Nikkei: All 400,000 Japanese 3DS units sold out, more on the way

@Fallow Not really,

@mmmfishtacos

Whoosh!

@Fallow

of course is not shocking EVERY single gaming system that appears in japan sells out in a couple of hours, of course on ONE condition: It has to be a Japanese console, anything made outside of japan is going to stay in the store collecting dust, like the xbox......

@mmmfishtacos So because it no surprise that it's sold out in 24 hours I'm some how wrong, it's a Nintendo product in japan no less.

@mmmfishtacos Sarcasm's funny that way.

@mmmfishtacos

Double whoosh!

@Hunter141072
not true apples line up(though I hate to call them gaming devices) sells fine there...microsoft just has a bad rep and for good reason... it's really their own fault...

@darkfocus

apple could only wish to get the numbers that consoles get in japan, well doesn´t mean nintendo-grade sales.

@Fallow

Pretty funny that it's already been HACKED!! lol

@omgwtf

The funny thing is that it might be THAT the main reason why it sold so many units.....

@TraceurRyuk Part III
Yep, unfortunately so.

@TraceurRyuk Part III

that´s part of the strategy, make the console sell out and force the people to want it, why? because they can´t have it, it´s very simple. don´t think for a second that nintendo did this because they weren´t sure how much they were going to sell.

@TraceurRyuk Part III
honestly- they're probably still ramping up for their North American and European launches. based on the number of pre-orders taken at various retailers and the populations of the various countries they are launching this device in within the next month- they probably realized that they would have to allocate more systems to larger markets to attempt to meet demand. obviously there are going to be shortages, we know this- but if they tried launching a system like 3DS in a country the size of the US with only 440,000 units- it would cause a lot backlash from consumers and create a terribly inflated grey-market for second-hand sellers of the device. they're simply trying to make as much money as possible. it sounds like they're already on track to meet future demand by sending out frequent new shipments of the 3DS, so hopefully everyone who wants one will be able to get one sooner rather than later. i'm sure that the DS Lite and Wii releases have taught Nintendo how to better manage their manufacturing and distribution channels. at least i sure hope so...

@TraceurRyuk Part III
As I understand it, when you set up manufacturing for something like this, you set it up largely to meet medium-term demand (e.g. the level you will need to manufacture each month for the next six months). You can't easily set up 10 extra factories just for one week.

So the problem is, in the first week, people will want to buy three months' worth all at the same time - but you can't make it anywhere near that fast. So you need to stockpile product.

But if you stockpile fully adequately in advance of a launch then you have to launch later, which means losing your advantage (of being on the market early) and also losing money - consoles sitting in a warehouse are costing storage fees, when you could be selling them and profiting.

So there's a balance - stockpile enough to make it not totally embarrassing, but not a lot more than that. There is some marketing benefit from selling out, as well (though there'd also be benefit in being the biggest selling launch console EVAR, or something like that).

For similar reasons it's okay to have not too many great launch games because it will sell out anyway - in a few months when the system is easily available, a big game release might remind people 'hey! i can probably actually buy 3DS now'.

@tabarnakiim

I wear glasses when I play my games, so a 15 minute break every 30 minutes seems likely being that I have 2 things skewing with my eyes. (And yes, I'm aware of the 3D adjustment functions, but of course I'll be using the 3D a lot of the time. I don't wanna miss out on anything.)

@tabarnakiim
Hmm. One of my employees just bought a few and has been playing his own for around 4 hours non-stop.

You're quite wrong.

Oh my...

@MiguelAMX
Agreed, Nintendo could sell 400K of an empty case in Japan.

@SmokemeaKipper
imagiination(TM) not included.

@DokiDokiBawanga

That is if it even comes out this year.

@DokiDokiBawanga By then, the 3DS might have what you crave.

@flapjackal

then there is no need to get one until then, is there?

@DokiDokiBawanga
JRPGs take longer to write than the nine months or whatever people have had to develop games for this. They'll come, just a little later. (Isn't there some Kingdom Hearts whatever announced? Personally I don't give a damn about it but.)

@DokiDokiBawanga
You mean the three different Shin Megami Tensei games, Tales port, new Paper Mario, and unspecified Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games all announced for the system do not interest you in the slightest?

@PointlessPuppies dude, your funny. I bet you think the government started 911 too huh?

That argument is dumb and has been disproved. They would want to sell as many as they can make.

Not sure why it's so hard for people to believe the Wii was actually really popular and a lot of people rushed to buy it.

@PointlessPuppies

So wait, you're trying to deny the selling power of the next DS? Really?

@dherasa

Here we go. We go from fun loving Nintendo & the 3DS to conspiracy theories & political talk. Just call him a troll, down vote him & be on your way. Feeding him will not help.

@Prboi
Or proving your crazy.

@tchuks

I've seen worse/funnier/obvious/unsurprising reports from Michael Pachter

You would buy a system unable to play games but those released in Japan? Better get him to buy games while he's over there.

@NathanDTS

petsz.... Bratz....

BABYZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

>=(

@NathanDTS

Adding a "Z" at the end instead of an "S" really make a difference. On the other hand, they need something to fill the gaps between major releases