3DS MASSIVE Price Drop - 250 to 170 [Archive] - Page 3

kupomogli

08-11-2011, 02:11 PM

It's not "because of piracy" it's because they fear it won't sell enough to warrant it.

Since when does a Final Fantasy title not sell well? The answer? When people pirate the shit out of it.

Take a look of Dissidia's sales, then go and look at those of Duodecim. Sure, it's a year and a half later and Duodecim has only been out for six months, but sales slow down to a near halt within the first month. It doesn't help that the original Dissidia was pirated almost three times the amount to what it's currently sold(which who knows what the number of amount pirated is to now.)

Not Square Enix, but another example. God of Bore Chains of Olympus was released when not every system was able to get custom firmware. It sold well over the million mark in US and PAL territories(each.) Ghost of Sparta, which was released when every version of the PSP was able to get custom firmware. Less than a million in all regions combined, closer to half a million. You might come up with the argument that all God of War games are the same(I would, the series is garbage) and people just happened to get bored of the series, but then I'd refer you to look at the sales numbers that God of War 3 received.

You can try and back up that piracy doesn't hurt the industry all you want, and you may or may not actually pirate games, who knows, but looking at numbers of games that you know will sell, yet you see a major drop to those numbers in a subsequent release which even budget titles on consoles get better numbers, it's fairly obvious. It's not even that the people purchasing the games would or wouldn't pirate, it's that a lot of them probably don't have the know how and are just parents purchasing games for their children or even video game fans that would actually like to see the industry grow by supporting it.

I mean it's clear Nintendo knew piracy was a problem even on their system. It didn't hurt them as bad as it did the PSP, because the DS was seen as a family friendly system and most owners of the DS were casual gamers. Parents would purchase whatever for their kids and more than likely would never know that piracy would or could exist for a video game system.

skaar

08-11-2011, 02:37 PM

Since when does a Final Fantasy title not sell well? The answer? When people pirate the shit out of it.

Or when it's boring as hell. Square's going to need to fall apart to re-invent itself.

Darko

08-11-2011, 02:43 PM

1. Localization has very little to nothing to do with piracy IMO.

2. TYPICALLY, games that don't sell well (aren't popular) will have fewer pirated copies floating around (low sales = low demand = fewer pirated downloads). If you don't believe me, take a look at the top 5 most pirated (torrent downloaded) games this year:

1. Black Ops
2. Modern Warfare 2
3. Bad Company 2
4. Mafia 2
5. Mass Effect 2

We're going to end up with crap games because of what DOES sell, not what doesn't. We're not going to get localized versions of games from Japan because the developers don't think it will sell enough units to justify the expense, regardless of piracy. Piracy does affect game sales, but I've yet to hear of a single title unreleased or canceled due strictly to piracy. Piracy could, however, affect game prices.

I'm not condoning it, I'm just amazed by how quickly gamers can get worked up so quickly over piracy (on either side of the argument). I'm also amazed that Mega Man Legends 3 got brought into this conversation...really?

Also, just for argument's sake, buying a game used is the same as pirating it to developers. If you're going to buy a used game from G$, why not just pirate it?

It's okay to simply say you don't think piracy is right because it's stealing. That's a justifiable argument.

Lanzo

08-11-2011, 03:06 PM

I bought one finally at Wal-mart. $250 was just too much for a handheld with a bunch of kids games, why not just buy a wii with mariokart or a 360. As far a piracy I've never been into it for games as I like to have the actual thing, and I haven't owned a ds since the original. Seriously the only games I was thinking of when I got it were either splinter cell 3D or Zelda. Went with Zelda but was a little upset to find I have to beat regular before I can do the master quest. The system is pretty cool but honestly the 3D and the extra cameras really weren't worth the extra 80 over the dsixl.

dao2

08-11-2011, 04:32 PM

Since when does a Final Fantasy title not sell well?

Actually it happens a lot. It's all relative, do they sell well? Yes. Do they sell well compared to development costs? Some of em don't, and localization for a JRPG costs A LOT more then most. Also most westerns that are Final Fantasy "fans" really hate it, they just remeber playing FF7 when everyone was orgasming too it (and it it's usually their first JRPG).

I doubt most of em even finished it, so GoW, a western game and a popular one is going to sell far better then FF most of the time.

Take a look of Dissidia's sales, then go and look at those of Duodecim. Sure, it's a year and a half later and Duodecim has only been out for six months, but sales slow down to a near halt within the first month. It doesn't help that the original Dissidia was pirated almost three times the amount to what it's currently sold(which who knows what the number of amount pirated is to now.)

