Nintendo is not going to kick the 3DS to the curb when they just moved over 30 million units of first-party 3DS software alone over the past fiscal year (nor should they).
Nintendo didn't kill off GBA immediately. It phased out the handheld over the course of a year or so. And Nintendo is doing the same with 3DS because it saw the writing on the wall years ago. It can no longer support two platforms simultaneously especially with handheld games demanding similar development resources as console games. Over half of that 30 million was Pokémon alone and the rumored Stars is apparently a Switch title. Nintendo's first party output on 3DS is demonstrably weaker this year, highlighted by a Fire Emblem remake, Not-Pikmin, and Miitopia. Nintendo absolutely is neglecting the 3DS market because it has to.
The used game market is proof that $50 can matter to a lot of people. The New 2DS XL isn't going to light the sales charts on fire, but, like I said, I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't want to pay $199 for a New 3DS XL, but also don't want to go all the way down to the 2DS with its small screens, slate design, and missing features. When there's such a wide gap between your two main offerings and there's still a market for the high-end one at its current price, yes, I do think it makes sense to release something in the middle.
Well, that's where we disagree. Without software anywhere near the level of a brand new Pokémon, I'm not sure the market for an aged $199.99 handheld is as rosy as you think it is.
But I do agree that $50 matters a lot to people. That's why I suggested dropping the price of New 3DS XL, and if the price is the most enticing thing about New 2DS XL, Nintendo didn't really need a redesign to get there. In fact, I think $20 matters to people, and if Nintendo insists on launching a New 2DS XL, $149.99 is still too high for it given the OG 2DS launched at $129.99.
Research and development on what? It's not using new technology, and I seriously doubt Nintendo spent a lot of time and effort coming up with a slight variation of the same basic hardware design they've been using for years. Many of the parts it's using are likely the same, some are probably cheaper to produce or acquire at this point, and parts, labor, and shipping costs all still apply to manufacturing the New 3DS XL and 2DS. They were fairly hard to come by last winter, so it's not as if Nintendo has millions of existing units lining store shelves or sitting in the warehouses of their retailer partners. Ultimately, this is a Nintendo hardware refresh. I don't buy the argument that they're sacrificing a lot margin or spent a lot of extra time and money to bring this product to the market.
Any research and development cost in yen or labor is more than nothing it would have spent on not developing this thing at all. New 2DS XL may very well use many of the same components as New 3DS XL, and if that's the case, that's even less reason to launch a new model instead of dropping the price of the current one.
The root of my confusion for New 2DS XL is that I don't understand why it exists. I haven't heard a compelling reason why either. There's nothing it does that wouldn't have been infinitiely easier with a price drop. If New 2DS XL was $99.99, I'd shut right the **** up. Unfortunately, it isn't, and Nintendo doesn't even seem to understand the appeal of 2DS.
Topic: Nintendo Announces New 2DS XL (Read 7327 times)
