August 10th, 2011

Reggie Fils-Aime talks about the 3DS price drop

105 Comments

Reggie Fils-Aime

Reggie Fils-Aime, the President of Nintendo of America recently was interviewed about his take on the price drop of the 3DS and you can check out what he had to say after the break.

According to Reggie, the recent measures Nintendo has taken with the 3DS were done in order to assure the 3DS has a strong momentum. He also noted that the reason the 3DS experienced a slowdown was because the first party games were not made available as quickly as they should have been. He also cites the eShop’s June launch as a factor for the 3DS’ slowdown.

Reggie says the support from third parties such as Capcom, Ubisoft, and SEGA is coming, but the 3DS launch affirmed that it is the the duty of Nintendo’s first party titles to drive the install base.

Reggie denied claims that one of the problems the 3DS experienced was consumers having a hard time differentiating the 3DS from the DS family of handhelds. He believes that what Nintendo failed to do was have some way for key demonstrations of the 3DS features available to take home such as Ocarina of Time to demonstrate the 3DS’ graphical and 3D capabilities and the eShop to show off the SpotPass feature.

  • DavidW

    I hope this price drop leads to a lot more people actually buying the 3DS. It’s getting boring practically being the only 3DS owner where I live. I’ve only gotten one street pass hit, and that was just the demo 3DS at Best Buy.

    • https://sites.google.com/site/hybrilynx/ David Hoyle

      hey, what do you know! im david too!

    • Tom

      I agree. I only have 6 hits, but 5 of those have been from being taken to lots of different cities. In France….

    • Ap0c

      I am glad i have had so many hits from other people. :)

      6! or was it 7… :) But then i only been in 1 metro from home to school and back.

    • eXe

      So you’re saying here in Mexico i’ve had more hits on the street pass than you :P it’s been 3 hits from 2 different people. I get the point, we need more people with the 3ds, so the price drop can only be a good thing.

    • James

      My 3DS didn’t react to the demo unit at best buy…

      But I did take it to a downtown carnival in my sity, I probably passed by at least 2000 people, and got only one streetpass hit.

    • http://bit.ly/coolernow123 coolernow123

      I literally had no streetpass hits uhtil i went on vacation to london… 23 streetpass hits.

    • djnforce9

      Same here only I have yet to see anyone in my city with a 3DS. Most just use their phone for music and casual gaming or at most, a regular DS.

    • Nintend0Nerd1000

      Ive only gotten 3 people on street pass. I even took it to Downtown Disney in Orlando and got nobody!

    • Nintend0Nerd1000

      Oh and I forgot to mention the Streetpass people i got were the people I was waiting with for Gamestop to open when the 3DS came out :P

    • MrKoopan

      ive got 16 or 17 from around where I am

    • Kyle

      I went to E3 so I’ve got 105 XD

    • Kyle

      Hey! I’m Kyle too!

    • Glitchmastermario

      I got nothing until I went to a pokemon tournament in New Jersey

    • JeffChaba

      I have 16, but like half of them are from that StreetPass day meetup.

    • Jordan Nunez

      I live in South Carolina and i work at movie theater. Selling tickets in the box, i get about 7-15 street-passes each day i work. I’ve met at least 27 different people via spot-pass. Hopefully it’ll pick up more around the world.

    • Bluu

      Lol Same here

    • Isaac Gemal

      I have plenty of ppl for streetpass

    • ABEzilla

      wow really? I live in chicago and I’ve been getting a crapload recently…

    • Harry Uglow

      I have over 200 StreetPass hits

    • Kaskade64

      yeah i wish more ppl owned a 3ds. but i also like being the only one around here having a 3ds. it feels nice having something different than following a fad like the ipod touch.

  • HT

    second love nintendo and what they are doing

  • SAY WHAT!

    yea i agree the games are coming but theres just not much out there right now.
    the price cut and all the games coming holiday i think are gona be extremely good for nintendo

  • ZeldaCallsLETSGO

    This should give us good Wii U launch titles, at least first-party ones ;)

  • And I am Strong

    I’m more crushed that they totally ignored the Metroid 25th Anniversary… :/

    • THE I

      at least there’ll be a metroid game for the wii u. (half confirmed)

    • street fighter IV

      yes…zelda is really awesome but metroid? Better.

