Items tagged with 3ds
We reported early yesterday that Nintendo is preparing to unleash two new variants of its hugely popular Switch gaming console this summer. The original Nintendo Switch is unique in the fact that it features a hybrid design that allows it to be used as a portable console, or docked for use with a large-screen television. One of the new variants is said to be a slightly more powerful version of the current Nintendo Switch, while the other will be an even lower-priced budget entry. Eurogamer -- which has a long track record of having an inside track on unreleased consoles -- has posted some additional information on the latter model. According to the publication, it...
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A new Nintendo 3DS is on the horizon, and we sincerely hope it’s not really called “New 3DS,” as today’s Nintendo Direct suggests. Surely, the venerable game maker can come up with a better name than that for the latest version of its handheld – but a lame name is going to be the least of Nintedo’s concerns: the upcoming Xenoblade Chronicles game will only play on the New 3DS models, thanks to a new processor. So far, Xenoblade is the only game that will be limited to the New 3DS, but it seems to be a fair bet that there will be similarly-restricted games down the line. The Nintendo New 3DS. Image credit: Forbes The New 3DS and New 3DS LL (probably XL when...
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Responding to criticism on the web, Nintendo issued a statement apologizing for the inability to engage in same-sex relationships in Tomodachi Life, a game available in Japan for the 3DS handheld console. Outside of making headlines for limiting relationships to members of the opposite sex, the title isn't well known in the U.S., though it's scheduled to release in North America and Europe on June 6, 2014. When it does, the same-sex relationship restriction will still apply. According to Nintendo, this is not something that it can fix in quick software update, but if the game sells well enough, it will offer a "more inclusive" experience in a follow-up title built from the ground-up. Tomodachi...
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Thank you Nintendo, but your profits are in another castle. Such is the paraphrased message Nintendo's accounting team had to deliver after going over the numbers for Nintendo's fiscal year ended March 31, 2014. Sales for the year totaled 571.7 million yen (around $5.6 billion), down from a revised forecast of 590 million yen (~$5.8 billion). Back in April of last year, Nintendo had optimistically forecast sales of around 915 million yen (~$9 billion). The end result is that Nintendo posted a net loss of 23.2 million yen, which works out to around $229 million in U.S. currency. On the bright side, Nintendo had previously forecast a net loss of more than $245 million, though there's not much to...
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Hulu Plus is available to watch almost anywhere, though up until today, Nintendo 3DS and 2DS owners have been exempt from the streaming party. Not anymore. Hulu Plus has joined the Nintendo 3DS family with a "unique app" that's been designed to blend the Hulu Plus and Nintendo user experience by taking full advantage of both screens. The clever implementation allows you to scroll through the various TV shows and movies on the bottom screen and then play them on the main display. You can also use the bottom touchscreen to pause, play, and seek. All of these options are available even when a show or movie is playing on the main display. Like on every other platform, Hulu Plus remembers where you...
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Generally you don't bite the hand the feeds you, but apparently Nintendo doesn't feel GameStop provides all that much financial sustenance, hence the console maker isn't thinking twice about competing against the new and used games retailer with lower priced refurbished consoles. That's right, Nintendo is now selling refurbished 3DS and DSi XL game consoles in the U.S., and at prices that are lower than GameStop. Nintendo points out that the ones it's selling are the only refurbished products in the market that have been cleaned, tested, and inspected to meet its high standards. Like Apple does with its refurbished items, Nintendo offers the same one-year warranty that applies to its new products....
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Nintendo Co. on Wednesday is back in black after reporting its first full-year loss in the history of the company last year. This time around, Nintendo's financial report reflects a profit of 7.1 billion yen (around $71.7 million) for its fiscal year ended in March, up from a loss of 43.2 billion yen ($436 million) in the prior year. At the same time, Nintendo posted an operating loss of 36.4 billion yen, or $366 million. What those numbers reveal is that Nintendo benefited from a recent weakening of the yen, which hit a four-year low earlier this month, ultimately helping the company squeeze out a profit. As for hardware sales, Nintendo sold 3.46 million Wii U consoles around the globe last...
