Nintendo Gets Desperate, Slashes 3DS Price

Nintendo has had a rough couple of months. Its Wii home console is effectively dead, long abandoned by third party developers of any worth. The Wii’s replacement, the Wii U, is a long way out from release and still needs many questions answered to become appealing for consumers. Finally, Nintendo’s experimental sequel to the incredibly successful DS handheld, the 3DS, had a disappointing launch in most markets.

Now, in a desperate attempt to increase sales, Nintendo has dropped the price of their new handheld by $80, only four months after release. Originally released at $250, the 3DS was Nintendo’s most expensive handheld ever, matching the Wii’s launch price and dwarfing its current ticket price of $149. A lot of consumers, including myself, felt that was a lot to ask for a product with questionable 3D and an anemic launch catalog. Even after the launch of the 3DS remake of Ocarina of Time, I’ve had a hard time justifying this price tag. But this is a pretty staggering price drop that only shows how poorly the 3DS is selling. Most game systems see price drops a year after launch and even then only dips of fifty or so dollars.

So the question is, will consumers bite at $170? Maybe. At $170 I could now consider the 3DS if good software arrives, but that day is still off. The 3DS needs stronger games from third parties in order to compete. After this holiday season we may see that needed strength return but until then I can only sit and wait. I sold my DS Lite back in 2008 because I found myself never using it. Since then, the iPhone has reintroduced me to mobile gaming and having a high quality dedicated machine is something I would love, if the software was there.

For those of you who dropped the full $250, luck for you Nintendo is aware of your woes. You are now a Nintendo Ambassador — part of a new rewards program that recognizes you as an early adopter and entitles you to 20 free NES and Gameboy games from the 3DS eShop. It’s a good consolation I must admit.

Nintendo needs a win. The 3DS’s dwindled sales and desperate price drop are evidence of that sad fact.

Finally Video Games Have Been Legitimized

Yesterday may go down in history as the single most important day for acceptance of the video game industry since the inception of the ESRB.  Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court struck down a proposed California ban on selling games deemed “inappropriate” for minors by a 7-2 vote.  The decision is not only a great victory for 1st amendment defenders and opponents of so called “decency laws” that impose moral control 0n the populace, but this is also a major victory for the video game industry.  The Justices have come out completely legitimizing the medium of video games as one on par with movies, books, and comics.

For decades the industry has struggled with being accepted by the larger world as a significant contributor to the arts and sciences in the vain of film and literature.  First, video games were a novelty – glorified tech demos of the rising power of computer power.  Then they became toys – distractions for kids with a lot of time on their hands (and a lot of quarters).  Soon video games were a threat – “Nintendo thumb” became an entry in orthopedic text books and violence in games made them seem like a bad influence on children.  The industry has struggled to emerge from that stage for over a decade.  Now, we have a legal backing.

Justice Scalia, of all people, wrote for the majority in the case.  His most significant argument is worth quoting in full as Scalia places video games in the exact same protected space as books and films:

 Like the protected books, plays, and movies that preceded them, video games communicate ideas-and even social messages-through many familiar literary devices (such as characters, dialogue, plot, and music) and through features distinctive to the medium (such as the player’s interaction with the virtual world). That suffices to confer First Amendment protection. Under our Constitution, “esthetic and moral judgments about art and literature . . . are for the individual to make, not for the Government to decree, even with the mandate or approval of a majority.

What’s amazing about the wording of this defense is the credence Justice Scalia gives to video games.  He completely acknowledges that the medium is capable of conveying ideas and messages through the same systems as film and literature.  Yet he goes one step further by acknowledging that the use of interactivity allows games to exceed other media in conveying messages.

That distinction is paramount in the growing debate over video games.  While some fear that the level of interactivity in games means that gamers are practically performing the violent acts in the game, others believe that this interactivity simply means that gamers feel more connected to the story and message of the game.  And games can and do have messages, let’s be clear.  This industry is evolving quickly towards one of maturity.  Grand Theft Auto for example has evolved from a game just about stealing cars and shooting into a thoughtful, deeply narrative game that makes striking commentary on our society.

This has been a huge win for the game industry and free speech.  Video games now have legal proof of respect while free speech in general has been defended against the onslaught of moral police that proclaim themselves the gate keepers to our entertainment, content, and interactions.

Here Comes the Boom! Sony Drops the Next PSP

After the disaster of Sony’s early commercials (oh God…. that baby still haunts my dreams), Sony finally scrapped the old ad campaign in favor of fast-paced music by Saliva, actual gameplay, and most of all: making the PS3 seem powerful. All of it worked and those commercials had a powerful effect on me, mostly because they were vastly better than Sony’s starter commercials.  “Here comes the boom!” emphasized that power, raw performance and unparalleled potential was bursting from the console.  It was something “had to be tamed” in order to channel that great power for gamers.  It was affective.

And while Sony’s PS3 has seen a resurgence in the US and Japan, the PSP has remained a conundrum.  While incredibly powerful for 2005, the PSP was plagued with missteps: a less-than-desirable selection of quality software, the ill-choice of being the launch platform for Sony’s doomed UMD, and an attempted download-only relaunch with the PSPGo.  Despite these stumbles, the PSP has been a quality handheld for the past 5 years, playing second fiddle only to Nintendo’s freakishly successful DS.  Still, the PSP has been the first handheld to actually give Nintendo a run for its money in the handheld space once dominated by the Gameboy.  Still, where is its “boom”?