion apps have been downloaded (on 200 million device supporting it)since it came into existence, even if we assume all of them to be 2$ games, that would amount to 30 billion dollars. While in reality Apple has paid developers 2.5 billion.

it is not a healthy market for the whole industry, for those who develop games, and so they won't jump both feet in, they will devalue themselves.

The problem is when we get into these discussions it always ends up being 1-2 dollar games verses full $40 dollar games and the effect it has on the industry, where's the middle ground? I'm not asking for a $2 Pilotwings Resort, but @ $40's they are taking the piss seriously, they just need to re-evaluate their pricing structure.

Imagine a new handheld that was able to play a majority of PSN/XBLA games at the same pricing, this is what I'm hoping the Vita will lead us into, a middle ground pricing tier for handheld gaming.

 

[BurntPork]

My two younger brothers (aged 12 and 14) exact words on the 3DS are "it's rubbish blocky graphics for kids", they are massive xbox 360 fans and also love their iTouche's, they got rid of their DS and PSP's years ago, this is the market your dealing with today, their market.

And honestly, how many people are prepared to pay £40 RE:Revelations?, I wouldn't pay £5 for it, it's not just iTouch/iPhone games that have changed peoples perception of the value of handheld games but even when you look at the 'core' market it's hard for me/us to justify £40's on a handheld game when you look at the price and value proposition of games on XBLA and PSN at less than half the price of a 3DS title.

You and your brothers are jaded. That's not Nintendo's fault.

 

[chubigans]

No one expected Vita visuals from 3DS but the fact still remains that Nintendo under delivered on the graphics/power of the system. Even something much cheaper like an ipod touch is more powerful than the 3DS which is just downright shameful. Had Nintendo gone for a more modern architecture they could have recieved the same support iOS and Vita are getting and it could have gotten a lot more ports but Nintendo's cheapness has cost them that yet again for the third time in a row and it's a shame that Wii U is their only system that will break that trend.

One of the hugest problems I have with the 3DS is the resolution. I've posted this before, but it still boggles my mind that this how this gen is turning out.

 

[Stumpokapow]

You and your brothers are jaded. That's not Nintendo's fault.

No one is holding his brothers up as paragons of wit or taste, they're holding them up as typical consumers. It's not about whose fault it is, it's about how it impacts Nintendo's business if those kids and kids like them are gunshy on the 3DS (or Sony, Vita, etc)

 

[Mael]

Like how NSMB Wii is unplayable for people with one hand? Yes, some part of the userbase will probably be unable to enjoy the 3D effects of the new Super Mario title, but not only is this true for the 3DS as a whole, but that part of the audience is most likely a small minority.

And the userbase of 1 handed Wii players is made of...how many people?
Because the problem with 3D is much more widespread. that also would explain the tepid performance of the 3DS so far

Furthermore, enhancing the game for the 3D effect does not necessarily mean making it unplayable when viewed in 2D.

Well it certainly punishes people for not using the 3D mode.

Right, because the Wii U is launching this holiday season.

Seriously, you're throwing logic and reason under a bus here as well.

They showed nothing of interest for this holyday season except maybe Zelda where it's not even sure it's not already too late. Seriously this year might as well forget about them already....unless you're in PAL land that is.

This may all be fair and true, but pragmatically you need to consider the situation in, say, 2010 in regards to a new project. At that point, no matter whose fault or blame it is, putting a major title on the Wii would be a waste.

Well yeah now it's certainly too late, how they can turn it around? I have no idea though.

20 million+ consumers did think that Nintendo made something interesting with the Motion Plus attachment.

Yep and that was WSR, the rest they didn't find it interesting AT ALL.

Because it's the only way to play the games and some of them are phenomenal. I've been bitten on the arse by the DRM as well but I can say the same for my PS3 (during PSN outage), DSi (Transferring stuff pre-3DS) and PC (Niggles here 'n' there). Only the Apple app store seems to give me no DRM grief whatsoever.

It's the future whether we like it or not. Might as well cherry pick the best bits.

