Reasons for why the 3DS is not flying off Japanese shelves

The Nintendo 3DS was released at the end of February in Japan. It launched in North America and Europe one month later, so why is the new console still lagging behind in weekly sales when pitted against Sony’s seven-year-old PlayStation Portable and Nintendo’s very own DSi and DSi XL (LL in Asia) handhelds? Goo Ranking decided to investigate with a survey culled from 1,100 Japanese folk, over 60.5 percent of whom were female and the results aren’t as shocking as we imagined.

Read on to learn why gamers in the land of the rising sun are not snapping up Nintendo’s 3DS as fast as they did the DS.

The number one reason why gamers are not buying the 3DS? It’s too expensive. We whole heartedly agree as we stated in our Nintendo 3DS review. The second reason? Most gamers are satisfied with their DS/DSi. Naturally, the DS had the best selection of games in portable gaming history (my opinion) and the DSi has two cameras and some quirky apps to keep it alive and kicking. Third reason? Fear of eye strain. While, I adjusted quickly to the 3DS’s 3D effects, you do have to remember that the included depth-slider allows the 3D to be lowered or turned off. Playing the 3DS’s games in 3D is not a requirement and will never be.

The other reasons are mostly related to few interesting launch titles, weak battery, inability to play Game Boy Advance games and others waiting for Sony’s NGP/PS Vita and its large 5-inch OLED screen.

All are valid reasons, but perhaps the biggest situation Nintendo needs to resolve quickly is the lack of Super Mario. Gamers buy Nintendo systems for the little red plumber. Once he lands, things will start to look different. It always does.

Raymond Wong
Categories: Gaming
Tags: 3DS (Nintendo), Japan, Nintendo