    • why capcom why?!

      I know right?
      They should of atleast made a metriod prime hunters 2 for the 3DS. D:

    • DavidW

      why capcom why knows what he’s talking about

    • metroidhunter08

      me too. the least they could have done was put metroid 2 on the eshop. the possibility that there would be a metroid 3D was the whole reason i got my 3DS! $250 down the drain. hardly anything worth playing on the eshop. and the card games are just remakes. steel diver-radar mission.

  • Yin

    personally i will agree with the reason that the sales result had more or less been influenced by the appearance of the 3ds(at least in my country) cos somehow a ds, to most people, are only for kids. sad.

  • http://www.yamihoshi.nl YamiHoshi.nl

    Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

  • http://www.YouTube.com/khfanlizzie lizzie1238

    Anyone notice that David hasn’t posted anything in a while? Maybe next time he does, he’ll surprise us by telling us he’s in another country lol

    • Johnny

      He posted something on the 9th, today is the 10th.

  • Johnny

    I hardly ever play on my 3DS, I have OoT, The Mercenaries, SSFIV etc. But they’ve all got boring and now there’s no new games to entice me, there’s nothing great on the Wii, Nintendo have gone quite downhill this year and last. I hope they can make a good comeback next year I mean they have KH3D, Revelations, Wii U and all the great games we’re being promised on that so I have high expectations, I hope I’m not let down. Let’s hope the Wii U actually comes through with the goods and doesn’t make us wait months/years until the good stuff starts rolling in.

    • Neoxon

      There’s also Mario Kart 7, Kid Icarus: Uprising (if you’re in North America or Japan) & Super Mario 3D Land at the end of this year to look forward to.

    • Kaizar

      And Rodea the Sky Soldier, and Luigi’s Mansion 2 in 2012.

  • Laurel London

    I feel the same way. Own 6 3DS games, none of them are actually appealing enough to play which is a big shame. I paid 600 euro for my complete bundle…

    • sad person

      lucky!!! I only have lego star wars and it’s horrible! I was saving for OOT but my dad convinced me to get the star wars game(so he could play it)

  • Nintom64

    Im not sure if you know this david, but ign has a list of all the 3ds and wii u games to be released this year:

    http://wii.ign.com/articles/117/1173548p1.html?_cmpid=ign1388

    • James

      Those are just plain Wii games, there are no Wii U games because there are no Wii U’s to play it on…

    • Jmaster720

      Another fail?

    • Belinni

      Wait, Luigi’s Mansion 2 is coming out THIS year?

  • WingedOne

    “…some way for key demonstrations of the 3DS features available to take home such as Ocarina of Time to demonstrate the 3DS’ graphical and 3D capabilities…”

    I don’t entirely understand what Reggie’s trying to say here. Could someone fill me in?

    • Kihaku

      It means – At launch the only game most retailers had in their demo of the 3ds systems were games like SSFIV. Which doesn’t show off the 3D much at all. Especially the AR games.

      I worked at gamestop when the 3DS launched. And I was able to get people to buy a 3DS based off the AR games itself.

      I live in Omaha and I’ve gotten over 50 street passes since launch. :D I also work at the mall lol

    • Anti

      Demos.

    • Sildani

      I think it means that the 3DS needed a “killer app” at launch that could really show off the 3D capabilities, as well as being a top-tier game on its own. Zelda counted as both, AND was a Nintendo game. Street Fighter tried, but fighter aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.

    • Sawgg

      I kinda think he means it was hard to advertise because you can only see the 3D off the device itself and not through like commercials. Also what Slidani said as well.

  • TheREALHousewife

    One thing he never mention was the 3D itself. Demo people played the game which hurt my eyes at first. And then there is the 30 Min for 3D.

