Only 8.8% of Japanese consumers want Nintendo 3DS

[Our Wasted Years]

In a recent Japanese consumer poll, only 8 per cent of Japanese consumers expressed a desire to buy the forthcoming Nintendo 3DS handheld gaming console.

We expect to see the new 3DS at E3 this coming June. Although whether or not we will manage to get some hands (and eyes) on time with it at the show remains to be seen.

However, while the UK gets set to bathe in the so-called "summer of 3D" – with Samsung launching its first 3D TV campaign this month – Japan's consumers seem to be shrugging their shoulders nonchalantly in response to the promise of new 3D gaming tech from Nintendo.

No glasses required

Nintendo says that the 3DS will be "enjoyed with 3D effects without the need for any special glasses" and that it is set to be the successor to the massively-popular DS.

Japanese organisation goo Research polled 1,059 members of its monitor group - 52.9 per cent of who were male, 16.1 per cent teenagers, 17.8 per cent twenty-somethings, 21.5 per cent thirty-somethings, 16.2 percent in their forties and 28.3 percent older than fifty.

While 42.1 per cent of those polled already owned a Nintendo DS, DS Lite, DSi or a DSi XL — a mere 8.8 per cent, "would…like to get the recently-announced Nintendo 3DS, featuring 3D that doesn't require special glasses."

Whether or not this poll turns out to be representative of Japan's famously gaming-obsessed wider population of course remains to be seen.

http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/only-8-8-of-japanese-consumers-want-nintendo-3ds-684616

I'm guessing even if Pokemon 5th gen is released on this thing it won't sell so hot.

 

[Jukain]

That's because none of us have seen what this thing can do yet. Wait until after we see it, and then see if their interest changes.

 

[Takoto]

I'm not really surprised to be honest, people seem to be playing it on the safe-side with the 3DS, seeing as it could potentially turn out crap.

 

[Our Wasted Years]

That's because none of us have seen what this thing can do yet.

Just because people haven't see what a product is capable of it doesn't mean it's demand should be low. I'm going to blame Nintendo's poor marketing here.

 

[Falconwing]

Well duh. We've seen one trailer of what it can do. One trailer. That doesn't tell us much.

EDIT: Poor marketing? Dude, they would spend months and months advertising this? No, if they're releasing in October, they'll start advertising in the summer.

 

[Our Wasted Years]

Well duh. We've seen one trailer of what it can do. One trailer. That doesn't tell us much.

EDIT: Poor marketing? Dude, they would spend months and months advertising this? No, if they're releasing in October, they'll start advertising in the summer.

You have to have some kind of hype or something behind your product...or release that it has something that sets it apart from the previous one....or maybe the Japanese aren't as gullible

 

[Falconwing]

You have to have some kind of hype or something behind your product...or release that it has something that sets it apart from the previous one....or maybe the Japanese aren't as gullible

June
July
August
September
October
Release
After-release word of mouth hype

That's how much hype they can build by marketing through the summer.

 

[Maze]

Ah, so it seems I'm not the only one who doesn't care about 3D at all and would rather keep her old DS than having to spend money on a new one

 

[Netto Azure]

Well, yeah. If it had backwards compatibility with the GBA I would have gotten it.

(Just as how I thought about the DSi until I found out it lacked a GBA slot)

But meh, I still need to see a working product. :-(

 

[bell02+]

Yeah, this is kind of a stupid poll. What are they going to do next, poll to see how many people are looking forwards to the Xbox Next, PS4?

 

[TM2-Megatron]

That's a shame, 'cuz they're getting it regardless. They'll take it, and like it. :evil:

I'm not really surprised to be honest, people seem to be playing it on the safe-side with the 3DS, seeing as it could potentially turn out crap.

And so could the GBC have been, or GBA, or DS. They weren't, though. Any new system could turn out to be crap, but when there's a proven track record I don't think there's much reason to assume that it will.

Sounds to me like people just want to cling to their 6 year-old DS.

 

[Mitchman]

Yeah, this is kind of a stupid poll. What are they going to do next, poll to see how many people are looking forwards to the Xbox Next, PS4?

Wi HD,yes or no lolol.

Anyway, hardly surprising seeing how no one knows what it does yet. Probably going to rise to 70% or more after Nintendo deliver the E3 of the gods. I mean a new handheld with a New Zelda in the bakes, and who knows what else, its going to be a fun summer.

