A lot of people act like the 3DS library is pretty bad, but is it? I mean, there are games coming out in the future and that are out right now that are pretty good. I can't say that out of person opinion since I haven't play any but I can go off of general opinions. Some are -

Mario Kart 7 - Mario Kart with new tracks, characters and customization.

Super Mario 3D Land - Awesome Mario games that combines 2D and 3D Mario well.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - One of the best games ever made, remade!

Star Fox 64 3D - Not that long but still a really good game.

Ghost Recon - A good tactical turn based game.

Devil survivor Overclocked - Good RPG game.

Pokemon Rumble blast - Decent non traditional pokemon game.

Now, that isn't a ton of games but they are pretty darn good but what everyone is waiting for is the upcoming games -

Kid Icarus

Animal Crossing

Paper Mario 3D

Super Smash Bros 3D

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance

Resident Evil: Revelations

Snake Eater 3D

Luigi's Mansion 2

Future Nintendo franchise games (More Mario, Zelda, Metroid etc)

And more.

So why do you think the 3DS isn't as a big of a success as it could of been? It will likely gain more attention and sales but how about now? Also, do you think the Vita will do any better?

Oh look, a typo in the title!

FUCK.

I've been a 3DS owner since September and I've been really happy with the handheld. My DS was stolen a while back so I couldn't play any of my DS games and now I've been picking up great DS games that I've missed out on. I've also been really loving Ocarina of Time. I never played the master quest so it's been awesome to go through that. I've also played Street Fighter which is totally playable but I'm used to playing fighting games on a fight stick so the control is really weird. But I'm nothing but excited to be a 3DS owner. We have some great games coming out soon and I want Super Mario 3D Land as soon as possible.

I'm liking it, been catching up on DS games mostly though.

I also just prefer consoles and pc's to handhelds, but that's just me.
Perhaps I did grow up just a lil.

A launch lineup would have helped. Also, having something worthwhile and substantial for the first half of the year that wasn't ported from another console or 15+ years old. I think the criticism is aimed at the 3DS' attempt at justifying the purchase; ports and remakes clearly weren't enough to get customers to jump in when it was $250. Now that they've dropped the price, offered 20 games as an apology and original content for the platform has started coming out, I think it's getting better.

Whose expectations is it falling short of, other than Nintendo's? It's already surpassed the first year sales of the DS, and they sold ~1 million units on Black Friday...I think the system's doing alright.

The 3DS had a pretty poor selection of games at launch and well thats pretty much the reason why it hasn't sold so well. In this day and age it's hard to sell a console if your main selling point is that it makes your eyes bleed. The sales they expected are now slowly coming as the game library expands but I don't expect the overall numbers to be as impressive as they were back then when the NDS launched. Also fuck the vita.

Oh and also you can play games for a dollar on your smartphone now so .... yeah and that pretty much makes the handheld obsolete.

I have 0 interest in any of the games you mentioned.

iphone man

You just kindof answered your own question. Beyond super mario 3d land, the rest of those games just don't really matter. Those upcoming games are nothing but hype until they're released. Duke nukem forever had quite a bit of hype too, and look how that turned out.

I own ocarina of time on the 64, so when I have time play it on a pc emulator, it looks wayyy better than any other version out there. Star fox 64 is pretty good on project 64 as well. Considering half of the tracks of mario kart 7 are old, would you not just get the cheaper and better looking wii version?

And the rest of those games, you just called decent or good enough. I mean, for not even its first year out, its not doing bad or anything like people claim it is. I mean, jesus, look at some of the stuff sonys announced for the vita. One psn account per system only, 30$+ for small 4gig media sticks. 30$ can get you a 500gig external hard drive. I did just buy one. Both the ds and gba first years weren't the greatest either. Only issue with the 3ds I have, is its horrible internal sound processor. Even with headphones, I can barely hear half of the games. The ds and the wii remote *ESPECIALLY* had the same issue.