Not Square Enix, but another example. God of Bore Chains of Olympus was released when not every system was able to get custom firmware. It sold well over the million mark in US and PAL territories(each.) Ghost of Sparta, which was released when every version of the PSP was able to get custom firmware. Less than a million in all regions combined, closer to half a million. You might come up with the argument that all God of War games are the same(I would, the series is garbage) and people just happened to get bored of the series, but then I'd refer you to look at the sales numbers that God of War 3 received.

I never said piracy doesn't effect game sales, as a matter of the fact I said the opposite, it does affect the sales. The difference being that games will be released when they think they can make enough money, piracy included. If it was piracy like everyone cries about we would never have any games released. What they're afraid of is that it won't sell enough to come up with a worthwhile profit.

You can try and back up that piracy doesn't hurt the industry all you want, and you may or may not actually pirate games, who knows, but looking at numbers of games that you know will sell, yet you see a major drop to those numbers in a subsequent release which even budget titles on consoles get better numbers, it's fairly obvious. It's not even that the people purchasing the games would or wouldn't pirate, it's that a lot of them probably don't have the know how and are just parents purchasing games for their children or even video game fans that would actually like to see the industry grow by supporting it.

I'm not even reading this paragraph past the first line, as I stated before I never said piracy doesn't hurt the industry you just read mine and completely blew off everything else, or you didn't read past it.

I mean it's clear Nintendo knew piracy was a problem even on their system. It didn't hurt them as bad as it did the PSP, because the DS was seen as a family friendly system and most owners of the DS were casual gamers. Parents would purchase whatever for their kids and more than likely would never know that piracy would or could exist for a video game system.

I also never said a word about Nintendo's antipiracy measures, I don't care about them. I don't own a 3DS, and probably won't. But if I was interested the anti-piracy measures do not bother me at all as long as I don't notice them/get hindered by them at all as a normal user (I.E. not like pc-drm).

Specifically what I said is that when publishers clamor and bitch and cry about piracy being the reason for them not releasing a game/localizing, they're bullshitting you. It's a contributory reason sure, but EVERY game released has this problem and they factor it into what they think sales will be and still release it. They just don't want to go through the effort because they don't think it will be profitable.

Basically what you're saying is that they care about piracy beyond the lost sales. If they released a game and it made a good profit they'd be happy. If that good profit was only because 50% of the people who are playing the game actually bought it they would only care that they didn't make money on that 2nd 50%, they're not going to stop release just to be petulant or something.

Bottom line: If they thought a game would make a healthy profit they would release it.

kupomogli

08-11-2011, 04:47 PM

2. Games that don't sell well (aren't popular) will have fewer pirated copies floating around (low sales = low demand = fewer pirated downloads).

This is bullshit right here. Just because the games don't sell well doesn't mean that it's not pirated much.

Call of Duty Black Ops has sold more than 24 million across all platforms(not including DS.) I doubt it(atleast right now,) but let's say that it's been pirated 10 million times across all platforms. The ratio of piracy to sales would be 40%.

Let's compare Dissidia and Phantasy Star Portable 2. Dissidia has sold slightly less than two million, Phantasy Star Portable 2 has 800,000. However, in 2010, thery pulled the amount of times these games have been pirated on torrent sites. Dissidia has been pirated more than five million times and Phantasy Star Portable 2 has been pirated more than 4.5 million times. The ratio of piracy to sales for Dissidia is 250% while the ratio of piracy to sales for Phantasy Star is 550%.

So guaranteed piracy effected these two games far more than it effected Call of Duty.

If it was piracy like everyone cries about we would never have any games released.

Not just a few developers mention it. EVERY developer mentions how bad the piracy is on the PSP, and that's the very reason there are few games released to the system. Even the DS gets a cheap version of Call of Duty Black Ops, but the PSP doesn't, and why do you think?

Basically what you're saying is that they care about piracy beyond the lost sales. If they released a game and it made a good profit they'd be happy. If that good profit was only because 50% of the people who are playing the game actually bought it they would only care that they didn't make money on that 2nd 50%, they're not going to stop release just to be petulant or something.

Bottom line: If they thought a game would make a healthy profit they would release it.

I'm not saying that they care about piracy. But the piracy on the PSP is why they won't bother with the system. What's the point in making marginally better than the time and money you put into it when you can spend your time localizing something on the PS3 and 360 and make much more due to a lower amount of piracy.

