Screw it! Think I'm heading to Walmart to get a midnight 3DS!

[Rev. Link]

Back from work. We didn't have a single person ask about the 3DS today. A couple of people took a look at the games, and one kid said something about wanting one for Christmas, but that was it.

At first I was pretty disappointed, but then I realized the area we're in is not known for its early adopters. If we sit on our two systems for a while, it'll just look like we always have them in stock, which is not a bad thing. They'll sell eventually, especially if bigger titles get released soon.

Speaking of which, any word on Zelda or Kid Icarus yet?

[Dr. Dib]

The problem is probably the timing of the release. Nintendo dropped the ball by not having the 3DS released during the holiday season. The PSP had this same problem of being released around this same time and it had the same response. I remember walking into Best Buy around launch day and seeing stacks of consoles.

Of course portables also have a poor track record of selling out. I haven't been to any recent console launches, but I remember walking into Target and purchasing a DS on launch day. They still had 8 left when I bought mine. They did sell out of them eventually though.

[Press_Start]

The problem is probably the timing of the release. Nintendo dropped the ball by not having the 3DS released during the holiday season. The PSP had this same problem of being released around this same time and it had the same response. I remember walking into Best Buy around launch day and seeing stacks of consoles.

Nintendo's learning from its Wii shortage problem. Instead of dropping it all at once and a high risk losing potential customers and revenue during the holiday season, they're snowballing momentum for base and library come Christmas. Especially considering Sony's NGP fall release cause I don't see them waiting another year or following 3DS footsteps.

[Rev. Link]

Nintendo's learning from its Wii shortage problem. Instead of dropping it all at once and a high risk losing potential customers and revenue during the holiday season, they're snowballing momentum for base and library come Christmas. Especially considering Sony's NGP fall release cause I don't see them waiting another year or following 3DS footsteps.

That's probably a pretty smart move for them. By the time the NGP does come out, 3DS will hopefully have a decent userbase and a good library of games.

[exit]

Back from work. We didn't have a single person ask about the 3DS today. A couple of people took a look at the games, and one kid said something about wanting one for Christmas, but that was it.

We didn't start selling any until about Noon, I was surprised when I got to work a buddy of mine told me we didn't sell any overnight, especially since the store is in a relatively busy area. It's probably just off to a slow start, but it's surprising when anything Nintendo isn't selling like hotcakes, it would be tragic if they had another Virtual Boy on their hands.

[Rev. Link]

it would be tragic if they had another Virtual Boy on their hands.

I simply don't see that happening here. The VB was flawed in many ways that the 3DS isn't. For one, the games don't display in just red. Two, if it gives you a headache you can turn the 3D effect off. And lastly, it's an actual portable system, not a visor on a stand with a controller attached to it.

It's possible the 3DS won't take off like Nintendo expects it to, but there's no way it's going to bomb. The fact that there's already Mario and Zelda titles announced for it pretty much guarantees that.

[exit]

Well I wasn't being completely serious about that, I wouldn't be surprised tho if a lot of people were turned off by the 3D "gimmick" and/or are holding off until the PSP2 (or whatever it's going to be called) drops. It would be interesting if it ends up on top, would be the first time ever that Nintendo was beating in the handheld market.

Of course all Nintendo really needs to do is release a Pokemon game and that would be game set and match.

[Flashback2012]

I was in Best Buy Sunday afternoon and gave the 3DS they had on display a quick whirl. The damn thing ended up giving me a rather nasty headache and I barely put 5 minutes into playing it.

Anyway, after putting the unit down and feeling the onset of a headache coming on, I noticed some boxes for the 3DS under the demo endcap. The boxes were in their protective anti-theft containers so I figured they had some units in stock. I went to pick up the container and it weighed nothing at all. On the corner of the box I noticed the "Display Box Only" line. I'm guessing they were worried about someone making off with their display packaging and put them in those locking containers.

Not that this one incident is a defining point, but I am thinking of holding off on purchasing one any time soon. There's just a bunch of stuff on my plate and while it'd be nice to get in on the ground floor of this like I did with the DS and PSP, I'm thinking it might be better to just wait. I still have a colossal list of DS games I want to pick up among other things. I know at some point I'll eventually get one and I'm sure I'll do for it like I have with other systems and snap up games I want when I find them on the cheap.

[Rev. Link]

I was in Best Buy Sunday afternoon and gave the 3DS they had on display a quick whirl. The damn thing ended up giving me a rather nasty headache and I barely put 5 minutes into playing it.

Anyway, after putting the unit down and feeling the onset of a headache coming on, I noticed some boxes for the 3DS under the demo endcap. The boxes were in their protective anti-theft containers so I figured they had some units in stock. I went to pick up the container and it weighed nothing at all. On the corner of the box I noticed the "Display Box Only" line. I'm guessing they were worried about someone making off with their display packaging and put them in those locking containers.

Not that this one incident is a defining point, but I am thinking of holding off on purchasing one any time soon. There's just a bunch of stuff on my plate and while it'd be nice to get in on the ground floor of this like I did with the DS and PSP, I'm thinking it might be better to just wait. I still have a colossal list of DS games I want to pick up among other things. I know at some point I'll eventually get one and I'm sure I'll do for it like I have with other systems and snap up games I want when I find them on the cheap.