Yeah, no. There's better games out there that I can play that are already out. I'm not compromising how I view my games for a few games thank you very much. I may miss some great games but as I already stated I have enough games that I didn't play that doesn't support this.

No. SMG2 had a (partially) linear world, but not linear levels.

Yeah, no it also had linear levels for the most part, there's even levels in 2D!

How is DS library better than 3DS when it supports all the DS games? The only better feature DS has, is its battery (which 3DS isn't much worse when used in 2D for DS games anyway) . It does not have eShop, is not 3D, is not going to support 3DS games, lacks the analog, doesn't have apps (Netflix), does not have unified friend list or spotpass or streetpass, has a much worse browser, etc.

Yeah, huh as a OG DS owner I can also play GBA games on it, the eShop is pathetic as far as offering goes, the 3D I, and the rest of the market, don't give a shit about.
And Netflix? I should buy a 3DS to get Netflix? Are you serious?
All these features are added but they removed the whole portability of the DS with the pathetic battery life, isn't that awesome?
Portability is a feature they forgot to bring with to the 3DS.

it is a 2D game in essence, it is just you if you believe it is a prime game. and Crash worked, so will Super Mario 3DS, if executed well. SM3DS will also have the benefit of being 3D which will make jumping much easier, I believe.

Yeah...I actually greatly disliked Crash so no I don't see that as an improvment at all.
As it is, it works worse than its 2D counterpart works so it's really a step down as far as 2d games goes, and it's more limited than its 3D counterpart so it's worse than 3D Mario too, why should I be excited at all for this product?

 

[SmokyDave]

you either have something against 3DS, or your eyes have problems, or you haven't seen much on 3DS; since I can farely assume you don't have vision problems, I think it is wither first or the last. Sorry dude, but I can't find any other reason for calling every game shown on 3ds 'utterly underwhelming', even compared to PSV, let alone to DS or PSP.

I've ignored your first half because life's too short to entertain conversations about Angry Birds. As for this bit, I game on a PS3, PC, 360 and iPhone 4. With the exception of the iPhone 4 (which has an IQ the 3DS can only dream of), the 3DS is a huge step back from what I'm used to. Those Starfox shots look mediocre at best. The Vita, not so much, but I still want to see one irl before I get excited about the visuals.

In other words, anything less than Vita doesn't count as a generational leap because you're so used to the HD twins that you take their graphics for granted.

Pretty much yeah. For me to buy a new dedicated handheld, it would need to eat my iPhone 4 and potentially the iPhone 5 for breakfast. The 3DS doesn't.

Yeah, no. There's better games out there that I can play that are already out. I'm not compromising how I view my games for a few games thank you very much. I may miss some great games but as I already stated I have enough games that I didn't play that doesn't support this.

I won't argue because obviously you know your own tastes better than I. All I will say is that I used to feel like you until the quality of software available made me abandon my principles.

 

[Rourkey]

the overall trend partially yes, but this months bump was most likely because of the it being through promotions with laptops, giftcards, etc.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=29328399&postcount=1275

---
and for gods sake, Wii software tie ratio is almost the same as PS3, and like 20% less than 360. It doesn't sound familiar!

Yer sorry a bit of a generalisation although i'm sure its not just me then that bought a Wii (and a Kinect) and then only used it when having drunken friends over!

 

[Mr. B Natural]

Disgusting Starfox picture

Less ugly, yet still atrocious, Starfox picture

and it is in 3D this time.

Nintendo's not living in a bubble. When graphical fidelity has increased in the past 6 years, the "upgrade" barely seems like an upgrade. Ugly is ugly. I'll give you that RE:Mercenaries pics looked great, but then the actual game came out and the blatant bullshots revealed themselves as bullshots.
When it comes to fidelity, Nintendo is fighting an uphill battle and with the 3ds they didn't even bother to put on their shoes. Will hit hurt their sales in the long run? Sure, but how much? We'll see.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

Pretty amazing 360 numbers, especially give there was no real exclusive piece of software for people to purchase. Just goes to show the whole "exclusives" thing is overrated imho.