The only thing hurting it, when I just purchased a game like infinity blade 2 for 7$ off the ios store, that looks,sounds, and plays better than anything on any other handheld? Its a hard bargain to sell me a port of a nintendo 64 game for 30$.

Poor selection, game prices and smartphones.

@TaliciaDragonsong said:

I'm liking it, been catching up on DS games mostly though. I also just prefer consoles and pc's to handhelds, but that's just me. Perhaps I did grow up just a lil.

Basically this, I'm coming to the realization that I'm just not caring a whole lot about handhelds like I used to. It's why I changed my decision on getting a Vita because I know I will immediately regret having it like with the PSP. I'm not disappointed in having a 3DS because I do know that I'll still be able to get Pokemon games...ya, I haven't grown up just yet in that department.

I think it has much to do with the poor launch line up. yes, now we are seeing great games but to be honest Zelda, Mario 3d land, or Mario kart 7 should have been launch titles. Sure a part of it is dedicated portable gaming is getting smaller and smaller thanks to other media devices doing everything. But come not having a Mario game at launch for the masses to buy was a big mistake in getting the 3ds selling well. Also it may have been too much money at launch judging by how fast they dropped the price of the thing.

I'm happy with it tho missed a few ds games that i'm playing now and i think zelda, mario and MK7 will be good pick ups for the system.

I would have bought one already if they had the backwards compatability to Advance games like the original DS / lite.. I dont want a camera on my handheld.. I will never use it and I dont want to pay for it so I wont buy one for a long time as my DS lite is still in pristine condition and the buttons havent gotten all screwed up yet :D.. there are games I want that only the 3ds has but I could care less if it means I cant play all my games on 1 device like the older versions could.. I dont want 2 ds's and only 1 can play old games. Just my opinion but nintendo needs to stop sucking asshole and get rid of the useless crap they put on their systems and go back to what people enjoyed more. And I am not willing to go pay a ton of money for one of those sim cards and DL old games to them so I can play on a DS as its like the Vita solution. (Pay More money to play games you already own).

"What this has been able to do is drive our Nintendo 3DS business in only eight months to surpass the full first year volume of the original DS and we still have the bulk of the holiday to go," Fils-Aime says, "and we still have the launch ofMario Kart 7 (out Dec. 4) to continue driving our full-year sales on Nintendo 3DS."

So, it is has surpassed the DS in the same time frame and people call "fail"? Don't get me wrong, I have bought a single game since launch and can barely be interested so far, but the same can be said for the first year of the DS. Also, even with stronger first year sales, I don't expect the 3DS to continue surpassing the DS, as that was a freak, not the norm. I look forward to many a good game in the second year of the 3DS, especially Animal Crossing and the other main Nintendo franchises, but even more, the eventual JRPG I so look forward to. First year of consoles are rarely exciting.

wait till chritmans to pass judgement, i bet it sells reasonably well

some one hasnt kept up ,

the 3ds has already surpassed original ds numbers in the same time period plus november 3ds sold 900k in a week ! black friday bundles etc, xmas is here and so is the sales,

3ds was the top selling platform behind 360 by a little ,

but portables 3ds sold top , and ds is behind it with 400 k , psp is behind that with 200 k so how is that under performing!

and no games? horse crap

1. super mario 3d land
2. starfox 3d
3. zelda oot 3d
4. wwe allstars
5. asphalt
6. ridge racer 3d
7. sims 3
8. nintendogs plus cats
9. pilot wings resort
10. super monkey ball 3d
11. combat of the giant dinosuars 3d
12. resident evil mercinaries 3d
13. driver renegade
14. ghost recon shadow wars
15. splinter cell 3d those are my retail games

these are games i plan to get

not counting vc i have all but 1 of those so you just look in the eshop minus metroid and kirby classics 3d

heres what i plan to get anyhow

1. nascar unleashed
2. mariokart 7
3. paper mario
4. rayman 3d
5. rabbits travel in time
6. sims 3 pets
7. paper mario
8. luigis mansion 2
9. re revelations
10. mgs 3 remake
11. kid icaris uprising
12. new ssb
13. new zelda
14. mario tennis 3d

and some how 3ds has no games? ya horse crap on that one big time

seams some people need to widen their interists, from just first person shooters!

and washed up sports games, to appreciate the library ,

that is the main issue it is not the games its the gamers who are spoiled today by first person shooters, !