Icarus Moonsight

08-11-2011, 05:03 PM

And no console producer encourages or allows open source development, or a non-license releases system... C&Ds, C&Ds everywhere. Hmm, I wonder why?

Darko

08-11-2011, 05:11 PM

This is bullshit right here. Just because the games don't sell well doesn't mean that it's not pirated much.

Call of Duty Black Ops has sold more than 24 million across all platforms(not including DS.) I doubt it(atleast right now,) but let's say that it's been pirated 10 million times across all platforms. The ratio of piracy to sales would be 40%.

Let's compare Dissidia and Phantasy Star Portable 2. Dissidia has sold slightly less than two million, Phantasy Star Portable 2 has 800,000. However, in 2010, thery pulled the amount of times these games have been pirated on torrent sites. Dissidia has been pirated more than five million times and Phantasy Star Portable 2 has been pirated more than 4.5 million times. The ratio of piracy to sales for Dissidia is 250% while the ratio of piracy to sales for Phantasy Star is 550%.

So guaranteed piracy effected these two games far more than it effected Call of Duty.

Guess I should have started that comment off with TYPICALLY. I'll admit that the PSP has suffered the most from piracy by far. I'd bet that the Vita will end up with the same issue.

From the data I saw, BO has been downloaded about 4 million times (as of about a month or so ago). So that 40% number is probably more like 6-8%. That's a significant number for sure but it's not a make or break number for future of the series. If you take into consideration the number of people that downloaded then bought the game or bought the game and still downloaded it then the number goes down even further (I'm sure we're only talking 1-5% of people that downloaded the game here).

How do you feel about the used game market?

kupomogli

08-11-2011, 05:19 PM

How do you feel about the used game market?

The used game market is also hurting the industry, but I'd say it's the lesser of two evils. With the used game market there has to be something used in order to purchase it. So a new purchase is required for something to be traded in and later purchased used.

When it comes to piracy, there is no purchase. It's just hurting the game market. Just a bunch of thieves.

Icarus Moonsight

08-11-2011, 05:47 PM

You are tearing me apart, pirates! LOL

kupomogli

08-11-2011, 05:52 PM

http://teenlyrics.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Pictures-The-Lonely-Island-feat.-Michael-Bolton-Jack-Sparrow.jpg

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI6CfKcMhjY

Tupin

08-11-2011, 06:00 PM

Right now there's like one 3DS game that's even worth purchasing. They need to worry less about piracy and more about creating games that are good and will sell.

Rickstilwell1

08-11-2011, 06:23 PM

And no console producer encourages or allows open source development, or a non-license releases system... C&Ds, C&Ds everywhere. Hmm, I wonder why?

People need to stop flaunting their WIPs and just go ahead and release stuff
to the public when it's 100% finished. If more people did that we would have more awesome homebrews where the C&D's are too late.

Darko

08-11-2011, 06:38 PM

Right now there's like one 3DS game that's even worth purchasing. They need to worry less about piracy and more about creating games that are good and will sell.

Agree with you 100%.

goatdan

08-11-2011, 06:52 PM

Sometimes I think the hate on "piracy" is just player hating.

The post a few up is the perfect example of how piracy does NOT translate into lost sales. The person isn't going to buy the system or any games at the current price. In fact, Nintendo actually lost the sale of a system due to their anti pirate stance.

Just because you have *one* example of a use of piracy not harming a system, that isn't an example of every example not harming the system.

The Dreamcast died because of piracy. You can believe this or you can't, but long story short, when companies suddenly fear releasing their game on your console because it will be pirated and will affect sales of it elsewhere, the console starts trudging toward the coffin. Why else did Sega publicly celebrate that they were shutting down the Dreamcast, instead of pretending to continue to support it, like... well, pretty much every other console ever? Because Sega (and other companies) had already determined that if a game came out for the Dreamcast and the PS2, the piracy on the Dreamcast would be so rampart that by releasing a game on both consoles, it would result in less sales on both. Instead, releasing a game *just* on the PS2 would actually yield larger results.

Half Life 2, anyone? Which was destroyed after being made, packed and pallated for shipping?

If Sega (or Nintendo) sell 500 million consoles, but there aren't enough people making games to make it worth their while, the console will die. And, console sales rarely make any money. Nintendo usually makes a bit, but something tells me dropping the price by $80 will put them into that red area, where a console sale costs them money. Selling consoles without games benefits no one, and actually lowers the attach rate, which makes game makers even less likely to make new games for the console.

