A few months ago, I was excited to scoop up Nintendo's newest handheld on launch day. Sure, the launch games were lacking, but Nintendo made big promises about the future and, hey, I could still finish up some of my DS games while waiting for the big guns to roll out. As I had more time with the system, I realized that it wasn't exactly the step forward I was expecting. Rather than further refine the features that made the Game Boy Advance and DS such a successful console, Nintendo released a fundamentally flawed system that relied on future potential to muscle its way into gamers' hands.
The battery life is abysmal, the DS compatibility is less than optimal and the 3D - the most significant new addition to the system - is not conducive to travel. I find myself reaching for a book or even my GBA SP for the commute work, leaving the 3DS charging in its cradle. I'll admit, the 3DS is not without some nifty features, and it's the only place I'll be able to pick up new entries in the Mario, Metroid and Zelda trio of franchises. But is that enough? Nintendo has backpedaled quickly, dropping the price by an astounding $80 and offering original adopters twenty free games, but I can't imagine that this act of desperation is enough to heal the damage that the poor launch caused.
I don't think that throwing free games at those faithful enough to risk a launch day purchase is truly an answer, especially since these games aren't even 3D (don't get me started...), but it's refreshing to see Nintendo admit its mistakes. If they really want people to get on board with the 3DS, they need to figure out who they're marketing it to first and foremost. They are so unclear about who the system is for, that developers are unsure of how to market their games.
I would like to think that Nintendo can pull it together in time to compete with the PSVita, but they've got a mountain of shattered expectations to climb before they can expect to gain momentum.
The battery life is abysmal, the DS compatibility is less than optimal and the 3D - the most significant new addition to the system - is not conducive to travel. I find myself reaching for a book or even my GBA SP for the commute work, leaving the 3DS charging in its cradle. I'll admit, the 3DS is not without some nifty features, and it's the only place I'll be able to pick up new entries in the Mario, Metroid and Zelda trio of franchises. But is that enough? Nintendo has backpedaled quickly, dropping the price by an astounding $80 and offering original adopters twenty free games, but I can't imagine that this act of desperation is enough to heal the damage that the poor launch caused.
I don't think that throwing free games at those faithful enough to risk a launch day purchase is truly an answer, especially since these games aren't even 3D (don't get me started...), but it's refreshing to see Nintendo admit its mistakes. If they really want people to get on board with the 3DS, they need to figure out who they're marketing it to first and foremost. They are so unclear about who the system is for, that developers are unsure of how to market their games.
I would like to think that Nintendo can pull it together in time to compete with the PSVita, but they've got a mountain of shattered expectations to climb before they can expect to gain momentum.
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