About four years ago, our LA based writer at the time, Vito Gesualdi, had some bold predictions about the Nintendo 3DS. This was just around the time when Nintendo decided to do a major price cut, and declare those who purchased it at full price Ambassadors, and offering up free Virtual Console games. Needless to say, Vito wasn't very happy about it.
In his article, Five Reasons Why the Nintendo 3DS is Totally Boned, Vito goes over a few key points to prove that the handheld had no future, and that its gimmicks wouldn't have any lasting appeal. I'll get into each of those points very soon, but first let's take a look at how the 3DS is kicking ass.
Turns out that most, if not all, of Nintendo's success stories that we post about are directly linked to the amazing sales of the Nintendo 3DS hardware. And while the article makes mention of loving the Vita as well as the PSP, a majority of our reports on Sony's latest portable handheld are usually about its weak sales, and struggles to stay relevant. It's hard just to pick a few of these instances since the 3DS is continually impressing with amazing sales numbers.
I made this gif to prove a point
Hell, it wasn't even 2 months after the article was written, that Vito, who proclaimed the 3DS to be boned, was now reporting on the console outselling its handheld competitor. So what is it that Vito proclaimed would be the downfall of the 3D handheld? Let's take a look shall we?
Monster Hunter 3DS is going to suck
Well, aside from this being a purely subjective stance, both Monster Hunter games, 3 Ultimate and 4 Ultimate were fantastic games. And yes, that too is a very subjective stance. You know what isn't subjective? Sales numbers.
While the sales numbers for MH3U on the 3DS alone are unavailable to me at the time, Capcom did state that the release of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate would depend on its predecessors sales. Considering we did get MH4U, it must have at least met Capcom's expectations.
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate was not only an amazing game that was met with great reception even among fans, the game sold exceedingly well in Japan in its first week, and ended up pushing 3 million copies worldwide by February. For a niche title here in the States, those are still incredible numbers.
Capcom is also continually updating the game with more content on a monthly basis, for absolutely no cost, which further proves that the return was worth the investment.
I already own a goddamn Nintendo 64
Clever titles aside, it's clear what Vito was trying to get across. The 3DS had a whole bunch of ports announced for it. Whether it was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time or StarFox 64 3D, it was clear that a bunch of Nintendo's focus would go to re-releasing some of their fantastic games from previous console generations.
This is where I become the butt of the joke since I'm apparently a fool for buying my 3DS at launch, resulting in this: "What I'm trying to say is, there's only so many Michael Splechtas in the world. The rest of us want more than 3D remakes of N64 games and an e-shop littered with roms."
Interesting. I guess that's why Majora's Mask 3D sold over 300,000 units in the US and over 200,000 units in Europe only a few days after its release. Not to mention, once again, it was critically acclaimed. Sure, reviews are subjective, they always will be, but the fact of the matter is, Nintendo is putting great care into re-releasing their older classics. Ocarina of Time and StarFox 64 proved that as well.
3D Graphics are a stupid novelty
Well, I don't really have a rebuttal here. I actually agree. Even with the New Nintendo 3DS' better face tracking to allow a smoother 3D viewing experience, I always find myself playing mostly in 2D. And it's not that I particularly hate 3D either. I'll happily go see 3D movies in the theaters. A lot of the time it actually has to do more with choosing a steady framerate over a 3D spectacle, and I'm always going to choose the former.
And much to Vito's credit, turns out that 3D porn is very much a thing on the 3DS, as our fellow writer Lance Liebl learned not so long ago.
My iPhone is like a magical space wizard
There is a case to be made here, sure. And even Nintendo is recognizing the strengths of having a mobile presence. But if I'm looking to play a hardcore game on the go, 9 times out of 10, I'll choose to play on my 3DS.
What's sad is that ever since the free-to-play movement started dominating the iPhone, and almost all games became "free" with paid microtransactions, the quality of games have suffered. In 2006 I would have gladly played my iPhone over a dedicated handheld, because a majority of the games were pay-to-play, meaning I got the entire experience for the cost of a double cheeseburger from McDonalds, meaning that developers also had to put extra time and care into making me actually want to spend that money in the first place.
Now, a $20-$40 purchase for the 3DS feels more justified because of this, since the experiences reflect that price point. An iPhone won't let me play and experience a game like Xenoblade Chronicles on the go, or the addicting Persona Q, or any of the slew of Mario games like 3D World or Mario Kart 7. If I want quality, I'll always turn to the 3DS, despite it taking up twice as much space in my pocket.
Mega Man Legends 3 is never happening
This was a sad day for all of us, and a wound I didn't want to re-open. But should we really blame the 3DS?
A few years after its cancellation, GregaMan, a Capcom employee over on the Capcom Unity boards game out and shed some light on the cancellation. It's an interesting read, especially when taking into consideration that the game was announced in an extremely early phase, more so than any other game announcement should have. Capcom was experimenting with transparency, allowing the general public to know anything and everything that was going on with this particular title, right away from its announcement, immediately to its cancellation. Go ahead and check it out.
Needless to say, the 3DS is thriving. It also looks as though we reached the pinnacle of the handheld with its latest iteration, the New 3DS. It'll be interesting to see where Nintendo will eventually lead the handheld market, but its undeniable that it created a powerful monster, that we all love carrying around in our pockets.