My purchase of a 3DS to play my DS games doesn't do anything for Nintendo until they can convince me to actually buy some 3DS games.

The DS had the shit pirated out of it and it sold more systems and games than anything. Flashcarts are absolutely not a valid excuse for the poor sales of the 3DS.

Actually, the DS sold a ton of systems, but it's game sales have been abysmal since the piracy took over. There haven't been many A-list DS titles since piracy took off. And actually, it's the same deal for the PSP -- both of those consoles more or less died on the vine because it's both really easy and really cheap to pirate the games instead of paying for them. What developer is really spending multi-millions developing new titles for these now?

goatdan

08-11-2011, 07:11 PM

I never said piracy doesn't effect game sales, as a matter of the fact I said the opposite, it does affect the sales. The difference being that games will be released when they think they can make enough money, piracy included. If it was piracy like everyone cries about we would never have any games released. What they're afraid of is that it won't sell enough to come up with a worthwhile profit.

Well, right -- but here's the thing: if you take a game that you are thinking about making. Let's say it is going to cost you $10,000,000 to make. You need to sell 1,000,000 copies to make that up.

Console A has a good install user base, but piracy is pretty rampant on it.

Console B has half the user base of console A, but no piracy.

Which do you pick? You have limited resources to do the two, so you need to decide on one or the other. I'd pick console B every time, as not just do you have a good chance of making it up, but you have a chance for future sales too. Piracy factors into the equation, and when you couple it with limited resources and risk / reward, it most definitely influences decisions about if games are going to be made or not.

Specifically what I said is that when publishers clamor and bitch and cry about piracy being the reason for them not releasing a game/localizing, they're bullshitting you. It's a contributory reason sure, but EVERY game released has this problem and they factor it into what they think sales will be and still release it. They just don't want to go through the effort because they don't think it will be profitable.

It's also resources, like I said. I can tell you from releasing Dreamcast indie games with very limited print runs that people have pirated like crazy that it is very frustrating to put your limited resources on the line and then have people just plop the game code up online and download it for nothing.

If you weren't going to buy it, that's fine -- don't buy it. But don't steal it and flaunt it when the investment that is made hasn't been made back.

Maybe that sounds sad because we're a small time publisher that does stuff, but big game developers are just like we are.

Basically what you're saying is that they care about piracy beyond the lost sales. If they released a game and it made a good profit they'd be happy. If that good profit was only because 50% of the people who are playing the game actually bought it they would only care that they didn't make money on that 2nd 50%, they're not going to stop release just to be petulant or something.

From actually knowing and talking with developers in the 'current gen' world, that's still not right. If they released a game and it made a decent profit, but it was pirated to 50% of the people that played it, they would be disappointed that they didn't have the opportunity to sell that game to the players in other formats that they maybe would have supported better. If you can release a DS game and it gets pirated by 50% of the people, or you release an iPad game that doesn't get pirated, where do you put your resources? In the above case, you go "why bother with the DS when we can make a much bigger profit by releasing it on the iPad?" Add to that if the 50% piracy rate leads to 26% less iPad sales, they still lose money. And heck, if it leads to 10% less iPad sales, but they spent a bunch of money to port it, it's still a poor business decision to do it for both consoles.

You're thinking about this in a very compartmentalized way, but the video game world is in no way compartmentalized.

The used game market is also hurting the industry, but I'd say it's the lesser of two evils. With the used game market there has to be something used in order to purchase it. So a new purchase is required for something to be traded in and later purchased used.

Here's the difference though, and I'll always defend the used game market -- while developers don't get money from used game sales, you still have a limited number of copies in the world. Create a great game that people don't want to trade in, or that people want to play right away, and used game sales can be managed by the quality of the release.

Release a crappy game that people want to sell immediately, and it's going to impact sales. And, it's also going to impact sales because word of mouth will suck. But, make a better game that people want to play, and they'll hold onto them and / or buy new copies in droves.

Icarus Moonsight

08-11-2011, 11:07 PM

goatdan

08-11-2011, 11:34 PM

Darko

08-11-2011, 11:43 PM

If you can release a DS game and it gets pirated by 50% of the people, or you release an iPad game that doesn't get pirated, where do you put your resources? In the above case, you go "why bother with the DS when we can make a much bigger profit by releasing it on the iPad?" Add to that if the 50% piracy rate leads to 26% less iPad sales, they still lose money. And heck, if it leads to 10% less iPad sales, but they spent a bunch of money to port it, it's still a poor business decision to do it for both consoles.

