Iwata: 3DS launch sales below expectations

by Ben Gilbert on Apr 26th 2011 2:30PM

For Nintendo, 3.61 million just isn't enough. That's the number of 3DS systems sold since launch, and it's approximately 400K short of Nintendo's launch goal, says company head Satoru Iwata. Speaking to investors today in Osaka, Japan, Iwata specifically noted (in an official translation), "Nintendo 3DS started very well but, on the other hand, did not perform as expected after the second week."

Iwata cited the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan earlier this year as a factor, but added, "I should not blame this situation just on the impact of the earthquake. There are other challenges that have shown up." Without being specific, he said that the company is "making efforts to get the popularity of Nintendo 3DS back on track for the upcoming summer season." How about, you know, some games we'd want to play?

Nintendo has a followup earnings briefing scheduled for next Tuesday in Tokyo, so perhaps we'll find out more about the company's plans then.

Source: Nintendo

Tags: 3ds, ds, nintendo, nintendo-of-japan, sales, satoru-iwata

Reader Comments (120)

@Mrguy you know that guy
Capcom is neither the developer nor the publisher. Level 5 licensed the characters from Capcom, and are developing and publishing the game themselves. Since Layton games sell very well in the West, I think we'll definitely see it.

@(Unverified)
I think he was pointing out what huge douches Capcom is being about Ace Attorney Investigations 2, which has been out for two months in Japan, but they have no plans on translating at the current time.

Guess it doesn't print money.

Three reasons. The 3DS name was a bad idea. Too many people are confused its just another DS. Also, smart phones ie android and iphone. Price

@Maximo not to mention it looks just like a DS. They could have at least changed the design a little.

Is this really a mystery?? The 3DS has yet to have a single killer app; all it has going for it right now is novelty, and it takes more than that to sell a (relatively) expensive piece of hardware. Iwata's a shrewd man; I find it hard to believe that he would fail to recognize this.

So he's complaining that they have ONLY 3 million sold so far? thats a lot considering it's a new console and costs $250. I will pick one up sometime this year or next. When Zelda OoT, the new Starfox, and Mario games come out! oh and a Mario Kart 3DS would be awesome I was literally addicted to Mario Kart DS when I got it in like 05 or 06.

Mine is already collecting dust until OoT comes out.

@RobAccomando

You must have gotten a blue one because the only thing the black one collects is fingerprints!

@baby sea tuna

I got the black one. And yes, I got your joke.

Mario, Zelda, Star Fox, & Kid Icarus and I'm all yours, Nintendo. But right now i can't justify that price.

@Mrguy you know that guy
+1 for you, good sir. I also await those, and RE/MGS. But they shall not get a single one of my slow worth-declining US dollars until those release! >:0

"How about, you know, some games we'd want to play?"
My question to Nintendo about almost everything these days. :\ A business/product I'd love to support, but the effort... just... isn't... there...

...wait a second, this is sounding a lot like my rant on my fav' baseball team, the Seattle Mariners. And they're... majority-owned... by... Nintendo! :O C-O-N-SPIRACY!

/sarcasm

He forgot that the only reason most nintendo consoles sold was because they were cheap and fun. 3DS? Eh...

Release some good games. I've barely touched mine yet. Rayman just pales compared the the Mario or Zelda I wanted.

@(Unverified) Really? I was hearing it didn't have much of a chance here. Well then, i apologze for calling out Capcom, then.

According to my activity log I have played my 3DS for about 40 hours total. I've not had any ill effect from it. It's amazing, because watching 3D movies with glasses ends up leaving me dizzy afterwards.

People know there will be another three redone versions that will have more features and improved battery. Plus, some good games will finally be out then.

I was going to buy a 3DS... then they announced the price.

@DreadArrow
Same here. $150 and I would have been on board. Honestly the game pricing needs some work too.

I just bought a used DS Lite. I wanted a 3DS but three things held me back:

1. Battery life. 3 hours? That won't even get my kids to lunch on a long car trip.
2. New charging cable. I have 2 DS Lites (3 now) that share a charging cable. Why would I want to lug around another charger?
3. How soon till the 3DS Lite? Nintendo does not have a good track record with handheld systems and staying power. Look at the DS Lite. How many iterations has it gone through? Yes, they are all called DS Lite but the hinges change along with materials and textures. Stop the madness.

Hope Nintendo learns from this for their "Wii 2".

You can't just fart out a new platform and expect people to blindly buy it when there's no good games for it.

