Fils-Aime: Consumers' two biggest problems with the 3DS have been fixed

by Griffin McElroy on Jun 20th 2011 6:00PM

In an interview with Kotaku during E3, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime discussed how the company is addressing consumers' concerns about its stereoscopic handheld gaming system, the 3DS. Citing "consumer information," Fils-Aime said shoppers' biggest hang-up was that the 3DS' launch line-up lacked a "big Nintendo franchise," an issue he hopes will be fixed by the handheld's first-party-heavy future line-up. ""I think we've got that issue not only identified but addressed," Fils-Aime added.

The second issue Fils-Aime pointed out was the 3DS' lack of an online network at launch, an issue he says was corrected with the launch of the eShop during E3 -- as well as the upcoming rollout of features like Netflix and 3D movies. That last bit sounds promising, though we ask that Fils-Aime first looks into a logical third problem: Making it so the 3DS battery will last through a full movie. Sure, it can probably tackle most 90-minute features; but what of our extended Lord of the Rings Director's Cuts? What of that, sir?

Source: Kotaku

Tags: 3ds, ds, eshop, nintendo, Reggie-Fils-Aime

Reader Comments (99)

Yes, what about the poor battery and the finicky 3D "sweet spot". You know, the two ACTUAL consumer problems?

@krisr2005

That "sweet spot" Is something thats just part of glasses-less 3D. To my knowledge, there is no fix for that except to turn the 3D off.

@krisr2005

The battery life isn't bad, they just didn't lie about the estimates, it really is 3 to 5 hours for 3DS games (twice as long for DS games). The old DS hardware just had insanely good battery life, but that's because it was archaic processors and such. If I played a game continuously on my new smartphone I'm lucky to have it last an hour.

@krisr2005 or removing territorial lockout, or putting the gba slot back in, or switching to usb instead of yet another AC adapter port, or removing the gyroscope and putting a second analog nub

@Extinction GBA slot compatibility? Really? And I really doubt the second stick would have been helpful. It would be really weird to use two of them at the same time. It's not that kind of stick.

This isn't specifically directed at you, but the battery complaints are kind of dumb. It's at least 5 hours unless you're dumb and use it with 3D on, max brightness, and the like. Don't knock it 'till ya try it.

@Extinction GBA slot? You really think a new console needs to be compatible with a console TWO generations behind? What console has ever done that? (except for PS3, but they dropped PS2 support, so that was weird)

@Extinction

" or removing the gyroscope"

You want to REMOVE features, and add a GBA slot? How about you just stick to your DS and not cry about it. I gave up the GBA slot when I got my DSi and haven't missed it. If I really feel the urge to play one of five GBA games that don't have a more recent/better rendition, then I'll pick up an SP or Micro for $30.

My only big gripe with the 3DS is finding that sweet spot and keeping it. When it's there it's awesome, when it's not it's annoying to see doubled images.

@krisr2005
Come on. I agree the 3D sweetspot is a problem (for people who don't turn 3D off) and the battery life is a problem (for a small minority). Those are genuine problems that obviously can't be fixed for this hardware. Other people have also indicated serious problems such as the region coding.

But are you seriously saying the lack of, um, GAMES for the system isn't the biggest 'problem'? Because if you are, um... wow.

(And if Reggie thinks they're 'addressing' that problem... well I guess they are, if you take the tense of that statement into account. But it's not going to go away for a while at least.)

It's true the games are coming in and the eShop seems like it will be great, but MY biggest concern is battery life. My DSlite lasted DAYS without a recharge.

I think I'm still going to wait for a 3DS hardware revision. Hopefully by that the battery life issue will be resolved.

I was hoping you'd mention that one of the REAL biggest problems was the tiny battery life; thank you.

So the battery wasn't? Im not complaining about the battery myself, I get a good 6-7 hours on mine. But I do hear some people are only getting 2-3 hours. That said, Im very happy with mine. OoT is absolutely beautiful on it, now I just gotta wait till the rest o the lineup starts coming out.

He forgot about the battery life and the price...

Oh good, they found a way to remove the 3D permanently!

@dagamer34 3D is why I bought it. Removing it would suck

@dagamer34

Yeah, it's called push the slider down a quarter of an inch. Crazy.

@Theneverendingsoda
Now you're just trolling.

3DS isn't the most impressive handheld device, but it's insulting to insist it should cost the same as a digital camera or DSlite. The $170-$200 range is fine.

