Nintendo’s tragicomic handling of its 3DS has taken yet another lurch into the ridiculous, with reports that it may actually bin its once-vaunted 3D functionality for the flagship device.
According to French website 01net, via Reuters, a number of sources are claiming Nintendo will “de-emphasize the significance” of 3D in a forthcoming update to the device. As marketing strategies for a flagship 3D device go, we must say that dropping the 3D bit is unconventional.
Having pushed the product almost solely on its 3D credentials, it would be an awkward acknowledgement of the failure of the technology to attract customers. Obviously lessons are still being learned from the VirtualBoy many years ago.
As Nintendo has found out, having only a few decent games to back up the gimmick of retina-thumping 3D has not exactly gone to plan, so it seems that it's discussing drastic measures.
Since acknowledging that the 3DS has hurt overall profits due to plummeting sales, Nintendo has been running a whole gamut of wacky schemes recently to beg customers to buy its device.
Having already tried to shore up dwindling sales with such innovative marketing strategies as selling it for much, much cheaper and making a red one, Nintendo has outdone itself with its latest attempt.
Apparently the latest hare-brained scheme is to add a joystick.
Whether this will have customer queuing around the block is unclear, but we bet that it won’t have Sony too worried with the upcoming release of its own gaming device. There is an argument that it should. Handheld gaming as a whole is in an interesting predicament against casual gaming on phones.
While Nintendo has reportedly declined to comment, there are likely to be further details announced at a 3DS trade show on 13 September.
After the success of the wii, they threw an untested hardware to the market and compromised the only market they always were on top, handheld consoles.
With the rise of the smartphone, such failure couldn't come at a worse time.
Now Nintendo is between a rock and a hard place.
They could ditch the 3DS and come up with something totally new, but it'd be very embarassing not only with its PR, but with game developers.
They can keep the 3DS without 3D, it'd be even more embarassing and the hardware would loose all its appeal, as it actually has poor graphics.
I'm afraid thats a sign tha handheld gaming is going the way of the dodo.