Is money really everything?

Welcome back gamer friends!

I'm going to start off by warning you that this is pretty lengthy post. I haven't done anything serious in a while, so I just couldn't stop writing. Well, here goes nothing!

Let's face it. To a large extent, money makes the world go round. You need it to buy everything from clothes, food and of course, the newest gaming technology available on the market. I know none of my video game consoles just fell out of the sky. How about you?

Money has been a hot topic in the gaming world lately. Generally, whenever a new gaming system is released, a big ball of hype comes along with it. Once the dust settles, consumers sometimes see a small price drop. In the case of the Nintendo 3DS, the circumstances were a bit different.

This breakthrough handheld was released in late March. The name is pretty self explanatory, but the device offers 3D graphics without the glasses. Originally priced at $249.99, Nintendo announced it was lowering the cost of the 3DS to 169.99 after about only five months. $80 is a pretty serious price cut!

The reason for the abrupt change of heart? Well, the company reported significant losses after not enough people bought the damn thing! But why were sales so weak? Well, you can check out this article for some answers, but I'm going to share some of my own ideas with you.

First off, and maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think gamers necessarily give a crap about 3D. I've always argued that 3D is a bit of a gimmick, and the hype seems to be dying down. I haven't spoken to any friends who are particularly interested in the feature. Gamers just want to play games after all! A feature that is almost guaranteed to drain battery life isn't exactly appealing.

Another culprit for slow sales has been cited all over the industry - the 3DS launch lineup. The system was not released with many quality titles to support it. This makes a huge difference, because consumers are more likely to buy a device if there are games they absolutely need to play. Historically, failure to deliver in the beginning can hurt a system's chance of succeeding.

Now let's point out one of the most obvious weaknesses - the price. Not all gamers have $250 to spend on a system that is dedicated to a feature that, let's be honest, they don't really need. And that brings us to the price cut. After a week, it already seems to be working. Retail giants like GameStop and Target have reported a jump in sales.

I understand an initial hike in sales, but I don't know that it will last unless more interesting titles are released. Nintendo seems to be working on this with some major releases on the horizon including Star Fox 64 3D, Metal Gear Solid 3D, Super Mario 3DS, Mario Kart 3DS, Rayman Origins, Kid Icarus: Uprising, Resident Evil: Revelations and the newest Professor Layton installment. Now that's some progress!

Personally, I'm most excited for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance! I mean, is anyone really surprised? :P I think this helps illustrate my point, though. I would never have bought a 3DS in the past, because I'm not interested in 3D gaming. However, I am interested in many of those titles, which could certainly influence my future purchase decisions.

Now let's turn our attention to the PS Vita. I think this device already has more potential to be successful in the new generation of handhelds, and it hasn't even come out yet! It's going to be hard to accomplish in a world filled with smartphones and iPads. Still, I think the Vita has an edge.

Sony is targeting all kinds of gamer audiences with impressive launch games. The Vita seems to be a system that casual and hardcore gamers will both be able to embrace. Big name releases such as Uncharted: Golden Abyss, LittleBigPlanet, Resistance: Burning Skies, Little Deviants, Escape Plan and several other projects from big studios are already underway.

Yet, money could also become a huge issue in the Vita launch. Nintendo's price drop puts immense pressure on Sony. The Vita starts at $250 for the WiFi-only model and $300 for 3G. Compared to the 3DS, those are now hefty price tags. Some critics say this will make the Vita a complete car wreck, because the system is too expensive. Lyle Hall and Matthew Seymour of Heavy Iron Studios claim consumers would rather carry one thing in their pocket - typically an iPhone or Android device.

All I can say is that I disagree. As a busy student on the go, I'm an advocate of the variety and quality that handheld devices offer me. I'm hoping that the Vita, along with improvements to the 3DS software library, will prove money isn't everything. It's all about the games.

Until next time!

Love,
The Girl Informer

UPDATE: I started writing this blog a week ago before a rumor surfaced concerning changes to the Nintendo 3DS hardware. Check out more information here. Who knows? Maybe the addition of a second analog stick will have a huge impact on the success of the device. I'm not believing any of this without solid evidence, though. I guess we'll just have to wait and see!