When I first played mine, I played it at work under fluorescent lights, and it did give me a bit of a headache. But later that night, after I got home, I played it a bunch more and I felt fine. Some people have been saying that the fluorescents make it mess with your eyes more because of them reflecting off of the top screen. I don't know if that's true, or I just got used to it.

The next day at work I played some more, and felt fine, though I didn't play very long. So don't give up on it entirely. You could just need an initial adjustment period.

[WanganRunner]

Got mine at midnight on Saturday.

Super cool, I'm very impressed with it so far. The 3D *makes* Pilotwings work, IMO, although I wish the game itself had a lot more content. The hang glider missions are profoundly relaxing, especially the tunes.

That's the only launch game I picked up, so more impressions later when I have something else.


I wish there was a web browser and some kind of DSware from launch though.


I <3 the teal finish. It's super blingy.

[Deadman]

I played mine off and on all day yesterday, as did my two boys, and no one is complaining of headaches or anything. I think there was a little bit of eye strain, but I get that sometimes playing with an older gameboy or game Gear sometimes. I played SFIV for an hour or so and am enjoying it even though I'm not a big fighting-game guy. I also spent time with Lego Star Wars III and Ridge Racer (a couple of hours each) and I gotta say that I'm really enjoying this new hardware!

Also, Face Raiders, the 3D camera, the Mii stuff - it's been a lot of fun!

[c0ldb33r]

The 3ds is good hardware just give it time.

[Robocop2]

^this
I know alot of people are writing off the 3D as a gimmick and maybe to a certain extent it is, but that's what I initially thought about the DS and it touch screen/dual screens. I do think that there's going to be a learning curve but I'm interested to see what they can come up with that uses the 3D in innovative ways.

[Deadman]

I don't think it's been brought up much that 3DS games can NOT be played in a older DS model due to a "notch" on the game cart itself. I read somewhere that people weren't going to buy one because they can play the games in 2D on their old DS, which they can't. So, unlike past DS iterations, you actually DO have to buy the hardware to play the new games. A good 3D Mario game exclusive will launch the sales of the hardware into the stratosphere.

By Christmas, they are going to be flying off the shelves and based on the Wii-model, there will probably be a few shortages here and there at that time.

[WanganRunner]

I don't think it's been brought up much that 3DS games can NOT be played in a older DS model due to a "notch" on the game cart itself. I read somewhere that people weren't going to buy one because they can play the games in 2D on their old DS, which they can't.

Even if there wasn't a notch, you couldn't anyway.

You can file the notch off, but the older DS still won't read the cart. Some website tried this.

The 3DS is markedly more powerful hardware than the original, so there's no reason why the older hardware would run it's games. That would be like a PS1 running a PS2 game just because it's on a CD and not a DVD, which, naturally, it could not.

[Rev. Link]

Even if there wasn't a notch, you couldn't anyway.

You can file the notch off, but the older DS still won't read the cart. Some website tried this.

The 3DS is markedly more powerful hardware than the original, so there's no reason why the older hardware would run it's games. That would be like a PS1 running a PS2 game just because it's on a CD and not a DVD, which, naturally, it could not.

Yeah, but you'd be surprised how many people just don't get that. I get asked all the time by customers, "can I play Xbox 360 games in my original Xbox?" or PS3 on PS2, etc. Some people just don't understand. They see that both systems say Xbox on them, so why won't that work? I know there'll be people that say, "well, it's still a DS, right?"

I even had to explain that to one of my co-workers yesterday. A customer asked about the 3DS, if all it does is play games in 3D, and my co-worker said yes. I had to step in and explain that it's all new hardware.

[dairugger]

Yeah, but you'd be surprised how many people just don't get that. I get asked all the time by customers, "can I play Xbox 360 games in my original Xbox?" or PS3 on PS2, etc. Some people just don't understand. They see that both systems say Xbox on them, so why won't that work? I know there'll be people that say, "well, it's still a DS, right?"

I even had to explain that to one of my co-workers yesterday. A customer asked about the 3DS, if all it does is play games in 3D, and my co-worker said yes. I had to step in and explain that it's all new hardware.

this happend while i was in my local gamestop. a mom asked the sales rep about the 3ds an he told her it was the same as the ds xl, just in 3d.

[YoshiM]

I guess the local Gamestop should have had a better demo other than Super Street Fighter. When I played it yesterday it reminded me of a Viewmaster. Yeah, the depth is cool but it's a superficial thing that didn't enhance the game. I'll wait a while until I see something that really makes use of it.

[RPG_Fanatic]

I went to Walmart today and they had around 15 to 20 of both colors. They had plenty of games to choose from. I was tempted but I think I'll wait for the PSP 2 to see how much that will cost.

[Jehusephat]

I don't recall the original DS selling out when it was released. I only knew one person who bought one right when the system came out, and my friends and I all made fun of him because the games he was showing us were all terrible. My first impression of the system was negative, and it took the release of Castlevania: DoS to get me to buy one. When the library improved, my opinion of the system changed quite a bit. I think the same will be true for the 3DS. People want to see what it can do.

That being said, my point will be completely irrelevant if Capcom moves the Monster Hunter series to the system.