 

[Martonimos]

Really, aside from the press release, we don't know much about the 3DS yet. I expect the hype to pick once there's some, you know, actual news aside from "it exists and has 3D!" Once we see Mario, Zelda, Dragon Quest, etc. on there, people will start getting interested.

 

[Lysandre]

Well duh. We've seen one trailer of what it can do. One trailer. That doesn't tell us much.

EDIT: Poor marketing? Dude, they would spend months and months advertising this? No, if they're releasing in October, they'll start advertising in the summer.

I don't recall there being a single trailer officially 0_0 Link please?

And guys, of course there isn't amazing interest yet, we don't know ANYTHING BUT THE NAME. Supposedly it has an effect that Nintendo calls "3D", which could mean almost anything. Once there is an official reveal interest will skyrocket.

 

[Martonimos]

Ryu might be thinking of the DSi game that uses the camera to track your face, replicating a 3D effect. The 3DS isn't the same tech, though; from what I've heard, it uses a thin film slightly above the screen to split the image for the two eyes.

 

[Our Wasted Years]

June
July
August
September
October
Release
After-release word of mouth hype

That's how much hype they can build by marketing through the summer.

They better do a good job otherwise Ninendo might be looking like Sony when they released the PSP Slide or w/e it was called.

And so could the GBC have been, or GBA, or DS. They weren't, though. Any new system could turn out to be crap, but when there's a proven track record I don't think there's much reason to assume that it will.

That's cool, just because companies have a good track record doesn't mean they will not build a product that is just a complete fail. Maybe you should look at as many companies and their track records before speaking.

Sounds to me like people just want to cling to their 6 year-old DS.

Or the Japanese don't just jump all over the product because "KIDS IT HAS 3-D ANIMATIONS"

 

[Mighty_Snorlax]

That's a shame, 'cuz they're getting it regardless. They'll take it, and like it. :evil:



And so could the GBC have been, or GBA, or DS. They weren't, though. Any new system could turn out to be crap, but when there's a proven track record I don't think there's much reason to assume that it will.

Sounds to me like people just want to cling to their 6 year-old DS.

I know I'll be clinging to it. Just because it's six years old doesn't mean the DS is a bad system. It had a lot of great games, and it'll probably have more before Nintendo decides to abandon it. Also new does not mean better. The Virtual Boy was once new and that certainly was not better than the Game Boy.

I personally hate 3D, even if I don't need those stupid glasses, and in my opinion 3D is going to be incredibly distracting on a handheld system. Judging by the opinions I've been reading I don't seem to be alone on that either. If Nintendo announces that the 3DS has a way to shut the 3D off then maybe I'll get it, otherwise this will be the first Nintendo handheld I don't buy.

 

[Martonimos]

They better do a good job otherwise Ninendo might be looking like Sony when they released the PSP Slide or w/e it was called.

It's the PSP Go, and it's more like the upgrade from DS to DSi than from DS to 3DS. Heck, it even offered fewer features than the PSP, and at a higher price, too.

That's cool, just because companies have a good track record doesn't mean they will not build a product that is just a complete fail. Maybe you should look at as many companies and their track records before speaking.

What he said was there's no reason to believe that this will fail, not that there is reason to believe that it'll be the greatest thing ever. You don't have to jump down his throat.

Or the Japanese don't just jump all over the product because "KIDS IT HAS 3-D ANIMATIONS"

I don't think anybody's doing that. I mean, I'm not attracted to a console because it has slightly better graphics than the last one, I'm attracted to it because they have good games on it; I'm not interested in the 3DS because it means 3D effects, but because it means they'll make new Metroid and Zelda games for it. Like I said, interest in this product isn't high right now because information on this product isn't high right now; it'll pick up once they actually announce something beyond the name.

I know I'll be clinging to it. Just because it's six years old doesn't mean the DS is a bad system. It had a lot of great games, and it'll probably have more before Nintendo decides to abandon it.

Darn straight. The DS is probably my favorite gaming console ever (although if I had been born five years earlier, I'd probably love the SNES just as much), and seeing as how each iteration of the Game Boy has been supported for at least a little while after the next one appears (including the GBA, which lasted for some time alongside the DS), we'll be seeing more great DS games well into the 3DS's lifetime.

 

[Cicatriz]

8% of consumers is actually a pretty good number if you think about it. It may be that low now, but I'm sure when it actually comes out people will change their mind. After all, Nintendo still got good figures on it's 4th version the DS. These things practically print money for Nintendo.

 

[Snowfire]

I personally am not hyped about the 3D T.V.s, but this 3DS may be neat... It had better have a GBA slot.