If you’ve ever played the classic NES fighter, Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out, you can probably sympathize with Nintendo right now: an absolutely huge juggernaut of an enemy has filled their screen, capable of knocking them out with a one-two punch… a blow that is only tipped by a sly wink a millisecond before.
That enemy’s Apple, and it is fighting with two weighted gloves with the iPhone and iPad, accordingly. Now Nintendo’s so punch-drunk that they are dramatically lowering the price of their latest console, the Nintendo 3DS, less than six months after it debuted.
In a statement on Nintendo’s website, the game maker says that on August 12th, they’ll be slashing the price of the 3DS by $80 from $249 to $169. existing 3DS owners will be compensated with twenty free downloadable games.
That’s a huge plummet in a console less than half a year old — price drops like this usually take a year or two to come about — but it reflects Nintendo’s beleaguered position in a post-App-Store age. Nintendo posted its first ever quarterly loss in the spring of about $475 million, and they’ve shorted their profit expectations to just $450 million, down from 2 billion.
Little wonder Nintendo’s doing so poorly: they’ve obstinately refused to learn any lessons from the iPhone and iPad’s success. In this day and age, you need to have a great online distribution strategy that leverages independent devs to compete with Apple, and Nintendo’s not bothered to learn from the App Store’s success.
Moreover, why spend $250 for a portable game console when you’ve got a smartphone in your pocket that games just as well? All Nintendo could counter the iPhone 4 with was a gimmicky 3D option that not only caused the 3DS to have terrible battery life, but causes headaches and nausea in a significant portion of the population.
No wonder that Nintendo’s making sure to ape the best of Apple in their next console, the Wii-U, which will come with an iPad-like gaming tablet. But that won’t be out until at least next year.
In the meantime, all Nintendo can do is shore up defensively, drop the price of the 3DS as low as they can, and pray.
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
85 responses to “Hammered By iPhone and iPad, Nintendo Desperately Slashes The Price Of The 3DS”
Wow, that’ll show me for being an early adopter.
This article is BS. I love apple devices, but no way in hell does Infinity Blade compare to Kid Icarus Uprising, Ocarina of Time, or Super Mario Land 3DS. Not to mention Smash Bros.
The price drop had nothing to do with Apple. It was the VITA, which costed the same as the 3DS. In which case NO ONE in their right mind would buy the 3DS. I planned to buy a VITA, but with this price drop, I’m going with 3DS.
You get 20 free games. 10 of them are exclusive to early adopters (for a while).
You get 20 free games. 10 of them are exclusive to early adopters (for a while).
Also, the commenting is bullshit. I can’t reply to patrick worsham.
All those games could easily be ported to iOS though. The article is about the hardware not the game comparisons. What’s the difference between using a silly little stick to play games with or your finger? Nintendo should just port every game they have ever made to iOS and rake in the profits. By ditching the hardware they would be ditching most of their costs and by moving to iOS they would increase their market reach. They would make way more money that way and everyone would be happy.
I never bought into the 3D gimmick (I’m one of those who suffers from headaches and nausea with it) so I never thought of buying it. I still won’t, but I’m hoping they’ll be forced to drop the price of the DSiXL (again), because I just broke mine and need a new one if I want to keep playing. I love my iPhone and iPad, but until Nintendo signs a deal to get my heroes into the iWorld, I’ll need them.
If I could play Pokemon GameBoy games on my iPhone in a legit way, I would be in heaven
And if Nintendo could just slightly modify the games so that we could trade with people from iOS, that would be fantastic. Just like playing on a GameBoy
But either way, the games’ codes are just sitting in the Nintendo archives collecting dust and earning no money. I know there are tons of people that would buy them for iOS for the nostalgia factor, and just because they were fantastic games.
These games are IMPOSSIBLE to port without physical controls. Maybe if apple would legitimize the iControlPad, but that’s just as likely as getting nintendo on iOS anyway.
It’s a bit naive to say this is due to the iPhone and iPad. The thing is not selling because it lacks compelling games. Not everything is caused by Apple, guys.
You obviously do not play games much outside of your iPhone or iPad. :P
And even with physical controls, Ninty would never port their games for the same reason Apple would never let other manufacturers ship PCs with OSX or phones with iOS.
+1
i seemed to recall nintendo saying last year that they weren’t concerned about the iphone/ipad, as it wasn’t really any competition for them. they sounded very sony-like in their statement, and now, just like back in the day with the beta v. vhs wars, they’ve lost the format war due to both ignorance and arrogance!
There is one other possibility though. I just remembered that I play my SNES games with a classic controller on my iPod touch. WiiMotes use bluetooth! Nintendo could use their own damn peripherals if they wanted.
You and me both, bro.