I hate to break it to you but piracy is rampant across the iPad, iPhone, and just about every other Apple product. Maybe not to the extent that it is on the DS, but give it time.

Realize you're just using it as an example, but just thought I'd point that out.

Robocop2

08-11-2011, 11:49 PM

Icarus has a point in that there is no real good reason for them to have the capability to make a 3DS a shiny, foldable paperweight simply because it got a flashcart inserted into it. Feel about piracy as you may and we could all go on for days about that subject (and have several times in numerous threads).

What if all of the sudden they found a way to cause your 3DS to crack in half magically if you put a protecter or dare I say extended battery that was not sold or licensed by Nintendo? Would you still feel the same way? Or would you get pissed off? My bet is more on the latter honestly. I see the argument that user assumes all risk but more to the point of "it might screw up your system because it wasn't designed to work correctly" not "we don't like X so if you use it we kill your system"

Of course I suppose all of this is entirely hypothetical since I have seen no real hard evidence that they can or will actually brick a console that has been soiled by the evils of a flashcart or emulator.

Icarus Moonsight

08-11-2011, 11:55 PM

To make the gas analogy work, it would have to be the proper type of Shell gas runs fine, but pump the proper type of non-Shell fuel and your car gets remotely killswitched.

Illegal... LOL

It's not hypothetical. They put the threat condition on the box! That's why it's in the fraud realm. They are not actually selling you a 3DS, but taking your money all the same. You are leasing it on a one-time fee basis until they decide you have sinned or need to upgrade. The latter is less likely, but what recourse would the typical user have? Would they even know why it stopped working or even know about the killswitch? No, I'm staying far away from that bullshit. It's not honest, even if it is 'legal' (big surprise).

Darko

08-12-2011, 12:22 AM

Of course I suppose all of this is entirely hypothetical since I have seen no real hard evidence that they can or will actually brick a console that has been soiled by the evils of a flashcart or emulator.

All that would have to be done is to program a kill switch for the wifi when you start up the 3DS with a flash card inserted. Then, once you start up a wifi game the 3DS could fool Nintendo's servers into thinking the game is legit. I can almost promise that's how it's going to be done (and I have zero programming/hacking background). If hackers can stay ahead of Microsoft they can stay ahead of Nintendo (no offense to Nintendo).

My biggest beef with any company is the bricking of a system completely. If you want to stop your services to a customer that has been caught doing something illegal that's one thing (kicked off XBL for example). But completely disabling a system that you no longer technically own (you sold it, remember?) is completely ridiculous. Pretty sure the US Government agrees with me on that one. Cell phones anyone?

goatdan

08-12-2011, 10:10 AM

To make the gas analogy work, it would have to be the proper type of Shell gas runs fine, but pump the proper type of non-Shell fuel and your car gets remotely killswitched.

It's interesting to see you grasp at more an more straws in this.

Your analogy would be like if you bought Capcom programmed software for the 3DS instead of Nintendo programmed software -- it's still the same type of software. Putting in a flash cart, even though it may have the Nintendo or Capcom software on it, isn't a format that they had intended to play on the device.

Look -- we're in an interesting era right now. It used to be that reverse engineering a console was done either so that a manufacturer could put software onto that console without paying the licensing fee (see: Accolade -> Genesis, Tengen -> Nintendo, although the latter was done illegally). I think there are definitely some legit reasons to reverse engineer a system. None of the Dreamcast games we released would have been released without the ability to do so on the Dreamcast, so I'm not opposed to that.

The problem is that reverse engineering, since the days of the Dreamcast, has been about pirates looting games and running them for free. If your argument is that you want to be able to play some of the great homebrew stuff that people are making, and it sucks that the system might get bricked, I'd agree with you. But, it's still the risk that you are making if you are running something that they didn't reverse engineer 100% accurately.

Your entire argument so far has been, "Oh no! Nintendo might brick my console if I run something on the system that it wasn't intended for!" That simply isn't a good argument to make, especially when you've stated that the only reason you want a console is to pirate games on it.

TonyTheTiger

08-12-2011, 10:25 AM

Lots of red herring here, but I'll cut to the chase. Discouraging piracy is 100% fine without violating property rights yourself. However, to go after a class of consumer that is arguably stealing/not (depends on who you talk to) by remotely crippling hardware that was Nintendo property, now sold to a buyer (now their property), is certainly a fraudulent violation of provable and demonstrable property rights and fits nicely between theft and vandalism.