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Nintendo took a lot of risks with the Wii U. It bet on the second-screen controller becoming a major draw, that the console's relatively limited hardware wouldn't be an issue, and that it could spark the same kind of meteoric sales volume a second time around. It's the first time Nintendo has ever tried to launch such a comprehensive device, and as we noted in our review, the Wii U isn't a slam dunk. Early sales data for the all-important holiday season indicates that gamers may feel the same way. Japanese magazine Famitsu reported that post-Christmas Wii U sales slumped to 70,000 units per week, down from 76,000 the week before. That's particularly important because, in Japan, the week after...
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Nintendo's third-quarter sales came in below expectations today, as the company struggled with lower-than-anticipated demand for its 3DS handhelds and a generally weak console market. In April, the company predicted it would sell 10.5 million Wii's by the end of its fiscal year; that's since been slashed to five million. 3DS sales were also lower than expected, with forecasts for the full year now at 17.5M units, down from 18.5M. The chart below, courtesy of VGChartz, shows comparative 3DS sales from April - October, 2011 and the same period in 2012. 2011 is in orange, 2012 in yellow. The summer bump was courtesy of the 3DS XL and the launch titles that accompanied it, but demand has fallen...
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Times are tough all around, and that includes the Mushroom Kingdom where gold coins aren't as prevalent as they once were. Sitting on a throne from afar, Nintendo cut its full-year profit forecast by 70 percent, saying it now expects to rake in 6 billion yen (or US$75 million) by the end of the year, compared to the company's previous forecast of 20 billion yen (or US$250 million). "The earnings forecast has been modified to reflect a yen appreciation stronger than expected at the beginning of the fiscal year, the actual sales result for the six-month period ended September 30, 2012 and a change in the outlook for the following six-month period from October 2012 through March 2013 by reviewing...
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Sony is halfway through an ugly restructuring period as it seeks to cut costs, consolidate markets, and turn its once-mighty television business around. That's a difficult proposition for any company, but the Japanese giant's recent earnings call was gloomy even under these circumstances. Modest upticks in Imaging Products and Services and Pictures were offset by heavy declines in gaming, home entertainment, and music. The company reported a $314M loss for its first quarter of fiscal year 2012 and cut forecasts for a number of markets. Sony pinned part of the blame on continuing economic turbulence in Europe and America, but investors weren't willing to accept this as the sole explanation. As...
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Nintendo's second quarter financial report reads something like this: 'Thank you investors! But our revenue growth is in another castle!' The game company reported 84.8 billion yen (or about $1.08 billion) in revenue during its second fiscal quarter of 2012, which is a lot of money, but also representative of a 9.7 percent drop from the 93.9 billion yen it collected in the same quarter one year prior. All told, the numbers added up to a net loss of around $220 million. Decelerating hardware sales are largely to blame. Nintendo said it sold 710,000 Wii consoles last quarter, which is less than half of the 1.6 million units it moved one year ago. The company's 3DS sales didn't fly off the store...
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Nintendo took the wraps off its new, super-sized 3DS XL handheld on Friday, but reactions have been anything but enthusiastic. The new DS offers a larger set of screens (4.88 inches top / 4.18" bottom), better battery life, and will ship with a copy of New Super Marios 2 for $199.99, but it's launching into a very different market than what the original DS XL faced in 2009. The 3DS XL's battery improvements aren't just icing on the cake -- they're seen as remedying a critical problem with the current handheld. It also won't support the second circle pad added by the Circle Pad Pro, which implies Nintendo is ready to kill that peripheral altogether. The other major problem is that a larger screen...
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Looking to get your handheld game on? Here's another option, courtesy of.. Nintendo? Yep, the company responsible for the original Game Boy is hitting back with yet another 3DS system. And this time, it's super-sized. The 3DS XL will ship on August 19th, with a mondo 4.88" top screen that dwarfs the original 3DS. Furthermore, there's a 4.18" bottom screen -- also much larger than the standard 3DS. This unit will ship with a 4GB SD card, too. Oddly, the new design doesn't bring the Circle Pad Pro into the factory mix, but perhaps the more immerse screens will take care of any lingering gripes. Pricing? $199. Better save those summer pennies!...
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Most of the major news in consoles this week was in handhelds, but there are major implications for both Sony and Nintendo. Nintendo broke a record that's stood for almost 125 years and posted the company's first ever yearly loss this week. The company had issued profit warnings as early as November, but the amount—$533 million—was double what the company projected back last fall. Part of the problem was the massive price cut Nintendo gave the 3DS last summer, when it slashed the price from $250 to $160. The $90 cut drove the unit's price below its cost-of-manufacture, and has left Nintendo reliant on software sales to make up the difference. As a result, the 3DS faces a much slower...