THERE IS A VERY SIMPLE SOLUTION but i bet very little people has EVER thought about it,
to solve nintendo 3DS/NDS’ poor sales,… and that is to put a PHONE into it.JUST as Apple added a phone into its iPod and out came iPHONE. Has everybody forget that before the iPhone, Apple has absolutely NOTHING to do with the phone idustry? All they were selling were Macs, iPods, etc… So how hard could it be for hardware gaming Giants like Nintendo and SONY to incorporate a phone into their portable game systems??? …The Sony PS Vita, aka PSP2 will suffer the same fate as 3DS because they failed to learn from history.Had Sony worked with SonyEricsson (Duh.) and come out with a PSVita Phone….well… i’ll just leave it at that, and let you do the imagination of the endless possibilities. (Don’t try to remind me of the Sony Xperia Play, its NOT even a full fletch PSP+Phone). too bad both Nintendo and Sony are just too stubborn to learn.The near future of mobile gaming shall belong Apple.
Well, I remember when I picked up a Nintendo Gameboy SP. $100. I think I got a color for $70.
How much is it now? like $250 for it. (Well before the price drop)
The ONLY Gameboy games I play is pokemon. Its gotten way too expensive to upgrade. I’m not going to spend $250 for a DS, when the only game I’m going to play is Pokemon.
You could be in luck. There are already reports that Pokemon (Which is not completely owned by Nintendo) coming to the iOS appstore in the future. i’m guessing 2012.
I guess it’s silly to get all that worked up over some of the comments that are being said. But good Lord..
First off, the Pokemon thing going to iOS is not an actual game, just a reference guide. So sorry, Nintendo is not porting one of the their most profitable franchises to Apple’s platform, sorry.
Second, all these “why the hell doesn’t Nintendo just port their games to iOS, geeze” comments. That’s basically like asking why the heck doesn’t Apple just port OS X to Windows already, geeze?
I guess the most annoying sentiment is how gimmicky the 3D graphics is. You know what else is gimmicky? Interacting with a game via a touchscreen. Which Nintendo did before Apple, btw, with the original DS. FYI.
Well its a very simple decisions
1)A portable gaming device only
2)a portable gaming device that can:
-log on the net
-social network
-email
-itunes
-play media
-run all kinds of applications
and for $190, u get the 8GB one compared to 2GB 3ds!
there is NO reason to get the nintendo device really, it doesnt even have $1 games!
John, you’re not much of a gamer are you? There is no comparison of the kind of gaming experience you get on a Nintendo or PSP to the kind you get on an iPhone or iPad. Yes, there are fun games on iPhone/Pad, but those are games designed for the system. Anytime you play a game with “virtual” joysticks and buttons, it is NEVER as good an experience as on a real gaming device. You need that tactile experience.
I honestly don’t believe this price drop has anything to do with Apple, but more to do with a poor launch of a new system and the upcoming competition from Sony’s next offering coming in at the same price point.
I was an early adopter of the 3DS, I’ve regretted it at times, but if they’re making it up to me with free downloads, I can think of a few games that I want to download.
On the contrary, I think this has everything to do with the iPhone/iPad. When customers are offered a flood of compelling game choices with a very low cost barrier to entry on a device that is almost always on their person, it simply overshadows the dedicated consoles in the market with its higher cost barrier to entry and singular function.
It’s a bunch of different causes.
– The hardware isn’t selling well
– The games aren’t that good (And the best ones are old remakes)
– Expensive games (Certianly compared to iPad/iPhone)
– People aren’t sold on 3D yet.
– Playstation Vita is set to be $250 also
– iPhone/iPad are red hot
It’s probably the most of the fact people are waiting for PS Vita which will have $250 price tag when it launches in 3 months.
Nintendo knows new Sony’s portable console will destroy 3DS so they drop the price and try to sell as much as possible now.
Don’t forget the 3-5 hour battery time…
Yeah, but the rumors are about a rhythm game not a true Pokemon game. A true Pokemon game will NEVER be seen on iOS.
Hahaha…you’re kidding right? You must have never touched any sort of real gaming console if you think that.
Come now. Nobody says the PS3 is bad because you only use it to watch movies and play games. It’s a specialized system that does its job well but has totally failed due to the horrible support. If you look at the sales for the DSi and the DS lite, they both sold far better than the 3DS. But that’s because they supported those systems with good games and actually put the software that was promised into the system.
This article is incredibly biased and the author doesn’t seem to be at all familiar with the gaming industry.
Also, don’t try to push that $1 games thing, or the concept that the iPod/iPad is a viable option for dedicated gaming (at least currently). There are maybe twenty original, good games there. And by good, I’m speaking on a newgrounds (which I love, check out Sanctuary 17, Cat-Astro-Phi, Infinite Ocean, and Small Worlds) good level, not a professional release good level. People buy dedicated gaming platforms for dedicated gaming, not to check their email.
Sorry but Apple isn’t the direct cause of the 3DS’s disappointing sales. Certainly it is a contributing factor, but not the primary factor. Two of the reasons I don’t have a 3DS yet was the price, which is for the most part corrected with the price drop, and the lackluster selection of titles at launch. And that too will soon be rectified.
Your logic is unsound.
About a year ago Nintendo identified Apple as a threat and this price drop is a direct result of their fears.
A $30 annual price reduction is pretty typical. But when you slash prices by 32% in less than 6 months it’s a clear sign that the panic button is not just being pressed, it’s being stomped on.