It's called 'trespass to chattels' or 'conversion' depending on the extent of the damage. There's nothing especially fraudulent about it. It's just a straight up property violation. Like me selling you a lawnmower and then smashing it with a hammer if you don't use it the way I wanted you to.

Your analogy would be like if you bought Capcom programmed software for the 3DS instead of Nintendo programmed software -- it's still the same type of software. Putting in a flash cart, even though it may have the Nintendo or Capcom software on it, isn't a format that they had intended to play on the device.

You're confusing two different principles. If you use the 3DS (or anything for that matter) outside of it's intended use then that can and will void any warranties, and rightfully so. Nintendo has no obligation to do anything and can flip you the bird if you brick your system yourself. But that's a completely separate concept than Nintendo actively and intentionally doing the bricking themselves.

There could be an exception here under these circumstances: You install CFW or something. Nintendo releases an update that does whatever. The fresh data just happens to conflict with whatever crap you did to the machine and it bricks. That's probably not Nintendo's problem. They only have an obligation to make sure their stuff works as intended, not that it works under every conceivable circumstance.

Icarus Moonsight

08-12-2011, 01:50 PM

Not technically fraud, but it's very deceptive ("This is a fraud!" usage). I never expected such a thing, especially from them. I overestimated them, apparently. I liked it better when they were totally fine with HBC and the like... Something I admired, dead. Oh well.

Goatdan, I invite you to read my posts again. It seems you missed many things.

Robocop2

08-12-2011, 04:45 PM

TonyTheTiger

08-12-2011, 05:49 PM

I liked it better when they were totally fine with HBC and the like... Something I admired, dead.

They were never "fine" with the HBC. They had been releasing firmware updates specifically to counter the exploits and limit HBC users from accessing services like the Shop Channel (which arguably hurts Nintendo more than it helps but whatever). But it just so happened that the Wii wasn't really designed to combat that kind of stuff so Nintendo's options were limited.

With the 3DS, on the off chance that they actually are sending targeted signals designed to brick exploited systems as opposed to it being just a side effect of new firmware, then that is probably the result of them being afraid of another Wii and coming up with the simplest and most effective solution. It just so happens that solution would be tortious.

The 1 2 P

08-12-2011, 07:45 PM

So interestingly enough I just found out that Gamestop is selling 3DS' for 99.00 this weekend. You have to trade in your DSlite, DSi or DSi xl to get the deal but its interesting that they're accepting any of the three for the same value. Have to be a Rewards zone member to qualify but interesting none the less.

http://www.destructoid.com/trade-in-your-ds-this-weekend-and-get-a-3ds-for-99-208564.phtml

According to the email (http://www.gamestop.com/gs/specialty/tradeins/?cid=eml_10000271) I got Gamestop is giving different amounts for each version:

Get a Nintendo 3DS for as low as $99 when you trade your old DS!

Trade a DSi XL, get a new 3DS for $99.99
Trade a DSi, get a new 3DS for $109.99
Trade DS Lite get a new 3DS for $119.99
Trade original DS get a new 3DS for $129.99

But it also says that this deal will run from August 12th to September 11th so the one from your link might be something different since it says that deal ends on the 14th(in two days) of this month.

Robocop2

08-12-2011, 10:33 PM

Deadman

08-12-2011, 10:49 PM

Both of my sons wanted to get a 3DS so we went to TRU where they offered a free game with the purchase of the new 3DS. The games weren't great, but they ended up with Bust a Move and Splinter Cell. Neither was willing to sell off their relatively new DSi's for so little in trade, so we kept them.

JSoup

08-13-2011, 03:52 AM

Still waiting until the thing is successfully hacked and under $150.

calthaer

08-13-2011, 09:42 AM

Still waiting until the thing is successfully hacked and under $150.

People want Nintendo's (or anyone's, really) systems to be open-source so badly that I cannot for the life of me figure out why they don't just give it to people what they want. Do they seriously not see that there is the possibility for a bonanza of bucks and indie goodness to be had, regardless of the risks of piracy (which IMO are probably a bit overblown)?

Bojay1997

08-13-2011, 09:58 AM

People want Nintendo's (or anyone's, really) systems to be open-source so badly that I cannot for the life of me figure out why they don't just give it to people what they want. Do they seriously not see that there is the possibility for a bonanza of bucks and indie goodness to be had, regardless of the risks of piracy (which IMO are probably a bit overblown)?

