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The Wii U has had its struggles lately, with too-few notable games released for the system, confusing branding causing an alienation among the casuals who were once their biggest market, and a general lack of direction regarding where the system actually intends to go from here. Now, however, Nintendo is able to proudly declare that the same cannot be said of the 3DS.
Proving that it is still the king of handheld gaming, Nintendo's 3DS outsold every other console on the market in the US for the months of both May and June. This strong boost can be directly attributed to a string of hits for the console, including Fire Emblem: Awakening, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. The 3DS has found similar success in the UK, pulling in 800,000 games sold in the first half of the year alone- very impressive numbers for a handheld console, particularly one which was so embattled only a year ago. Additionally, that number doesn't include eShop purchases as they are presently undisclosed, so it's very possible that the game sales approach or exceed one million.
These have been a good few months for game releases, however, and it isn't unreasonable to wonder if these strong sales will keep up when the hits aren't coming in such quick succession. For now, the 3DS is in a very strong position and has come a long way since its floundering last year. This bodes well for the Wii U in a way, as the console finds itself in a similar situation: struggling and confused at launch, with a definite need for a price cut but hits on the horizon which should give it a solid boost (Bayonetta 2, The Wonderful 101, Wind Waker HD, Zelda, X, Super Smash Bros). Nintendo could be banking on a similar situation there.
As an early adopter of the 3DS, I've been pleasantly surprised to find how much of my gaming time it has soaked up as of late. There are interesting, quality games on the console which range from the incredibly fun discoveries (Rhythm Thief and The Emperor's Treasure) to strange, interesting works I didn't expect (Shin Megami Tensei IV, Project X Zone). And who doesn't love Fire Emblem: Awakening?
If Nintendo can keep this up with the 3DS and replicate the strategy with their Wii U, all portents of their doom could start to fade away.
Comments
10 years, 9 months ago
Great article. I've never been big on handheld gaming, but since I bought a 3DS XL; I haven't played so much handheld since my Game Boy Clolour. Now if only they would come out with a better version of the Wii U, mainly larger memory storage and maybe a price change and for most of the titles you've mentioned and I'll be in line to buy one.
10 years, 9 months ago
This article made me feel guilty I have a 3DS with some great games but for some reason I don't spend much of my time with it.
I don't really see the the Wii U ever being a success unless Nintendo do two things either drop the price Immediately because a new console with previous/current gen hardware should not be the price it is or release a rebranded version of the console with current gen hardware (they may or may not have enough money). Unless Nintendo does either of there two choices I don't think people will be willing to buy their console.
10 years, 9 months ago
What Nintendo needs to do is cut the price of the WiiU to $200 or $250 and they need to put in more larger hard-drives in these machines if they want to see more purchases because $300-$350 is way to much right now.
10 years, 9 months ago
Why people refer to a hand-held as a console? I'm not talking about this specific article, I've seen this all over the net. Console was always something for your living room that needed TV to function. Hand-held is not a console that costs $170 is not a console, call it a video system. It's like referring to a tablet as a PC.