 

[BurntPork]

No one expected Vita visuals from 3DS but the fact still remains that Nintendo under delivered on the graphics/power of the system. Even something much cheaper like an ipod touch is more powerful than the 3DS which is just downright shameful. Had Nintendo gone for a more modern architecture they could have recieved the same support iOS and Vita are getting and it could have gotten a lot more ports but Nintendo's cheapness has cost them that yet again for the third time in a row and it's a shame that Wii U is their only system that will break that trend.

Third time? What? I can see what you mean with Wii, but even suggesting that they messed up with the DS, especially since that came out in 2004 is easily that dumbest thing I have seen any type or say in a very, very long time. Seriously, are you really that much of a tech whore?

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

Kinda, but I'm expecting the PS Suite / Android stuff to provide them with a chunk of low-end £1.99 timewasters, then they have PSN & Minis in the middle and PS3 ports / multi-plat ports and some dedicated Vita stuff to fill in the high end. I've no doubt Sony will muff it somehow but in theory, they could have a wide range of software at a wide range of price points.

3DS also already has a library of over 350 $2-10 time wasters via DSiWare, even with some acclaimed titles too. It hasn't helped.

Minis were a spectacular failure, PS Suite looks poised to go nowhere, PSN is incredibly weak PSP side; placing much faith in the low end DD side of Vita seems pretty misguided, I don't see it's inclusion as being much of a driver at all. The high end is what's going to define Vita, hell it's the platform's one major differentiator over 3DS/iOS.

I'm not sure why every game for the 3DS is $40. Games for the DS seemed to range from $20 to $35. Why not have a range of prices for the 3DS, too?

Pac-Man and Galaga isn't a $40 game.

There actually are 3DS price tiers (down to $19.99), it's just almost no one is using them.

And I agree, almost all games have overpriced MSRPs. Pacman & Galaga should be $29.99 at most.

 

[MrDanger88]

- Wow at DNF's numbers. Proof once again games can sell on name alone.
- No SotD is depressing.
- Good lord @ 360. Very impressive.

 

[walking fiend]

The problem is when we get into these discussions it always ends up being 1-2 dollar games verses full $40 dollar games and the effect it has on the industry, where's the middle ground? I'm not asking for a $2 Pilotwings Resort, but @ $40's they are taking the piss seriously, they just need to re-evaluate their pricing structure.

Imagine a new handheld that was able to play a majority of PSN/XBLA games at the same pricing as the console, this is what I'm hoping the Vita will lead us into, a middle ground pricing tier for handheld gaming.

The answer is in distribution systems such as Steam, that games can range from 2$ to 50$. The problem with Nintendo is that it hasn't been making a compeling and thriving market for its online distribution system, so games that can be published as 3DSwares, end up as being retail. They have storage issues on handheld as well. Unlike PC, you can't expect every owner having at least 320GB of storage available, it is 4GB on 3DS, expanded with flash at a reasonable price, it won't be probably much more than 10 to 18 GB or at most 34GB. 3DS cartridges are each 2GB at least, some will use 4GB (MGS 3DS), so not many full retail games will fit there.

I checked vita, and seemingly it won't have any internal storage (PSP Go has 16GB).

 

[Kai Dracon]

It could be that the 3DS situation is a perfect storm of many factors, not just two or three overriding flaws.

- DS was introduced in an era when mass market didn't know much about or expect much from videogame graphics.

- Mass market (including "core" gamers) now expects Xbox360 graphics from all devices or the illusion of such, like with carefully presented iPad games like Infinity Blade.

- Nintendo underestimates (?) consumer inertia and doesn't differentiate 3DS from DS line.

- 3D display effect makes complete turnaround in hype from E3 2010

- 3DS is launched during time of iOS trend at strongest, consumers haven't tired of Angry Birds yet.

- Nintendo foolishly holds back best 3DS software at launch to appear appeasing to 3rd parties (?).

- 3rd parties show their typical shovelware shit out for launch, which is not good enough anymore.

- Sony puts on troll mask and eviscerates accounting department with crazyland PS Vita launch price.