  • greeg

    does anyone really like this guy? i hate his face. and he said at e3 they werent worried about there competition and was sure there wasnt goina b a price drop. and its only 3 things y it didnt cell. ppl think of it as a upgraded dsi which its not its alot better. nintendo is tryina take a market sony has under raps, ur not goina get the hardcore audience from sony and with the pricee of 250 for a nintendo console teens ad adults will 80% chance pick a vita for the same price lol. and finally how is zelda the only game to say hey i got this. and 3ds had the worse launch lineup in history. i see ppl post stuff like ppl dont learn from the 3ds never to buy a handheld day one. vita has games coming day one. and most of them are first party games and the move to early next year for it makes the time rayman, sfxt etc right beside the release and all the other titles they are planing a good release. it has LBP MNR WipEout Uncharted Killzone Resistance Little Deviants, Hot Shots Golf, etc, so its not the same and sony has a price reputation anyways and have a console worth the money, and have everything on the console from launch that they are showing off

    • MOZAKI

      amen

    • Jmaster720

      WERES EARTHBOUND WHERES XENOBLADE WERES LAST STORY WERES MOTHER 3 …………………………………MOTHER 3

    • Total911

      Ponies.

    • http://OperationMoogle.wordpress.com/ Brian L.

      And you’re on this website…why?

    • http://nintendo3dsblog.com/photos-of-a-kid-icarus-uprising-float-in-japan Kaizar

      @greeg

      So hate this black guy’s face, because Reggie is 100% black.

      P.S. If this is what you think of every time you see black people, than your a Closet Racist.

  • Rohan

    I have 56 different people on my 3DS with over 180 hits…

    • http://bit.ly/coolernow123 coolernow123

      Lucky!

  • randomguy

    They need to market the thing more. I haven’t seen a 3DS commercial in months.

    • Belinni

      They need to make a fictional spokesperson for Nintendo consoles, sort of like how Old Spice has The Old Spice Man and Sony has the Sony “CEO”. Someone funny, sarcastic but can get the point across on how awesome it is, and then usually do something related to a first party game (Enter a sword fight with a guy dressed like Ganondorf, Get in a race car holding a banana peel, enter a dark room after turning on a vacuum cleaner, etc.)

  • ShaDow

    It sucks but it seems the 3DS is not getting it’s good 3rd party games. I hope it don’t end up like the Wii where only Nintendo and Capcom came with good title after good title. If you check on IGN, gameinformer, or Nintendo power you would see that most games with 9+scores are Nintendo and Capcom games.

  • Exlon

    People TOTALLY have trouble differentiating between the 3DS and the old DS line! People I know are just like “It has 3D, so what? It’s just a DS with 3D.” So they are not aware of the graphical capabilities and all the other awesome little thingies. :/

    • Neoxon

      It’s basically what the DS was to the Game Boy Advance. Strange how people can’t see that.

    • Dae

      I know exactly how you feel :(

    • asapisaiah

      Every time I go to the mall with friends, I go to check out the 3DS demo. They always say that same thing: “What’s so different? It’s just a 3D DS. It’s a f*cking gimmick.” I usually feel like smacking them in the face. If only the f*cking demo let me get to the home menu! (I have tried the L+R+Start+Select/Start+Select+L+R in that order multiple times. The system automatically turns back on the same second you turn it off. It’s bull.)

    • http://OperationMoogle.wordpress.com/ Brian L.

      That’s because they’re too busy playing cute “games” on their smartphones. {sigh}

      If they’d put down their cute imitations of “handheld” games on their iPhones, and pick up a 3DS for themselves, they’d know the major freakin’ difference between a DS and a 3DS.

      But no, everyone’s too busy playing with their virtual touchscreen joysticks on their ever-changing iPhones and Android devices. Those light games simply do not satisfy my greater hunger for REAL games.

      I think this is one instance where I agree with “core” gamers–casual gamers can ruin a product, with too much support or not enough support from them.