Gonna reiterate, zero interesting games, save for maybe Mario.

There still isn't that game that would make me want to go out and buy one.

The 3Ds is a experimental piece of technology, which quite honestly doesn't work most of the time. Having to hold the handheld in one specific location at all times to get the 3D effect is a huge stepping stone made far worse by the fact most people consider 3D to be little more than a passing gimmick. When you add on the fact the original line-up consisted of no really great game (remakes don't count, in my opinion) it's not surprising the 3Ds has had such a poor beginning.

What are most of you waiting for? The 3DS lite or a good game to come out on it?

You can record 3D boner videos on it now.

Not everyone likes the games that you listed. Personally, I would rather spend that money buying a Kindle or something.

@Axxol said:

Not everyone likes the games that you listed. Personally, I would rather spend that money buying a Kindle or something.

That's pretty much what I did this year.

The same thing will happen to the Vita. To put it conservatively, the market demand for hand held portable gaming devices has shrunk drastically since the DS's release in 2004. Smartphones and tablets have proven to be able to provide the same 10-15 minute snips of gaming, and can be down on a multi-functional device. Nobody really wants to walk around with multiple portable gaming units.

Dedicated gaming handhelds are slowly fading away? Parents are more likely to hold off on a handheld for their kids and get a nice smartphone,itouch or even a tablet.

Parents at Christmas would rather buy a iPod Touch for there child because it does more things and is around the same price.

No one is buying it because I figure people are finally tired of Nintendo's handheld BS. Releasing and re-relasing new ones every year about with a few new tweaks. They're probably all waiting for the "3DS light" or some shit. Also it's the same as the DS with shitty 3D.

can you say "re-hash"?

I think all but the most die hard Nintendo fans are waiting for Nintendo to make a new mascot. They need to stop riding on nostalgia and make something new. Last new character Nintendo made was pikman. I don't know how they plan to make a new fighting game when they have yet to make any more new ip's

edit-

Also the ds started to sell like crack only after brain age came out and parents thought this portable console would give their kids the smarts. They have yet to create a gimmick to capture the minds of dumb people with money.

The didn't market it well. I'm willing the bet the average Joe thinks it is literally a DS with 3D, not knowing that it is capable of better looking/larger games and not caring about an analog. Everyone has a DS and most people are getting sick of 3D, so if that's all they know about the system why would they buy it? I wouldn't be surprised if their next batch of marketing downplays the 3D aspect significantly in favor of cool looking gameplay.

Also savvy people, like me, are waiting for the inevitable redesign which will fix battery issues and who knows what else. Plus by then the library will be much larger and I won't feel like I'm staring at a slowly dripping faucet waiting for a new good game to come out.

I agree that the 3DS is now worth buying, but I don't trust Nintendo with their product refresh cycles. I can't buy a 3DS as is because the hardware is flawed, and no, I'm not only talking about the lack of the second circle pad. It looks like a hobbled mess of their past decade of hardware design, there are reports of, and I've seen first-hand, how the screen self-scratches and the paint chips. It's just cheap. It was designed to be replaced, and given the accelerated decline of the system pricing and Nintendo being in panic mode, I can't help but see that replacement coming soon.

If they fix the hardware issues and don't decide to throw out DS compatibility for some reason, I'll buy one in an instant.

@Geo7877 said:

Also savvy people, like me, are waiting for the inevitable redesign which will fix battery issues and who knows what else. Plus by then the library will be much larger and I won't feel like I'm staring at a slowly dripping faucet waiting for a new good game to come out.