Well.. I'll be satisfied when those said titles are actually released, and there's just a tiny little itsy bitsy pricedrop. Hopefully..

@DekuTree If you want that small of a price drop, just go get it at Walmart. You could save in-between 1 and 10 cents!

@Theneverendingsoda

$130? Thats really cheap. $180 maybe, $200 preferably. I personally don't think $250 is that bad. Hell, we had rumors of $350 before it was announced.

The lack of big name titles is one thing, but the battery life is by far the feature that needs the most work. I hate having to run to the nearest power outlet to recharge my 3DS every 3.5 hours. The whole concept of playing "on the go" seems to have lost some meaning here.

Lastly, the worst thing: having to stop playing Ocarina of Time while on a plane because the flight is just too long....those last two hours lasted forever!!!

@mac15444

People bitch about the battery life but really what are you comparing it to? The old DS was impressive sure, but if you consider it was a glorified GBA with extremely low power processors that were clocked super slow it's not surprise the battery life was excellent.

Battery technology has barely advanced in the past 30 years and a video game company isn't going to solve that problem.

@Raffi256

Technology has made many advances in battery life, charge / discharge cycles, memory ect..we also have high capacity nano options, LiPo batteries pack a punch with a small relative footprint. :)

@Raffi256

"People bitch about the battery life but really what are you comparing it to? "

...every other Nintendo handheld in history?

But hey, I bet you had the same argument when the PSP was released and everyone was bitching about battery life then.

Oh, wait. I forgot. If Nintendo does it, it's suddenly OK. If everyone else does it, it's horrible and unacceptable!

@Raffi256
@Raffi256

"People bitch about the battery life but really what are you comparing it to? "

...every other Nintendo handheld in history?

But hey, I bet you had the same argument when the PSP was released and everyone was bitching about battery life then.

Oh, wait. I forgot. If Nintendo does it, it's suddenly OK. If everyone else does it, it's horrible and unacceptable!

@Raffi256 True, but I don't think there has ever been a handheld gaming system that barely outlasts the battery life of an average laptop

I still can't grate cheese with it, Reggie. Or use it as a TV remote. I actually think my complaint is that when I was on a trip the other week I finally bought a new game, considered a 3DS, and then found out they'd only offer me a measly 10 beans for my lite :(

@jph89

$250 isn't unreasonable but after seeing the PS Vita I'm starting to wonder if the 3DS is worth it at the same price.

Of course, it comes down to the games. The PS Vita can pack all the tech it wants; if it doesn't have a decent library I'm not getting it.

Wait who was asking for that?

I love OoT. I love Zelda, played every Zelda game out there (except cd-i games). However, $250 just to play Oot in 3D? I need more motivation Nintendo, c'mon. You've identified the prob, not fixed it yet. Not to mention battery life.

@Gandkaidos

It's $290 for a 3DS+Zelda. If I was a car salesmen, I'd sell it as cost per hour of entertainment. If you get hundreds of hours of entertainment from the thing over its lifetime, then the cost per hour is very low, just a few cents. And it becomes one of the cheapest forms of entertainment.

@Raffi256
True, video games are very economical hour-wise. But my point is that Nintendo has not fixed its launch line up problem. OoT, Street Fighter 4, DOA, and maybe Rayman/Splinter Cell are the only good games for the 3DS. How do I justify buying a new console just to play games I could find at a Gamestop or McVan's for much cheaper? Don't get me wrong, I hope to buy a 3DS someday. But I buy new consoles for their games, not their tech. When MML3, or Paper Mario, or some amazing 3DS exclusive comes out. I'll buy.

@Gandkaidos It definitely needs some new games, but I bought mine for old games. :P Excitebike, Donkey Kong '94, Link's Awakening, Alleyway, Super Mario Land, and Ocarina of Time. Those are the games that sold me.

Yeah there's like 1 game that has a semi-date and right now, its looking like I'm going to buy the game (cause Atlus preorders are awesome) and wait for the second hardware iteration.

My one and only problem so far with the 3DS is the battery. Sure there was a crappy launch lineup, but with so much promise in the future, that can easily be fixed. Now fix the battery, and then I'll finally buy one.

#1 for me is battery life, for sure. In 2011, I expect quite a bit in terms of battery life. Make the chassis larger if needed. I'd be happy sporting a 3DSxl.