  • Sinan

    I only have 1 and thats in America
    I live in Turkey and there is only one person I know who actually owns one.
    Maybe it’s because it costs 800 Turkish Lira

  • peek-a-choo

    I AGREE 100% WITH WHAT HE SAID! Hopefully, the 1st party games are going to be what save the 3DS!

  • Nintend0Nerd1000

    This price drop better get people in. My friend traded his DSiXL for a 3DS (not good), and traded it back because he couldnt play his DSiware. Then he got it again and wasnt happy.

  • Gianni Fiore

    i have one kid in my neighborhood who hs one and my bro just bought one at walmart with the pricedrop yet i payed full price and he’s an ambassador as well as me but still it an’t fair

  • Blah

    we have official dates and names

    Super Mario 3D Land – November 13th

    Mario Kart 7 – December 4th

    • CrimsonalCore

      December 4th? Hell, I’ll be picking that up before Christmas<3 X3

    • Infernite

      Where did this come from?

    • Blah

      mynintendonews

  • asapisaiah

    I’m thinking that they should try releasing 3DS demos on the Nintendo Channel on the Wii. It may get more people to buy games, but for the system itself: maybe have a hold-able, 100% playable demo in major cities such as San Diego, Portland, Seattle, etc. When I say hold-able, I mean where it’s not connected to the box and you can try out every feature on the system.

    • http://3dsforums.com Kiryu

      Release 3DS Demo on 3DS is better idea since we can use 3D capabilities so why not?

  • Infernite

    Don’t we get an apology from him? If I recall, he didn’t get a pay cut. The least he could do is apologize.

    • MrKoopan

      but reggie made our bodies ready, that’s all we’ll ever need

    • Tails the Foxhound

      Why? We didn’t even need the apology from Iwata and Reggie is just Nintedo’s American mouthpiece, and had nothing to do with Nintendo’s price setting or it’s price drop. Not to mention, again, NINTENDO DOESN’T OWE US A FUCKING THING. The apology and the free games are just because Nintendo are cool people, not because we especially deserved/ required them, everything you buy is only worth what you are willing to pay for it, payed full price and regret it? Tough titty.

    • Infernite

      I suppose I said it wrong. I’m still angry at him for Operation Rainfall. With everything Iwata gave us, I was expecting something from Reggie. All I got was this talk about why he did it…infuriating. I have always loved nintendo, but not Reggie.

  • Chris

    I agree with you. Im like the only person at my school whose even heard of the 3DS

    • Chris

      Oh, meant to comment on DavidW’s comment

  • Luigi

    Why does Reggie look like a squirrel in every photo?

    • Infernite

      Are you sure that’s not a chipmunk?

    • Zack

      he has very wide-open eyes haha

  • Zack

    I like “Regie Fils-Amie Talks About Asses” better. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_OS4ii_tSU

  • blog killa

    nintendo needs to look forward instead of backward. revamping old titles and even the gall to “give away” old nes titles is pretty awfull. they need to realize that the first party releases will push systems out the door but with more power under the hood, but the 3ds needs more mature games. an online fps (and not cod, cause its over rated and shitty compaired to battlefield2) would go a long way. Zelda felt like a chore cause I’d already beaten it over 10 years ago, and RE mercs was only fun for a weekend. and Sf4 is really crappy to play online due to little kids jamming on the on screen special moves over and over (Ryu).

  • http://youtube.com/duelist8970 jaxun

    David!
    Did you know, if you hold start or select while a DS game is booting up, it will be smaller,but avoid Nintendo’s blur effect?
    The more you know!

    • uhh

      uhhh..yea it was in one of his videos…good job. :P

  • wonderpills

    What a scary picture of Reggie :o
    He looks like a mean goblin rat havinga mean plan xD

    • http://youtube.com/duelist8970 jaxun

      He looks like his body is ready.

  • Calztchi

    Just randomly, I always go to a major shopping centre near me whenever I can, and I always get at least 3 hits, usually 7 or 8. The 3 hits are from EB Games, GAME and JB Hi-Fi.
    Shopping centres always seem to have demos at various game stores, and other people are usually there StreetPassing as well on the weekends.