For most companies disappointing sales means expanding the marketing campaign through TV, magazines and promotional tie-ins. Not cutting prices by 1/3.
The Wii ushered in the casual gamer which is a huge part of the smartphone gaming market so Nintendo can hang their hat on that. But when you have games like Angry Birds traditional gamepads and consoles are becoming more niche as smartphone gaming grows.
dm, you have never played with a Xbox 360 or a PS3 have you? Because I have said it before in many Apple fanboy articles on how video games are dying, and I’ll say it again: gaming on your cute little iPhone isn’t the same as playing Call of Duty with a dualshock or Xbox controller nor is it the same as fighting 3D monsters in Zelda or GoW. Apple can’t do everything right, and video games are one of those things
LOL @ Prof. Peabody. You’re just trying to justify the $400 rip off purchase of your new iPad 2 (Oh wait, iPad 3 and iPad 4 and you guessed it, iPad 5 is coming too!) Repeatedly touching your iPhone screen to make some colorful birds fly over crates isn’t the same as using physical buttons and entering complex worlds. And I wonder, when will apple fanboys realize this!
+1 for you, good sir
People, the goddamn website is called cult of mac, you’d expect these kinds of ridiculous comments from the writer and the apple fans. They can play with their little iRipoffs for all I care but the day that an iRipoff becomes my only option of gaming is the day video games die. Mark my words. Now I’m off to play a REAL game on my 3DS.
This is only partially true. Nintendo’s got a problem, but it’s not Apple and iOS.
I want to point out that Nintendo’s main problem isn’t iOS. Their problem is the DS. It’s vastly outselling the 3DS.
They’re cutting prices because of in-house competition.
But I give you this, iOS is a threat to gaming. In the near future we will see less AAA titles and more of casual, facebook-y games. Quality and depth of the gaming experience is further replaced by mass market crap ware.
Apple killed the Gaming Star.
No,your wrong,Sony actually did learn its lesson,the ps vita is now develop friendly due to its cross-platforming with the ps3,and its getting more studios are deciding to make more psv apps and games.Why?Because Sony made a wise decision by handing cheap dev kits to other small game developers and studios to help make games.Btw,the new ps vita had a bunch of social apps and they’ll probally even put in Facebook,Skype,Twiter,and Aim.You should also know that Android is another great platform like IOS and the ps vita will have PS Suite to be backwards compatibe with Android.Ps vita will also be in 3G or plain wifi both with a GPS signal.You dont even know a thing about Vita and you already judging it.Nintendo will probally make it out of this twist if they use their brains like Sony and I think you should use yours.
kinda stretching a bit aren’t we? several factors affect the price cut:
1)price: $250 is wayyyy to expensive, considering the fact that Nintendo spends $100 in making the 3ds
2)Games: truth of the matter is, this always happens with EVERY system. The more powerful the technology, the longer it takes to make the games
3)not everything is because of Apple: i purchased My DS in December 04 and since then there have been 4 iterations of the same phone EVERY YEAR since 07.
4)yes IOS is fun to play games, but the fact of the matter is that the games that are on IOS do not offer the same breath of experience as a console/hand held game.
5)Yes IOS has good games but the truth is that the majority are bad and in some cases awful. and lets not forget the games also end up on console and handheld.
6) STOP TRYING TO SELL A PRODUCT! it reeks of APPLE fanboy-ism. yes you an APPLE fan we get it, but let me point out something you have failed to recognize, the same system that apple uses for its developers were also used in the 80’s, and thus a heap load of poop made it to the shelves and the crash of the 80s happened.
7) consoles aren’t becoming a niche….. i rather pay money for a console that will last me seven years, then pay $600 for a phone that will be outdated in a year…..
but M’eh the same cycle that happened with music games is repeating again….. now its crazy hot, then wait until over saturation and crappy games become a large section of the store and then people will move on to the next big thing… Also i am an OS user (Mac, Ipad, and ipod) but i am also a gamer and get annoyed when people begin to attribute a cause to something without giving proof…. you article only shows correlation and not causation…. using you argument i can argue that the price drop is due to people drinking milk! after all they own a 3DS and they drink milk so it must be the cause.
i totally agree! dont get me wrong i own them, but one thing that annoys me is that as soon as i buy them BANG! a newer, better, more powerful version comes out. -.-
i was also an early adapter. but thinking back on it, no system really has a great launch, the better the technology, the longer the time it takes to make a game… not to mention making games is expensive….
i would disagree, yes Angry Birds is popular, but i bet that the “Free Version” has outsold the paid version.
actually the iPhone came first then the iPod touch. also sticking a phone in wont solve anything…the reason the 3ds isnt doing well is the price and games. also every system has had a crappy selection of games, and remember APPLE only makes a profit because it updates the ipod/iphone model every 18 months, where as a 3ds/DS/PSP will last you for 6-7 years. and yes i know of these console revisions but unlike the ipod/ipad all the games will work. cant say that about a first gen ipod touch.
The usual idea is that you would use NFC to set up the link between the two devices and then do an automatic hand over to a different protocol for doing the actual transfer of data – eg Bluetooth,iphone 5