UPDATED 11:39 EDT / SEPTEMBER 14 2011

NEWS

As Shares Slump by 5% Nintendo Bets on New Games to Revive the 3DS Sales

Nintendo’s 3DS handheld game device hasn’t taken investors by surprise and it has already been forced to slash prices to try to revive the sales but nothing seems to be working. The company shipped a total of 4.3 million 3DS’s worldwide as of the end of July, much lower than the company’s expectation. Nintendo sold only 710,000 3DS in the second quarter of this year compared to more than four times as much in first quarter. And not to forget, the Japan earthquake also disrupted sales. So the company is making some changes by introducing range of new games as it hopes will turn the tide.

At the 3DS press conference, the company announced its 3D platform will have popular games like the Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai and Monster Hunter 4 for this holiday season, and six Mario-related games including Mario Tennis and Luigi’s Mansion 2 will be introduced next year. The company will also offer games from popular developers such as Capcom’s Biohazard and Monster Hunter games and Konami’s Metal Gear series.

“The lineup for this holiday season and next year is stronger than any in the past,” said Nintendo President Satoru Iwata at the conference.

Nintendo is also releasing pink 3DS on Oct. 20, targeted for women audience along with some other female oriented games. “We want all kinds of people to play the 3DS,” Mr. Iwata said. Nintendo also announced new peripheral hardware that can be added to the device and plans to add three dimensional video features to the 3DS’s camera.

The company announcement came just after a month after Nintendo slashed the price of the 3DS by up to 40% due to weak sales. Shares in Nintendo slipped more than 5 percent before the event as investors’ expectations fell short about the company’s long term policy.

The company hopes all these offerings will boost its sales and its newest offering, the upcoming Wii-U, the combination of tablet and a gaming console that offers motion-sensing will further add new revenues to its kitty.

Sony, one of its competitors, is already offering mobile gaming with their Xperia PLAY. Sony’s other offering PlayStation Vita (Originally called the NGP, Next-Generation Gaming Portable) is expected to hit the market by end of this year. PS Vita is capable of playing Android app games and will give a tough competition to Nintendo.

Nintendo is relying on new 3D model to revive profits. Although the sales of the 3DS jumped after the price cut, it will face renewed competition from motion-sensing gaming console devices from Sony and Microsoft. It looks like the new gaming and software portfolio may help the fortunes of the 3DS.


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