    • Calztchi

      Oh yeah, about 70 StreetPass hits so far. :)

  • Nozizaki

    Exactly, have one AAA First Party title at launch and Third Parties will follow. This needs to be applied to Wii U.

  • NubKits

    Why didn’t they release 1 game durring the summer when i have the time to play them?

  • George Tirebiter

    At least he acknowledges they haven’t been doing enough to show people this is a different system and not a DSi-esque “upgrade.”

    I still blame Apple for putting consumers in the “annual version” mindset.

  • metroidhunter08

    the reason it wasnt selling was because they were putting too much emphisis on JUST the 3D. when i first heard of the 3DS i was like: “a 3d ds? i dont care! wheres other m?!” but then i found an article and learned that it did so much more than i thought it would! then i got crushed when i found out that nintendo practically forgot to make games for it. they focused on movies and simple apps. dont get me wrong, thos have thier place, but for a console, games ALWAYS come first. the system also lacked a large number of features, no video camra, low quality camra, missing DSi camra lens types, 3DS sound was just a slightly enhanced DSi sound, flipnote studio’s succeccor is missing and we hardly ever hear updates about these things we were told would be on the system. and worst of all, by the time the real games get here, a new system will be out.

  • muncha maquchey

    Reggie is a PR fuck face. how many games you think that ass hole actually plays a day? My bet is zero. If he did he’d realize Sony is looking to bend him over and fuck him silly. Nintendo is posed to lose a lot more then to gain anything. don’t get me wrong I love my 3ds but im sick of only playing my acekard games on it, due to the lack of a 30+hr game that actually has replay value. Again if you look at the launch line up of the Vita…. nintendo is sucking kinda hard. Its like the N64 all over again. 8 launch titles…..2 worth playing….all with little to no replay value, and a year to wait for anything decent. Sony is got Nintendo in their crosshairs. even their welcome back program was at least real free games (less than 3 years old too). nintendo is giving away ancient software and burning you for $80. Sony just hooked it up, and didnt have to. Reggie still gets paid. Fuck him.

  • Chris

    Can someone answer this for me? iv connected to the eshop multiple times, but iv never gotten a notification that i am on the ambassador list. just want to make sure theres nothing im doing wrong

    • http://nintendo3dsblog.com/photos-of-a-kid-icarus-uprising-float-in-japan Kaizar

      When your in the eShop check where it says NEWS.

  • http://OperationMoogle.wordpress.com/ Brian L.

    Hate Reggie all you want, some of you, but…

    Reggie Fils-Aime >>> Jack Tretton

    But of course…

    A dirty diaper = Jack Tretton

    And I see some people getting on Nintendo’s case about the price drop when he said the Vita wouldn’t cause a price drop. The Vita DIDN’T cause a price drop–fleeting investors and slow sales did.

    At the time of E3 2011, Nintendo was not planning a price drop. They only did the price drop when investors (who know nothing about gaming, truly) decided to take their interests in stock investments elsewhere, panicking too soon about the Wii U. The morons thought it was just only a controller, due to doing no research on the products they invest in, having no true interest in gaming.

    But Nintendo apologized for the unforeseen inconvenience of their new circumstance, and to save the troubled start of the 3DS, the heads of Nintendo all took a pay cut just to do it just to offer a price drop–instead of cutting jobs–so people should get off their backs! They did what MOST other companies would NEVER do that, and you know it.

    I hope Nintendo comes back hard with 3DS next year and make every last one of those money-grubbing suits called investors regret their greedy panic. I hope Wii U and 3DS are kicking total butt by this time next year.

  • Joe Z

    Nintendo should consider dropping their game’s prices. I’m dissuaded to buy OoT at a $40 price tag, especially since I could get 3 or 4 great games off of Steam for the same price.

  • drwill439

    Thanks to the price drop, I probably will get a 3DS. Even though I was waiting for Mega Man Legends 3, I guess Street Fighter and Dead or Alive are cool, too