@Theneverendingsoda

Again just because it costs them $100 to make does not mean nintendo are making $150 on each unit,

research & development, shipping, retailer's cut and tax all take a huge chunk out of that figure.

He's not saying they make $150 off of each 3DS sold. And i agree with what he's saying. There is absolutely NO reason nintendo should be marking the priced up this much when their competitors have the balls to sell their products at a loss. Whether they make $150 off their sales or not, sony will be LOSING money (again) for each sale. But thats what you have to do if you want to succeed.

Games were the biggest problem here. I got each of my kids a 3DS and they have mostly just played their old DS games on it. In fact my 7 year old son was so disappointed he told me he didn't want the Wii U. That says a lot coming from a 7 year old. If I were Nintendo I would be a bit worried about that kind of reaction from kids!

@Theneverendingsoda

Nintendo is going to be fiscally responsible, they're going to sell the system for a profit. They're can't write off losses because it's their core business. The original PSP also launched at $250 and threw in high-end hardware and everything including the kitchen sink, and it didn't make much difference then either.

I really enjoy my 3DS as for the battery life I don't find it too much of a problem, I've had mine last 5 hrs plus even with 3D constanly on.. I don't see a problem with the price either..

@CANCEROUS

no problem with dysfunctional cell division either.

you. heartless. bastard.

spread your vile someplace else, like Kotaku. or IGN.

The price can ALWAYS be better!

I have been pretty happy with my 3DS, but I also have a Wii and a 360 that take up most of my gaming time. Even if I did travel for work, I get motion sickness very easily, so even simple iPhone games are out of the question. That being said, I think that the 3D works great (I don't even have problems losing it while using the gyroscope to aim in OoT) and I thought the price was about $25-50 too much, but even Nintendo admitted that.
As far as the Vita goes, I think Sony made a huge gamble and we'll see if it pays off for them. Is market penetration worth what they'll lose on it over then next 2-3 years? I don't know. Will the same "console games on a handheld" song and dance work this time? How much will the games cost? I'd love to pick one up, but I want to see everything laid out before I do. And after September, I think Nintendo's 3DS lineup looks spectacular.

@A Sandwich

When did Sony say they were selling the PSV at a loss? I'm not trying to be a jerk I just don't remember them saying that. I know they're building it out of parts that already existed so they don't have to make custom pieces which brings the price down some. I figured they wouldn't be making a huge profit off of each unit sold, but I wasn't aware they were selling it at a loss.

@A Sandwich 3D is about as popular as plastic guitar games right now. That was a stupid gamble.

@Fire Walk With Me Stupid gamble? Then it should fit you well, stupid troll.

@Fire Walk With Me

Right. That must be why every movie comes out in 3D now. Because it's not popular.

@A Sandwich Out of the top 10 movies of the weekend, 2 were in 3D. Green Lantern fell in below estimates and Pirates was well below franchise history in sales. Cars 2 is being released this weekend in 3D but beyond that, 3D is already on the decline. 3D has always declined after a few years since it's inception over a half decade ago.

Nintendo made a console on tech that always fails after a few years.

@Ospov
I can't be bothered to search for it - feel free - but yes I'm pretty sure I read Sony state they'll be selling it at a loss initially.

Regardless of statements it's pretty obvious: they're using technology (quad-core CPU with high-end GPU) which will still be state-of-the-art when the machine launches, whereas 3DS is using technology (aside from the screen) that wasn't even state-of-the-art a year ago. And they're selling for the same price. Do the maths.

I don't get why people would want to doubt this anyway - because Sony are selling it at a loss that actually means, if you're going to buy one, that you get MORE technology than you pay for. That's a pretty great deal for early adopters!

If they realized fans wanted first-party Nintendo games, why did they outsource Pilotwings Resort, Steel Diver, Mario Kart 3D, and Luigi's Mansion?

As far as I know, the only new Nintendo games made in-house to be released in the last year were casual games like Nintendogs + Cats and the second DS Fire Emblem which they'll never translate.

@Buster Rod G

Outsourcing to Retro is like upsourcing.

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Fils-Aime: Consumers' two biggest problems with the 3DS have been fixed

Reader Comments (99)

Posted: Jun 20th 2011 6:05PM krisr2005 said

Posted: Jun 20th 2011 6:09PM jph89 said

Posted: Jun 20th 2011 6:17PM Raffi256 said

Posted: Jun 20th 2011 7:55PM Extinction said

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Posted: Jun 20th 2011 6:13PM mac15444 said

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