OCT. 27, 2011 • Nintendo 3DS sales reached 6.68 million units since the system’s February launch in Japan. To boost sales, the suggested retail price was dropped to $180 from $250 last August. Nintendo said that it had sold 8.13 million units of 3DS software worldwide to date. By March 2012 the company projects it will have sold 16 million 3DS systems, and 50 million software units, the latter a reduction from the originally estimated 70 million units.
Impact: To many, the 3DS has been a disappointment. Much of this is because it launched in the spring with an unimpressive software lineup. However, the reality is that the 3D feature is not that exciting and the 3DS is really just an upgrade to the original DS. However, it is also the portable system for Nintendo going forward. Major new releases are now exclusive to the 3DS including Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7 and other core Nintendo franchises. The 3DS is slowly starting to become a must have portable system. If Nintendo can sell 16 million hardware units in fiscal 2012 it will be above our forecasts. However, we still do not think any new portable game system will match the success of the DS in today’s market.
