wraggster
September 9th, 2013, 22:04
When 3DS launched, MCV visited High Street stores to talk 3DS with store staff, and we were disappointed by the results.
Several of the men and women whose job it was to sell Nintendo’s new portable told us that the 3DS was just a DS with a 3D screen. Not the entirely new games console that it actually was.
You can see where the confusion came from. 3DS looked and sounded like another model in what had become an annual stream of new DS SKUs. And to your everyday customer and untrained sales assistant, that’s exactly what it was.
Now, over two years since 3DS first arrived, Nintendo surprised us with 2DS. It’s not a DS (but plays DS games) and is a 3DS (but doesn’t play games in 3D). Is this a confusion too far?
“2DS looks very different, that’s one key advantage,” says Nintendo’s UK marketing director Shelly Pearce. “There’s no mistaking that this is a different product to the DS. And we will clearly communicate to retail and we will clearly communicate online. We will be supporting 2DS on TV. And the name itself helps. I don’t think it will be an issue.
“When you first look at it you might think it’s complicated, but it’s quite a simple proposition. It does everything 3DS does, but at an entry-level price point and in 2D.”
This Christmas is one of battles. Xbox vs PlayStation. Call of Duty vs Battlefield. Gran Turismo vs Forza. But perhaps one of the most important fights will be over the hearts and minds of children.
Today’s under 10s do not view the console as the only means to play games. To them, the browser or Dad’s tablet are just as viable. And yet, in a Christmas dominated by expensive, adult-orientated new hardware, the console games industry is doing very little to win over a new generation.
“2DS looks very different, that’s one key
advantage. There’s no mistaking that this
is a different product to the DS. And we
will clearly communicate to retail and we
will clearly communicate online. And the
name itself helps. I don’t think it will be an
issue. When you first look at it you might
think it’s complicated, but it’s quite a simple
proposition. It does everything 3DS does,
but at an entry-level price point and in 2D.”
Shelly Pearce - marketing director, Nintendo UK
Xbox 360, PS3 and Vita will skew younger this year, but these are still primarily core gamer machines. Wii U has the right content but not the right price point. And 3DS is not as kid-friendly as you may think, with Nintendo warning parents that young Children should not use the 3D screen.
Skylanders and Disney Infinity are perhaps the biggest kids IP over Christmas. But these are expensive products that target the more affluent families.
That’s where the 2DS comes in.
“We saw an opportunity in the market for an entry-level gaming device,” continues Pearce. “It is a streamlined, value gaming system for those younger kids.
“We have had great momentum behind 3DS, and we are moving into peak season with some key titles that will appeal to that younger kid market. We are essentially appealing to existing DS owners or young gamers about to enter gaming for the first time, who were perhaps mucking about on Mum and Dad’s phone and they are looking for a good in-depth gaming device. That is where we see 2DS fitting in.”
2DS may lack the sleek, mature aesthetics of the 3DS XL, but as a kids device it looks the part. Colourful, chunky and robust, it is the sort of machine you won’t worry about getting bashed around in a kid’s school bag or on the beach during a summer holiday.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/nintendo-ds-2ds-3ds-is-quite-a-simple-proposition/0120746
Several of the men and women whose job it was to sell Nintendo’s new portable told us that the 3DS was just a DS with a 3D screen. Not the entirely new games console that it actually was.
You can see where the confusion came from. 3DS looked and sounded like another model in what had become an annual stream of new DS SKUs. And to your everyday customer and untrained sales assistant, that’s exactly what it was.
Now, over two years since 3DS first arrived, Nintendo surprised us with 2DS. It’s not a DS (but plays DS games) and is a 3DS (but doesn’t play games in 3D). Is this a confusion too far?
“2DS looks very different, that’s one key advantage,” says Nintendo’s UK marketing director Shelly Pearce. “There’s no mistaking that this is a different product to the DS. And we will clearly communicate to retail and we will clearly communicate online. We will be supporting 2DS on TV. And the name itself helps. I don’t think it will be an issue.
“When you first look at it you might think it’s complicated, but it’s quite a simple proposition. It does everything 3DS does, but at an entry-level price point and in 2D.”
This Christmas is one of battles. Xbox vs PlayStation. Call of Duty vs Battlefield. Gran Turismo vs Forza. But perhaps one of the most important fights will be over the hearts and minds of children.
Today’s under 10s do not view the console as the only means to play games. To them, the browser or Dad’s tablet are just as viable. And yet, in a Christmas dominated by expensive, adult-orientated new hardware, the console games industry is doing very little to win over a new generation.
“2DS looks very different, that’s one key
advantage. There’s no mistaking that this
is a different product to the DS. And we
will clearly communicate to retail and we
will clearly communicate online. And the
name itself helps. I don’t think it will be an
issue. When you first look at it you might
think it’s complicated, but it’s quite a simple
proposition. It does everything 3DS does,
but at an entry-level price point and in 2D.”
Shelly Pearce - marketing director, Nintendo UK
Xbox 360, PS3 and Vita will skew younger this year, but these are still primarily core gamer machines. Wii U has the right content but not the right price point. And 3DS is not as kid-friendly as you may think, with Nintendo warning parents that young Children should not use the 3D screen.
Skylanders and Disney Infinity are perhaps the biggest kids IP over Christmas. But these are expensive products that target the more affluent families.
That’s where the 2DS comes in.
“We saw an opportunity in the market for an entry-level gaming device,” continues Pearce. “It is a streamlined, value gaming system for those younger kids.
“We have had great momentum behind 3DS, and we are moving into peak season with some key titles that will appeal to that younger kid market. We are essentially appealing to existing DS owners or young gamers about to enter gaming for the first time, who were perhaps mucking about on Mum and Dad’s phone and they are looking for a good in-depth gaming device. That is where we see 2DS fitting in.”
2DS may lack the sleek, mature aesthetics of the 3DS XL, but as a kids device it looks the part. Colourful, chunky and robust, it is the sort of machine you won’t worry about getting bashed around in a kid’s school bag or on the beach during a summer holiday.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/nintendo-ds-2ds-3ds-is-quite-a-simple-proposition/0120746