@Hawaii Jeff

I think you're missing the point where it sold 3.61 MILLION systems on zero games. Safe to say it's far from failure.

@Punkrawk Bbob

You know you're a rabbid fanboy when the leader of the company says sales are disappointing, and you're sitting there screaming they aren't.

For the successor of the most popular handheld of all time, the 3DS has been a very slow starter. What's hard to comprehend? This isn't the NGage we're talking about here. This is the king of handheld's brand new money printing machine, and it's not performing up to NIntendo's expectations.

@Shockwave

expectations =/= success. It's corporate expectations, which always plan for like an 8% growth. Not achieving that growth is 'failing'. When your yearly bonus will be enough for a family to live off of for 10 years though, it's hard to say that it's failing. It's like if I go in expecting a hundred on my final and land a 97%. Sure, it's lower than expected. Still a fk'ing A though.

Nintendo failed to realize that since the launch of DS the mobile games market has dramatically changed. Novelty is a minimal issue compared to price, portability, and peripheral uses (like the iPod Touch's many other features besides games).

$40 for one 5 hour 3DS game or $40 for 8-40 mobile games that could last dozens of hours?

Your move Nintendo.

@Lerkero

'8-40 mobile games that could last dozens of hours?'

Dozens of hours...? Really? REALLY? I get what you're TRYING to do here, but that's stretching the truth.

Honestly I will never rock an iPhone for portable gaming. I like my devices specific to their intended purpose. IE, a phone with good reception, not an iPhone. A DS/PSP for gaming, not a phone where games are glorified flash titles.

@Punkrawk Bbob

Yea, dozens of hours. How is it that hard to understand? I have an Acer Iconia A500 tablet (just came out). Installed, there's Vendetta Online, Angry Birds Rio, Angry Birds Seasons, Angry Birds, Let's Golf, Need for Speed Shift, Hero or Sparta, Game Dev Story, PewPew, Tank Hero, Cordy, Glow Hockey, Speed 3D, and ExZeus.

All that is less than $5, and I can guarantee you there's more than a dozen hours of enjoyment there.

@Shockwave

I see, so shiny colors amuse you and the idea of depth of gameplay or games as art are completely foreign concepts to you. Personally I outgrew arcades, hopefully one day you can move forward and realize that there are richer gaming experiences then fling bird at building and watch it fall down.

Probably cause there was no Nintendo Royalty at launch. I picked mine up 2 days ago and got SSF4 and Lego Star Wars. Never owned a handheld until this one. Things will shake up once Kid I, Mario and the Zelda's hit the scene.

Need more games there Iwata. Although, only being 400k shy of your goal isn't that bad. The Wii set the bar a smidge too high for console releases.

Know what would've done wonders for moving more?

same price, except it should have come with a 3D version of Mario 64.

I think a lot of people are just waiting for the good games. I know I will be getting one eventually, but I'm just waiting for the good games to come out.

I think they almost did themselves a disservice by keeping the DS recognition. Nintendo probably thought it would help them out, but I think it's hurting them. They released so many variations of the DS that I think the consumers believe this to be just another one of those and it's just a DS with 3D capabilities and nothing more. They would have been better off naming this something different altogether to signify that it's Nintendo's latest and greatest handheld console - like when they changed from Gameboy to DS.

@Uncle Jesse

Agreed, most comments I read are stating its a gimmick, that its just a DS with 3D. Completely ignoring the heightened online functionality/presence, the robust media features compared to other DS's, or the powerhouse of a machine it is under the hood.

and yes, analog nub. Mmmmm.

@Uncle Jesse

I'm honestly waiting for the next improved hardware version.

And now that Wii2 is officially announced, in playable form at E3 no less, I'll be holding off even longer for a 3DS.

I mostly game at home anyways.

@Punkrawk Bbob

"ignoring the heightened online functionality/presence"

Like that the online game store? Oh... wait... it still hasn't launched. I just wish Nintendo would take online seriously. Pay someone to make a functioning online system Nintendo. Spend some of those billions in profits you made since you can't seem to figure it out yourself.

@fohf
Well they're not releasing it incomplete now are they? So they are taking it serious.

You launch with Mario, Zelda and/or Pokemon or you don't launch at all. Get it together Nintendo.

This is what happens when you price a freaking console based on focus group research. I don't car, if they thought the perceived value was $300, if the materials that made the new device cost $20 more than the previous device,the actual value is no more than $25 more. Price the 3DS at $175, and it will sell. If you want to sell a $250 handheld, put some higher quality components in it.