Of course, the caveat is that the 3DS still hasn't really gone too far outside the DS' own slow starting curve. The difference today is that the market is a lot more nasty than it was then. 3DS did need to get off to more of a running start than the DS did. The "turnaround" games for 3DS are coming - no, Zelda doesn't count, overhyped by Zelda fans - soon just as the DS got its turnaround games six months to a year post-launch. The question is how much of a difference they'll make this time.

 

[chubigans]

PS Suite looks poised to go nowhere

Why in the world would you think that? It's one of the most forward thinking strategies Sony's ever done in the handheld biz.

3DS also already has a library of over 350 $2-10 time wasters via DSiWare, even with some acclaimed titles too. It hasn't helped.

That doesn't even make any sense. Either buy a $150 DS to play DSiWare or a $250 DS to play DSiWare...hmmm, decisions decisions.

 

[Mr_Brit]

One of the hugest problems I have with the 3DS is the resolution. I've posted this before, but it still boggles my mind that this how this gen is turning out.

Exactly. By far and away, the 3DS' biggest problem is the atrocious screen resolution. I mean, the PSP is bad enough these days but for 3DS to go even lower than that is just embarrasing.

 

[Dragon]

3DS also already has a library of over 350 $2-10 time wasters via DSiWare, even with some acclaimed titles too. It hasn't helped.

Minis were a spectacular failure, PS Suite looks poised to go nowhere, PSN is incredibly weak PSP side; placing much faith in the low end DD side of Vita seems pretty misguided, I don't see it's inclusion as being much of a driver at all. The high end is what's going to define Vita, hell it's the platform's one major differentiator over 3DS/iOS.

Minis were? Why are you talking about them in the past tense? Did they stop releasing them? What actual data do you have about them?

 

[Tobor]

Are they though?, perhaps games that offer the 'full console experience' on the vita are the only types of games left that will have a chance at being able to sustain a top tier price, I like the way Sony are going with the Vita, you have mini's at a couple of quid, then PSX titles for a few quid more, then you also have access to PSP games, and then we have premium Vita titles like Uncharted, Resistance etc at full RRP, something for everybody's pocket.

When I say the same boat, I mean they face the same challenge. They seem to have a better understanding of that challenge, yes. Whether or not that's enough remains to be seen.

 

[clashfan]

Age of expensive dedicated portable gaming devices with $40 games is over. Its not 3DS vs. Vita. Is 3DS/Vita vs. Android/iOS.

3DS and Vita are in the same boat.

This rings true to me. The era of the dedicated gaming device is over. Just like the era of the dedicated portable media devices...

 

[thcsquad]

I've ignored your first half because life's too short to entertain conversations about Angry Birds.

I'm going to start using this.

I don't have anything to contribute to the portable discussion. But I was really surprised most at Infamous 2's showing. Way better first month than the previous game. I guess the Greatest Hits and Welcome Back inclusion must have helped it along? I guess the Uncharted 3 beta couldn't have hurt either...

 

[Mr_Brit]

I'm going to start using this.

I don't have anything to contribute to the portable discussion. But I was really surprised most at Infamous 2's showing. Way better first month than the previous game. I guess the Greatest Hits and Welcome Back inclusion must have helped it along? I guess the Uncharted 3 beta couldn't have hurt either...

Same. I thought Infamous 2 was going to tank just like I thought Resistance 3 is going to.

 

[alphaNoid]

This month was pretty meh ... until I saw that 360 number, I mean.. WTH? MS is just destroying the competition in NA. I'm not sure if Kinect is pushing hardware or if the price point and software library has reached a point now that its much of an impulse buy.

A friend of mine in his 40s, his wife bought a Kinect bundle this week so it seems that people are aware its available.

I'm just in shock, 507,000? I said goddamn.

 

[thcsquad]

Just getting in and reading this now. Wow. 360 is a monster. While everyone expected it to still beat the Wii and PS3 this month, no one was thinking it would beat them by almost 2x.

I don't know if it's Kinect at this point or what. I don't think any console has ever sold this well almost 6 years in.

PS2? Didn't most of its sales come mid-late in the cycle?

