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3DS Console Discussion

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This move of region-locking the 3DS killed much of my excitement for the console.

 

I own a ridiculous number of games for the DS (it's easily the console for which I have more games, last time I checked I had 130, but that was some time ago; for the record, all bought brand new, and I own zero pirated releases or flash carts), many of them US or Japanese releases for games that never saw an European release (for example, most Atlus USA releases).

I can safely say if I was unable to import and play these games, my enjoyment of the console would be much smaller. I would have missed out on games such as Etrian Odyssey II and III, The Dark Spire, Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2, Jump Ultimate Stars, and many more.

I just have to look at the last 3 titles I purchased for the DS, and none of them got an European release: Nostalgia, Sands of Destruction, and The Legendary Starfy, all of which I imported from the USA.

 

This move, baring a 180º change on the European market (which I honestly don't believe, for some reason we are still treated as the "black sheep" of gaming), pretty much ensures that I will be unable to play a huge portion of the games I was looking forward to.

Let's be honest, how likely are European releases of any new Etrian Odyssey titles, when Europe never got any of the sequels? Or most titles that Atlus USA releases, for that matter? How likely are we of getting most of those charming and "bizarre" Japanese titles that rarely leave it's home country?

 

In my eyes, Nintendo has been making very disappointing choices. Be it in terms of its software output (either by releasing mostly "casual" titles with very light gameplay, or by releasing tired rehashes of their usual franchises, with barely any effort, ideas or "new" gameplay, save for some exceptions, of course, like Mario Galaxy), be it in terms of its hardware (they released the Wii as a very limited piece of hardware, instead focusing on motion controls that, at least before the release of the Wii Motion Plus, were too unreliable, not to mention barely any title actually made a worthwhile use of motion controls).

 

I would be lying if I said I would not purchase a 3DS, I will sooner or later, but it definitely won't be a priority, and certainly not at its release date.

Edited by Funktion
typo

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Quite the opposite. I'm stating it's ONLY the hardcore fans who got the GameCube and very few others. This meant that sales weren't as high and bam...

 

I figured so. Thanks for clearing that up. I guess I can see why Nintendo have gone the route they have, I just can't see why they'd so carelessly neglect the hand that fed them for so many years. It's almost tragic. But mostly frustrating.

 

I'm still getting a 3DS by the way. With Nintendo I live to be proved wrong and please believe me when I say I want the 3DS to be awesome. I want to love them again.

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I noticed GAME have put up the price of the 3DS games to £39.99 (was previously £32.99). That's more than a Wii game!

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If anything, it's the hardcore fans which nearly pulled them under with the Gamecube

 

Hmm? Every Gamecube they sold they sold for a profit, their games still sold millions too, they weren't close to going under at all. Especially with the Gameboy advanced, they made hundreds of millions in profits every year. Third parties couldn't make any money on the Gamecube, but that's still fairly true with the wii. I'd also like to edit your quote to the one below, though the Gameboy would have kept them going even if the Gamecube wasn't profitable.

 

If anything, it's the hardcore fans which kept them afloat with the Gamecube

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To elaborate on Serebii's comment: The Gamecube was made for the hardcores. The controller is weird, most games use complex button combinations, the games released for the console were made for longtime fans, and even the third-party efforts had the "hardcore" gamers as a target.

 

Meanwhile, the PS2 had GTA, a prettier, slightly more intuitive controller and, later on, EyeToy.

The result was that more people preferred the PS2, based on these factors. It didn't matter if the GC or Xbox were more powerful, or if the Gamecube had excellent exclusives (and, IMO, the best controller), the PS2 was simply more casual friendly

 

This is also the reason the Gameboy (Advance) has always been successful. They were simple, accessible consoles with simple, accessible games, ergo, the casuals liked it. And the same thing happened with the Wii.

 

tl,dr: The Gamecube was tailored for hardcore/longtime fans and suffered as a result. This is what Serebii meant.

 

That said, this region-lock thing with the 3DS sucks, but it doesn't affect me immensely. I'm not too bothered to complain that much.

Edited by Jonnas

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I usually like to buy different models of the handheld anyway (I am a sucker for new cooler looking toys :heh: ) So I'll buy the 3DS normally for now, anything I want from the US or Jap I'll still buy, but when the next model comes out I may as well just import from that country.

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Not sure if its been reported so far, but Den of Geek are reporting that DOA runs at silky 60fps in 2D , but when 3D is switched on framerate drops by half.

 

Best Buy are pegging the 3DS price at a wallet bursting £300. The Hut, Woolworths and WHSmith agree.

Edited by david.dakota

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Never ever trust retaillers. It is ridiculous to think the 3DS will cost that much. It'll be £180-£200 MAX.