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Some Nintendo 3DS owners have complained about the system's Home screen being too cluttered with no real way to clean it up without deleting items. Well, that's about to change. Nintendo is the mood for some spring cleaning and plans on releasing a firmware update later this month that will let 3DS owners wrangle tiles on the Home screen and drop them into folders. "Get ready to update your Nintendo *3DS on 4/25! This system Update will let you organize your Home Menu," @NintendoAmerica announced via Twitter. If you happen to speak or otherwise understand Japanese, you can hear all about it from Nintendo President Satoru Iwata in a Nintendo Direct conference livestream (click here). Otherwise,...
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Sony's new chief executive, Kazuo Hirai, has a monumental task in front of him. He's been charged with reversing Sony's years of losses, even as problems continue to pile up in the wake of ex-CEO Howard Stringer's departure. The road back to profitability got even steeper today, with news that Standard and Poor's has slashed its long-term rating on Sony's credit to BBB+ -- two steps above junk bond status. While this has no impact on the company's existing financials, it means any future loans or financial terms Sony negotiates will likely carry higher interest rates and steeper penalties for missed deadlines. Sony's restructuring plan Like Stringer, Hirai remains resolutely committed to Sony's...
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Sony's PlayStation Vita went on sale today in Japan to strong demand; there are reports that Sony sold-out all 700,000 units it set aside for the Japanese launch. ""I'm so happy to see so many people lining up for PS Vita so early in the morning," Sony Computer Entertainment Japan President Hiroshi Kono wrote in his official blog after touring several Tokyo stores. "I can tell they had anxiously waited for today's launch." The handheld shipped out with an impressive 24 launch titles (the 3DS debuted with just eight), and is backwards compatible with PSP-downloadable games, PlayStation minis, the PlayStation Suite (aka PlayStation Certified titles) and PSOne Classics. It's not compatible with...
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If you've been on the fence about whether or not to spring for a Nintendo 3DS console, this might make you jump off. At least one retailer, and possibly two or more, are going to carry a special edition themed 3DS console commemorating the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda. The Zelda bundle will include a themed 3DS console and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time game. GameStop is already advertising the bundle in its flyer as part of its Black Friday bonanza. If you have a DSi XL to trade in, you can pick up the bundle for as little as $100 (a Mario 3D Land bundle will also be available), $120 with a DSi trade-in, and $130 if you swap your DS Lite. Otherwise, the regular price is $200....
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Grim news and missteps dominate our console news this week. Sony advised investors that it was headed for its 4th straight year of posting an annual net loss. The company's underperforming TV business (now eight years in the red) was a significant drain on the company's finances. The company blames "a decrease in LCD television sales, reflecting price declines due mainly to deterioration in market conditions in the US and Europe and unfavorable foreign exchange rates." Hardware revenue declined "reflecting a strategic price reduction of PlayStation 3 hardware in advance of the year-end holiday season," while software sales have been markedly down for all platforms the last three months. Sony...
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Nintendo may be struggling to move a serious amount of 3DS handhelds, but this just might help. Hulu Plus is coming to the 3DS and Wii. According to a new release from the company, 3DS and Wii owners will soon have the ability to access even more of their favorite TV shows and movies: the Hulu Plus service will be added to both systems by the end of the year. Nintendo is also announcing new features being added to the Nintendo 3DS system, including the ability to record 3D videos, new musical artists coming to Nintendo Video and a new animated 3D video from DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. Additionally, Nintendo 3DS owners will soon see four inventive downloadable Nintendo-published games and applications...
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Nintendo and Hulu are teaming up to bring the Hulu Plus service to the Wii and Nintendo 3DS. The Hulu Plus service, which is available for about $8 per month, offers access to all episodes of the current season of popular shows as well as access to a library of classic shows and movies. Nintendo is also planning to bring new features to the Nintendo 3DS system. A system update that is scheduled for the end of November will enable the 3DS to record up to 10 minutes of 3D video. Nintendo is also bringing new musical artists to Nintendo Video, a new animated 3D video from DreamWorks Animation, and new games to the Nintendo eShop. Hulu Plus Coming to Nintendo Systems as Nintendo 3DS Preps for 3D...
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