 

[BadWolf]

In terms of consoles, its PS3 dominating in JP and the 360 in NA.

Which is selling the best EU?

 

[BurntPork]

Based on all of your expectations, Nintendo needs to drop out of hardware because they can't compete. You guys seem to all want the best hardware available, and Nintendo will never be able to deliver on that again. Nintendo, being a video game only company, takes a much bigger risk than Sony does by depending only on software for profit, So it makes sense that Nintendo would want to profit on hardware. Despite this, everyone here is saying that 3DS is failing for not being 10x as powerful for $50 less that it is now. Wtfits?

 

[Paracelsus]

PS2? Didn't most of its sales come mid-late in the cycle?

PS2 was at 100~mln back in the end of 2005.

In terms of consoles, its PS3 dominating in JP and the 360 in NA.

Which is selling the best EU?

At this point probably PS3 Jap + PS3 Eu barely just make up for the big damage 360 is doing in America.

 

[walking fiend]

I believe the primary reason for 3DS resolution being this low, hasn't got to do with price or battery life, etc; it is this low to make development for the device considerably cheaper.

Nintendo was the company that never cared for consumers, back then they only cared about themselves, now they are thinking about pleasing other publishers as well.

PS2 was at 100~mln back in the end of 2005.

sold half its 150million under 150$, pricewise, it had been halved.

 

[Mael]

Based on all of your expectations, Nintendo needs to drop out of hardware because they can't compete. You guys seem to all want the best hardware available, and Nintendo will never be able to deliver on that again. Nintendo, being a video game only company, takes a much bigger risk than Sony does by depending only on software for profit, So it makes sense that Nintendo would want to profit on hardware. Despite this, everyone here is saying that 3DS is failing for not being 10x as powerful for $50 less that it is now. Wtfits?

The shit games, the battery life, the price, the eye gouging 3D?

 

[nincompoop]

I'm not sure why every game for the 3DS is $40. Games for the DS seemed to range from $20 to $35. Why not have a range of prices for the 3DS, too?

Pac-Man and Galaga isn't a $40 game.

Pacman and Galaga contains ports of 4 games (all of which are available on XBLA, where they cost $30 combined), on top of 2 entirely new games, how is that not a $40 value?

 

[Mr_Brit]

I believe the primary reason for 3DS resolution being this low, hasn't got to do with price or battery life, etc; it is this low to make development for the device considerably cheaper.

Nintendo was the company that never cared for consumers, back then they only cared about themselves, now they are thinking about pleasing other publishers as well.

On what planet does lower resolution make development easier? Seriously people, the low resolution is undefendable and is straight up offensive that Nintendo would think that it would pass.

 

[TheNatural]

I wonder what Nintendo's marketing strategy for the Wii will be in the holidays. It's running out of steam and they'll need a new bundle for the launch of Zelda, and there are basically no other releases up until then. They said they don't want to do a collection, but a gold Wii plus Zelda collection disc would be their best bet for a console boost. They also need to badly expand their player's choice line with games like Mario Galaxy, Smash Bros, and so on. It's probably going to be limping into the holidays. And what is the deal with it being July and not announcing release dates for their fall titles? It seems odd.

 

[Angry Fork]

Age of expensive dedicated portable gaming devices with $40 games is over. Its not 3DS vs. Vita. Is 3DS/Vita vs. Android/iOS.

3DS and Vita are in the same boat.

Sony has already said Vita is not competing with Android/iOS. That's what that Xperia phone thing was supposed to do which failed. Vita isn't a phone and it doesn't have all the app stuff, it's not in the same market as Android/iOS.

 

[walking fiend]

The shit games, the battery life, the price, the eye gouging 3D?

for christ sake, go read Zelda OoT impressions, it has a thread of itself, if you can't see it for youselves.

 

[BadWolf]

At this point probably PS3 Jap + PS3 Eu barely just make up for the big damage 360 is doing in America.

Thanks.

Wonder how much of a boost the PS3 will get with the rumored $100 price drop.

 

[BurntPork]

The shit games, the battery life, the price, the eye gouging 3D?