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Pretty much expected this, what with aspects of the DSi being region locked. It's still very annoying though. :nono:

I wouldn't mind at all if Nintendo and others just localised all of their games, but the list of titles I'm interested in (and not just DS but also Wii) that never got released over here is quite substantial:

 

Tingle's Balloon Trip

Ganbare Goemon

Tomodachi Collection

Fatal Frame 4

Captain Rainbow

Taiko Drum Master Wii

Excitebots

etc, etc...

 

Overall I've got 22 import games in my DS collection, and while most of them did eventually get released over here (just me being impatient :heh:) a few of them didn't. And when I look at those particular games and try to come up with a reason as to why they didn't get localised, I can never think of one. Not a single reason, it just doesn't make sense. Contra 4 is a prime example of that, how exactly was it not suited to the European market? ::shrug:

 

As far as other unreleased titles go, the most mind boggling of them all has to be Excitebots! That game would easily be successful in Europe, why the hell didn't it even get a chance? :mad:

 

It's a lose-lose situation the way I see it. Gamers miss out on certain games, devs/publishers miss out on those sales. In fact, it seems like the only ones who are unaffected are the bloody pirates! :indeed:

 

In particular, I'm very surprised that Tomodachi Connection stayed exclusive to Japan. That had massive potential in Europe, and didn't seem to need as much localisation as something like Dragon Quest IX.

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I noticed GAME have put up the price of the 3DS games to £39.99 (was previously £32.99). That's more than a Wii game!

 

Given that first party DS games are now £34.99 in store (Golden Sun came out at £30 but GAME shoved it up to £34.99 a week or so later, along with DQIX), I wouldn't put it far off of games being £39.99 for the 3DS. First party will definitely be that price but I reckon most third party games will hit the middle ground, i.e. £34.99, unless they're BIG titles for the console.

 

MCV Speculate 3DS Price & Date

 

They reckon £200-£230 and 25th March.

 

Read this just a few minutes ago. What I'm hearing being mentioned alot is that there'll be two available SKUs: One standard console and one bundled unit, which people are suggesting to explain the two prices. I'd certainly hope that was the case as £230 for the console on it's own is a no go for me. £200 for the console on its own is pushing it as well.

 

I'm still holding on to the faint hope it'll be £180, and you'll get the AR games included, with a game bundle at around the £200 mark. They'll find it hard to shift units at a price higher than that if the software lineup at launch isn't up to scratch in either the US or Europe.

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Given that first party DS games are now £34.99 in store (Golden Sun came out at £30 but GAME shoved it up to £34.99 a week or so later, along with DQIX), I wouldn't put it far off of games being £39.99 for the 3DS. First party will definitely be that price but I reckon most third party games will hit the middle ground, i.e. £34.99, unless they're BIG titles for the console.

 

Considering I rarely ever pay more than £25 for a DS game, it's a massive jump in price. Only time I've paid more is if it's an import or a special edition.

 

Seemed a bit odd of them to change the price at this point to me. I'm expecting the prices to normalise after a while after the launch mind.

 

Oh, and I approve of the 25th March date, if it's real.

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£200 is really pushing it for me, i was expecting at least the console and a game for that price. I can't justify that much given the low resolution of the screens and graphics not that far ahead of the PSP just for the sake of 3d.

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£200 is really pushing it for me, i was expecting at least the console and a game for that price. I can't justify that much given the low resolution of the screens and graphics not that far ahead of the PSP just for the sake of 3d.
But the games man!!... THE GAMES!!!!

 

It's pretty pricey, but I don't think I can miss out what's being offered software wise, and that's just what's out in 2011!

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I demand we put a ban on speculation for everything regarding the 3DS until next Wednesday. It's causing so many issues :heh:

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http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/01/13/super_sfiv_online_play/

 

You'll be able to select from three types of play: "quick match," which pairs you up with an opponent instantly, "custom match," which lets finds an opponent based off conditions that you've set, and "friend match", which lets you select an opponent from your friend list. You add players to your friend list by exchanging friend codes.
Edited by Helmsly

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update to the article I linked to:

 

Regarding the friend codes and friend list, Famitsu does not make any mention about these being game-specific or universal across the 3DS system. We'll presumably have to wait for clarification from Nintendo.

 

I'd be ok with universal codes.

Edited by Helmsly

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I don't see the problem?

Isn't this friends list just so you can have a list of people you know ready to choose from? I think you can still play online against anyone, no?

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I don't see the problem?

Isn't this friends list just so you can have a list of people you know ready to choose from? I think you can still play online against anyone, no?

 

Yeah but i think the worry is that you can't have one per system, it's one per game.

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There's no way Nintendo will fuck us over in every department. They have to at least get something right with this launch.

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I fail to see how inclusion of a friend code system, which Nintendo loves and said isn't going anywhere, would be indicative of the launch going wrong

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