How would being open source benefit Nintendo in any way? Even assuming you gain a few thousand new owners comprising the usual group of folks who buy open source handhelds and who won't abuse it, you also bring in tens of thousands of "casual" pirates (i.e. people who are too lazy or aren't willing to risk bricking their system, but will gladly pirate if there is no risk or work). Pirate is a massive problem for Nintendo and every other console manufacturer worldwide and it does significantly impact their bottom line. Reducing even the minimal protection they have against it won't make it better, it will make it far worse and offset any minimal good will and additional sales they make to open source fans.

Icarus Moonsight

08-13-2011, 10:33 AM

Multi-billion dollar international corporations need protection from the general public? That's a turnabout of the tripe I usually come across, and not in a pleasant way. It's actually, somewhat sickening.

If their revenue is hurting, it's their problem. Scapegoating is very popular though. Easy as hell too. Much harder than figuring out how you screwed up and how to get back in the swing of things. You only do that when you have to, and when you're a major business interest, you never have to. Ask the banks.

calthaer

08-13-2011, 04:00 PM

How would being open source benefit Nintendo in any way?...Reducing even the minimal protection they have against it won't make it better, it will make it far worse and offset any minimal good will and additional sales they make to open source fans.

Valve / Steam seems to be selling plenty of games, despite the fact that the operating system(s) upon which they offer them are not theirs whatsoever. Maybe "open source" is too much of a stretch - better way to word it might be "more open." Plenty of those games available on Steam are "pirate-able", to boot, and lots of people do pirate them (Terraria is one example) - but the developers are still raking in a ton of money, and Steam / Valve is likewise profitable.

In short: it may just benefit Nintendo because their system would completely dominate the market. Who in the world would develop for anything besides the Nintendo DS, if there were no barriers to its development and everyone had one?

JSoup

08-13-2011, 04:52 PM

For my part, it's less an interest in an open-source system or whatever and more just me becoming increasingly pro-piracy the older I get.

substantial_snake

08-13-2011, 04:56 PM

I think it is a different deal. The one I'm talking about requires you to be a PowerUp rewards member. I found out about it online but when I checked my rewards account the coupon was there and it doesn't list differing values for each system.
This somehow makes it tempting to take the plunge though I'd miss my GBA games; I guess I could always get a nice GPA SP to take the place of my DSLite

I can confirm this, you have to actually go to the Powerup Rewards website to get coupon. Its a pretty sweet deal and I'm actually going to take advantage of it now. Thanks for the heads up!

Edit: Traded in my DS lite earlier today. There are some things I like and don't like about the 3DS but overall it feels like a much higher quality product then my DS lite. At a 100 bucks I am not disappointed so far.

TonyTheTiger

08-14-2011, 01:36 AM

Multi-billion dollar international corporations need protection from the general public?

Multinational corporations don't exist. It's a legal fiction. What you're referring to is "lots of people doing a series of interrelated jobs."

Icarus Moonsight

08-14-2011, 02:08 PM

No argument from me on that. LOL

Robocop2

08-14-2011, 04:03 PM

Edit: Traded in my DS lite earlier today. There are some things I like and don't like about the 3DS but overall it feels like a much higher quality product then my DS lite. At a 100 bucks I am not disappointed so far.

I just did the same myself. I was going to get one anyways eventually and the 99.00 deal just kind of made it too hard to pass up. Currently its charging and its killing me. I just want too put my screen protectors on and play. I got Steel Diver and Galaga; what did you get?

substantial_snake

08-14-2011, 05:52 PM

I just did the same myself. I was going to get one anyways eventually and the 99.00 deal just kind of made it too hard to pass up. Currently its charging and its killing me. I just want too put my screen protectors on and play. I got Steel Diver and Galaga; what did you get?

Same here my DS lite despite infrequently being used was getting a little ragged anyways and this is definitely a nice upgrade. I really like how solid this console feels in comparison to my DSlite and how much better put together it is.

That being said the layer cake design all the press seem to love is rather meh in my eyes and the dpad's location and feel are a little strange to me. The one thing driving me cray though is the stylus location has gotten old really fast. It was much better having it tucked in on the side then having it on the "top" of the console. Other then that its pretty cool and well worth the 100 bucks I spent on it so far.

Actually I've been playing Advanced Wars: Days of Ruin :p (the best in the series!)

The only game I'm remotely interested in at the moment is Ghost Recon Shadow Warrior so I may pick that up but not at the moment. Any title that I really want on the console aren't out yet and wont be for at least half a year so I really just picked this up as an upgrade for my DSlite until more titles come along.