You can be 'savvy' and still get the original 3DS. What is the point of waiting if its going to just bring better battery life and you use it mainly at home?

It's got some decent games coming, but there's very little at the moment and the launch line up is one of the worst in the history of system launches. Nintendo banked too much on the popularity of the DS selling the system, despite there being nothing to play on it.. Not even the casual parents who were playing the thing were stupid enough to fall into the trap of buying a £250 system with no games (or the incredibly poor marketing may have been a factor). We do have Zelda, Starfox, Mario 3DS and Kart now, but that's hardly a must have line up, especially when two of those are N64 ports. Things like Paper Mario and Animal Crossing will be great, but there's still no indication of when they'll be released (likely mid-late next year) and the Virtual Console/3DS Ware line up is laughable and grossly overpriced.

Not to mention the hardware itself isn't well designed and has several faults.. To the point where it almost seems intentional. If you're thinking of buying one, I'd recommend holding out another year. There'll most likely be a hardware revision by then, and if not, there will at least be a much bigger library of games to play. As a launch owner I can honestly say, there is zero reason to own one.

@WinterSnowblind said:

It's got some decent games coming, but there's very little at the moment and the launch line up is one of the worst in the history of system launches. Nintendo banked too much on the popularity of the DS selling the system, despite there being nothing to play on it.. Not even the casual parents who were playing the thing were stupid enough to fall into the trap of buying a £250 system with no games (or the incredibly poor marketing may have been a factor). We do have Zelda, Starfox, Mario 3DS and Kart now, but that's hardly a must have line up, especially when two of those are N64 ports. Things like Paper Mario and Animal Crossing will be great, but there's still no indication of when they'll be released (likely mid-late next year) and the Virtual Console/3DS Ware line up is laughable and grossly overpriced.

Not to mention the hardware itself isn't well designed and has several faults.. To the point where it almost seems intentional. If you're thinking of buying one, I'd recommend holding out another year. There'll most likely be a hardware revision by then, and if not, there will at least be a much bigger library of games to play. As a launch owner I can honestly say, there is zero reason to own one.

What are the faults? Do you really think that next revision there will be a wider viewing angle for 3D?

PS -

I'm not trying to be a smartass or anything, just asking.

My reason for the underwhelming performance of the 3DS is that most of its best titles are hardly original, being either iterations of longstanding and degrating franchises like Super Mario, Super Mario Kart and even Pokemon, remakes like Zelda, Devil Survivor and Star Fox, titles with little appeal like Ghost Recon, or in the case of Super Street Fighter IV, having been played to death in the Xbox 360, PS3 and Iphone.

Though Nintendo fans might argue with that, the lineup is hardly impressive for someone who isn't into their first party franchises.

The answer to your question is Smartphones. Iphone/Android with games available in the palm of your hand for 2-5 bucks, no trip to the store necessary, and its already in your pocket.

Smartphones will kill handheld gaming devices.

People are getting tired of the 3d gimmick, just sayin'. >.>

@NekuSakuraba: More to do with the actual design, not so much the 3D (which I can't use, it makes me feel very ill). The shape of the L and R buttons is awkward and painful if you have to use them for extended period (i.e. in Zelda), the raised edges around the bottom screen visibly scratch the top screen when the unit is closed, the power button is in a poor position and can easily be accidentally pressed (which is more of a problem with original DS games, because it will instantly shut them off), it lacks the sound buttons from the DSi, instead reverting back to the annoying slider, the lack of a second analogue stick is problematic for games and is only being remedied by an add on that looks like an aborted fetus.. and the system itself is rather bulky and not very pleasing to look at, which is odd, after they nailed the DS Lite/DSi and XL designs so perfectly.

@Wipeout: Even though I'm currently bitching about the lack of games on the 3DS, I'd still argue that one $40 3DS game will give you more value than forty $1 Android/iPhone games.

