Japan which is reported abroad: ZDNet

2011年9月11日日曜日

Nintendo 3DS getting right thumbstick, but will you? - ZDNet (blog)

Summary: Nintendo confirms to CNET that photos of the cradle-like Circle Pad for the 3DS are legit, which brings up more questions than answers.

Earlier this week, a scanned page from the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu surfaced online showing a right thumbstick embedded into a cradle-like attachment for the Nintendo 3DS. It turns out this “Circle Pad” is an official Nintendo accessory that it will be introducing it “at a later date,” as told to CNET by Nintendo via email.

Since the text accompanying these photos describes Capcom’s Monster Hunter 3G, a 3DS expansion of the popular Wii and PlayStation title in Japan, the peripheral will probably be bundled with that game when it launches in Japan, rather than become an essential attachment that current owners must purchase separately.

There is speculation that the peripheral signals a 3DS redesign in the works just months after the handheld console was launched, and that early adopters should be given this updated cradle for free or will cost a nominal $10, but Nintendo has not confirmed anything else beyond acknowledging this attachment is legit and not just a Photoshop project. I can’t speak to Nintendo’s future plans but from the upcoming 3DS titles I got to preview for this holiday season, none of them require this Circle Pad so I find it hard to believe Nintendo would be further risking the ire of customers by making them buy a new accessory for their relatively new device. Besides, I don’t know how practical this design is considering I have yet to break open the cradle that came bundled with my 3DS; after all, who wants to hold onto extra bulk when playing on a mobile device?

[Source: CNET, CNET Crave Asia]

ZDNet Coverage:

Gloria Sin is a freelance journalist based in New York City.

View the original article here

2011年9月10日土曜日

Nintendo 3DS' price drop ups sales by 260% in US - ZDNet (blog)

Summary: Nintendo’s price cut for the 3DS seems to be working, with the glasses-free handheld console topping sales charts in the U.S. and Japan, but will it last?

After slashing the price of the recently launched Nintendo 3DS from $250 to $170 on August 12, Nintendo’s gamble to move the handheld console out the door (even if at a loss) ahead of new game releases seems to be working. Not only did the 3DS become the second best-selling console in America last month with 235,000 units sold; 185,000 of those devices were sold after the price cut kicked in, which is 260-percent more than the same time period in July, says the NPD Group. Combined with the 830,000 sold prior to the price cut, that means the U.S. has moved just over 1.06 million 3DSes since launch.

Of course, these numbers are no match for the popularity of the device in Japan post-price cut, with 196,077 units sold in just the first week according to Gamasutra. The 3DS is now the best-selling console in Japan for the fourth consecutive week, beating the more established and powerful Sony PlayStation 3 — with over 1.7 million 3DSes sold, compared to just 852,514 PS3s so far this year — per NeoGAF.

With the launch of Star Fox 64 3D and the “Flame Red” 3DS going on sale today, sales figures for the 3D handheld console could go up still. (Because the system is backwards compatible, it can even play the upcoming DS title, Kirby Mass Attack.) It’s great to see more people are giving the glasses-free device a chance so that Nintendo and its partners won’t be abandoning the system before the most anticipated titles like Super Mario 3DS and Mario Kart 7 have even launched. Frankly, this holiday season is Nintendo’s to lose (on the handheld console front) now that the Sony PlayStation Vita has been delayed till next year. If Nintendo can’t get the dedicated gaming console into more hands this year, then I’m afraid the 3DS may not survive the battle with Vita in 2012. What do you think?

[Source: NeoGAF via Gamasutra, Gamasutra, Nintendo press release]