That last point makes it obvious that you're a fanboy who would have never considered it in the first place, so your opinion is null.

 

[walking fiend]

Thanks.

Wonder how much of a boost the PS3 will get with the rumored $100 price drop.

someonep posted PS3 result this year, it has been the best selling hardware this year up to now.

 

[Kai Dracon]

Exactly. By far and away, the 3DS' biggest problem is the atrocious screen resolution. I mean, the PSP is bad enough these days but for 3DS to go even lower than that is just embarrasing.

I assume that's the cost of using the first-gen auto-stereoscopic screen. If no (practical) higher res version was available, Nintendo was pretty much screwed.

A lot of this may boil down to Nintendo's fundamental philosophy. Those who sneer at Nintendo like to say their basic drive is "cheapness". That's not really true; their basic drive is that they're convinced they must, always, set themselves apart with something completely unique.

At times, this is indeed a great strategy. Especially when you have Nintendo's capability to come up with ideas that are actually ideas, for a change.

The problem with the portable wars, is that Nintendo evidently couldn't come up with anything for the DS 2 that wouldn't seem as if it was just a copy of the PSP or the hot new trend of iOS touch screen portable devices. Nintendo was also in the basket of the DS being super ultra successful, and not wanting to alienate DS customers... so full and proper backwards compatibility was a must from their POV.

The result is the 3DS - a DS 2 that, despite contemporary hardware perception biases, is indeed a typical technological upgrade over its predecessor. With a 3D screen to give it that "special Nintendo difference", though at the cost of screen resolution. And despite whinging of its "total failure as a portable!!" still better battery life than the PSP

I do wonder what's going to happen if Vita comes out and has the PSP standard of battery life in real world circumstances. Just like some people have said "go play Infinity Blade on your iPod touch for five hours, get back to us."

 

[Neuromancer]

One of the hugest problems I have with the 3DS is the resolution. I've posted this before, but it still boggles my mind that this how this gen is turning out.

Also the camera sucks.

 

[Jomjom]

Thanks.

Wonder how much of a boost the PS3 will get with the rumored $100 price drop.

Probably little effect because theres no way MS isnt going to react immediately and drop it the same amount. At that point consumers will again be posed with the same proposition as now, between buying a ps3 or 360 for roughly the same price.

 

[Kagari]

Would be nice to know the break down on how many free 360s were given away with the Windows 7 promotion. Amazon still has the deal now, and reading it, it looks like it can be any PC, not just a laptop. You can probably expect July and August numbers to include those as well since it goes through September.

 

[AbsoluteZero]

I've ignored your first half because life's too short to entertain conversations about Angry Birds.

Oh god, that reminded me that I saw someone with a Angry Birds shirt last night at the Harry Potter midnight showing. My reaction was pretty much:

 

[Mr. B Natural]

This month was pretty meh ... until I saw that 360 number, I mean.. WTH? MS is just destroying the competition in NA. I'm not sure if Kinect is pushing hardware or if the price point and software library has reached a point now that its much of an impulse buy.

A friend of mine in his 40s, his wife bought a Kinect bundle this week so it seems that people are aware its available.

I'm just in shock, 507,000? I said goddamn.

It's the casual burst. A clever gimmick boosting sales. Let's hope Microsoft doesn't get over confident like Nintendo did with the Wii and start using these numbers as signification that they've got the right idea this month when it comes to software, because this year has been a barren one for my 360. But, yeah, look at their E3 this year....yep. Round round we go.

 

[apana]

PS3 needs a price drop. 3DS needs a price drop. Wii needs games.

 

[Kagari]

PS3 needs a price drop. 3DS needs a price drop. Wii needs games.

We're still not going to get Xenoblade

 

[walking fiend]

Would be nice to know the break down on how many free 360s were given away with the Windows 7 promotion. Amazon still has the deal now, and reading it, it looks like it can be any PC, not just a laptop. You can probably expect July and August numbers to include those as well since it goes through September.

someone said 400K without that some pages ago, I think the source was somethin pachter like, if you are willing to find that.