If smartphones were the problem, why have the 3DS sales just massively increased? I don't see how this argument is any more valid than saying "Facebook/browser games will kill PC gaming".

Now that Mario Kart's out I'm good to go with my 3DS. Inevitably more games will come out and it'll get better. It did suck up until Sunday though.

Not sure but I just picked up Mario 3D super land, or what ever stupid name they called it, today so i'm hoping it will change my opinion of the device.

Also yeah, nobody even knows it's a new handheld, they just think they added 3D to the DS. I told my mom to get my girlfriend's daughter Super Mario 3D Land for the 3DS for X-Mas and she still had to call me at the store and verify that she had "the 3D one". Since it's mostly kids, and by extension moms, dealing with Nintendo stuff, being even remotely confusing can have horrible consequences.

@NekuSakuraba said:

@Geo7877 said:

Also savvy people, like me, are waiting for the inevitable redesign which will fix battery issues and who knows what else. Plus by then the library will be much larger and I won't feel like I'm staring at a slowly dripping faucet waiting for a new good game to come out.

You can be 'savvy' and still get the original 3DS. What is the point of waiting if its going to just bring better battery life and you use it mainly at home?

Because it won't just be a better battery, whatever issues the original has (like that possible screen scratching) will be fixed with an improved form factor and who knows what else. I know if I bought one now and in June they announce a redesign with a second analog stick built in I'd be fucking pissed.

Plus, again, it all comes down to the games. By next holiday, which is when they will most likely release the new one, the system will have more than 1 good original game on it.

Mario Kart and Super Mario 3D should boost its sales.

iPhone.

would some one point him to the sales now! im clearly sure that was just like the ds in terms of slow start now things are going right ,,

infact psvita in comparision sold less then 3ds did (before any one rushes to say that was only for two days) you better realise the majority of purchases were preorders! those done before those 2 days so if anything thats 1 years worth of sales and they had 300k left overs for non preorders and i guess those would be counted next week and im sure 3ds will still beat it out because the facts following

1-games the 3ds has heavy hitters in japan and around the world this is the strongest factor attributing to the new sales for 3ds

2-price at half the price of a vita parents are not going to think twice and since kids are whom play handhelds the most , you can bet 3ds is on their list

3 its already well known that the vita launch games dont really look that impressive, --uncharted being the biggest one besides asphalt and modnation racers , im sure some people have a different choosing but this is mine had to scratch ridge racer from it because i heard it has 3 tracks disappointment at best

that said , 3ds is not the same 3ds it was launch day all these people who said 3ds failed 3ds will be virtual boy i bet they are now sad because their prediction was wrong, mine how ever was right

the 10 million 3ds sold was the exact prediction i had by the time vita was out in japan that dont stop there 3ds will have sold at least 13 -15 mill by the time vita hits us shelves

and you can add sims 3 pets and wwe all stars to my list

I don't think the DS did that great to begin with either. The 3DS is going to sell fucking tons in 2012 onwards. I guarantee it.

I bought one and have been liking it for the most part. I've seen stores selling tons since the price has been slashed and it's been bundled with gift cards or games. That said the 3D part of the system is garbage in my opinion. I've been to 3D movies and play 3D games on my PS3 and have never had eye fatigue or headaches. Weeks into owning the system I haven't able to handle the 3D for 2 minutes without my eyes hurting and feeling like I want to puke.

This month I played more Mario Land and Mario Kart than I did X-Box. Plus my free Warioware. I saw the trailer to Kingdom Hearts, and I'm thinking the 3DS is gonna turn out pretty sweet.

@Wipeout said:

The answer to your question is Smartphones. Iphone/Android with games available in the palm of your hand for 2-5 bucks, no trip to the store necessary, and its already in your pocket.

Smartphones will kill handheld gaming devices.

Yeah just like video killed radio, internet killed magazines and piracy killed the movie industry. There will always be people that wants the traditional handheld experience instead of the contant finger sweeping.

It will sneak up on us. A year from now it will probably be doing much better.