@rajendra82

You do realize they have to coup cost on the R&D up to that point too, right? X price to manufacture doesn't mean they spent X price on the device. Manufacturing cost is a small portion of the cost.

This is totally new territory for Nintendo. They've always come in at a lower price point than everyone else. So even if their console was under powered, lacked games, or didn't have the cutting edge graphics, they could still outsell everyone else.

But now, with this $250 system, they have put themselves on the same level as everyone else. No longer is their system a "kids" system. Not for $250! That price point puts it squarely in the 'young adult-to-adult' catagory. And in that catagory, expectations are higher. You gotta have the graphics, you gotta have battery life(for a portable) and you gotta have the games. Because now, your competing head to head with your competitors on a level playing field, instead of undercutting them.

Question now is, what will Nintendo do now. This is the first Nintendo handheld that I haven't gotten immediately. Lack of battery life, lack of games, and complete disinterest in all this 'back from the '80s' 3D stuff, has me passing on this console.

@CyberNewType

Yeah I loved my parallax barrier autostereoscopy 3D portable devices back in 1983...

I also loved my 1080p 120hz active shutter 55" 3DTVs back then. Things haven't changed at all, man.

High price and no knock-out launch titles. That's all. Not too important really considering this will eventually be the best selling handheld of all time.

its still a very impressive number, considering there are no AAA titles out there yet, but that number will skyrocket by summer for sure

Portables are dying. Pretty soon cell phones will be the only form of mobile gaming.

@MEGATOOL

Mobile phone games are for casual adults. Most adults wont buy their kid a smartphone for gaming. or a cell phone for anything but emergency use.

most gamers (myself included) can't get a strong enough experience out of a mobile phone to consider it their choice platform. I've played with Doodle Jump and various other crapware on the iPhone, and I often sample the junk on my Android OS. It pales in comparison to playing even my GBA SP, let alone my PSP or 3DS. Show me one game with a fifth of the depth of even the original Pokemon Red/Green/Blue and I'll consider your claim to have slight creedance. Until then just realize that casual gamers (IE, those that play Farmville) are not gamers in the sense that those who play CounterStrike, CoD, Gears, or Marvel Vs Capcom 3 are gamers.

@MEGATOOL

And then people will say: If only someone would come up with a device to let me play games without reducing my phone's battery life to 30 minutes, and have precise controls actually designed for games, and better gameplay, and games that aren't pieces of shit. And then they'll realise we've had that for 30 years.

Okay...okay...

Everyone agrees.

Nintendo, get the sh!t together

LOWER
THE
PRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE

Don't care what anybody says, the 3DS is absolutely brilliant but

haz no game!

@MRB1G
And as for the price, with smart costing double that, it's not that bad

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Iwata: 3DS launch sales below expectations

Reader Comments (120)

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:05PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 5:36PM Powerlord said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 2:48PM vix said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 2:50PM Maximo said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:46PM eddoes said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 2:52PM gatotsu911 said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 2:51PM Accessgranted said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 2:58PM RobAccomando said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:15PM baby sea tuna said

Posted: May 8th 2011 4:38PM RobAccomando said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 2:58PM Mrguy you know that guy said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:04PM foxhound said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:02PM foxhound said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:04PM The Only Girl said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:04PM mrmobius said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:19PM Mrguy you know that guy said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:46PM ItsameMatt03 said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:06PM Schlecht said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:08PM DreadArrow said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:33PM Chibi Chaingun said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:13PM OrangeWhip said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:15PM Hawaii Jeff said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 4:00PM Punkrawk Bbob said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 4:52PM Shockwave said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 5:25PM Punkrawk Bbob said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:22PM Lerkero said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 4:03PM Punkrawk Bbob said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 4:49PM Shockwave said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 5:27PM Punkrawk Bbob said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:22PM rambo8 said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:27PM SpishackCola said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:33PM Dalrint said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:33PM Uncle Jesse said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 4:06PM Punkrawk Bbob said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 4:20PM Co said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 5:22PM fohf said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 8:10PM The Aquacharger said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:54PM bronxknyght said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:37PM rajendra82 said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 4:09PM Punkrawk Bbob said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:38PM CyberNewType said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:50PM Chibi Chaingun said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:43PM Banksyliveraa said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:49PM DarkSonata said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 3:58PM MEGATOOL said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 4:15PM Punkrawk Bbob said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 4:16PM Raffi256 said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 4:02PM CaptainProtonX said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 4:20PM MRB1G said

Posted: Apr 26th 2011 4:21PM MRB1G said

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