Edit: I also suggest you put those screen protectors on as soon as possible. I've had the console for a day and I am already seeing the vertical lines on my top screen from the raised bevel around the bottom screen. The first thing I did after opening the box is put on the screen protectors so its just scratching those..but at least on my cosmo black it is a problem.

Robocop2

08-15-2011, 02:48 PM

Edit: I also suggest you put those screen protectors on as soon as possible. I've had the console for a day and I am already seeing the vertical lines on my top screen from the raised bevel around the bottom screen. The first thing I did after opening the box is put on the screen protectors so its just scratching those..but at least on my cosmo black it is a problem.

Yeah that was a concern, I screwed up my cut-to-fit protectors (I usually do don't know why I keep trying them) so I ordered a fitted set from Amazon. Til then I'm keeping that little peice of packing in between the screens.

dairugger

08-15-2011, 06:28 PM

Yeah that was a concern, I screwed up my cut-to-fit protectors (I usually do don't know why I keep trying them) so I ordered a fitted set from Amazon. Til then I'm keeping that little peice of packing in between the screens.

i was having the same problem with those vertical lines on the top screen, came across a good idea thats brilliant in its simplicity, goodbye vertical line smudges!:

http://kotaku.com/5827483/the-xbox-360-has-a-hidden-solution-to-your-nintendo-3ds-screen-woes

If you own (and use) a Nintendo 3DS, you've probably noticed that the system's top screen can get marked up and scratched rather easily, just by closing and carrying it around for the sake of Street Passing.

Nintendo has recommended that 3DS owners place a cloth between the screens to prevent any damage, but some gamers just weren't satisfied by that hit-or-miss solution and opted instead to think outside the box. One NeoGAF MacGyver yanked the rubber feet off an Xbox 360 and adhered them to the top corners of the 3DS. That keeps the top and bottom screens of the 3DS from touching when the system is closed, and therefore alleviates the scratches and marks on the top screen.

The folks at MS Xbox World even checked with Nintendo, and discovered that this simple action, which is reversible considering the feet can be removed, keeps your 3DS warranty intact.

Leo_A

08-15-2011, 07:27 PM

Clever idea, but it's ashame consumers have to do something like this just to protect their screens from normal use.

After the better part of a decade of Nintendo portables with a flip up screen (The GBA SP models and the entire DS line), there isn't an excuse for this problem. It isn't exactly rocket science to design it where the screens don't touch anything when the system is closed up.

Makes it all the more easier for me to wait for a hardware revision.

NE146

08-15-2011, 07:36 PM

Is this scratching thing that only happens to some 3DS's and not others? I'm really rough with my launch 3DS.. carrying it in my pocket, leaving it on the bathroom floor etc, and it's screens are still pretty pristine (whenever I clean them of course).

JSoup

08-15-2011, 08:50 PM

Interestingly, I've been seeing a few buy it now auctions pop up on eBay for Ambassador Ready 3DS systems, priced at around $300 a piece. Not sure if people are actually buying them or if the auctions are being pulled, but they seem to vanish within a matter of hours.

substantial_snake

08-16-2011, 02:35 AM

i was having the same problem with those vertical lines on the top screen, came across a good idea thats brilliant in its simplicity, goodbye vertical line smudges!:

http://kotaku.com/5827483/the-xbox-360-has-a-hidden-solution-to-your-nintendo-3ds-screen-woes

If you own (and use) a Nintendo 3DS, you've probably noticed that the system's top screen can get marked up and scratched rather easily, just by closing and carrying it around for the sake of Street Passing.

Nintendo has recommended that 3DS owners place a cloth between the screens to prevent any damage, but some gamers just weren't satisfied by that hit-or-miss solution and opted instead to think outside the box. One NeoGAF MacGyver yanked the rubber feet off an Xbox 360 and adhered them to the top corners of the 3DS. That keeps the top and bottom screens of the 3DS from touching when the system is closed, and therefore alleviates the scratches and marks on the top screen.

The folks at MS Xbox World even checked with Nintendo, and discovered that this simple action, which is reversible considering the feet can be removed, keeps your 3DS warranty intact.

Thats a good idea, but I found a better method on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EXc4Wlp6js&feature=related

The rubber bumpers on the 3ds are actually in their own recessed grove instead of being just atached to the surface of the system. All I did on mine is use some dual sided mounting tape and shoved it into the recess then put back on the bumper. This way you have no adhesive to take off of your system.