Due to the high flying iOS devices, iPhone, iPod touch, and the iPad, Nintendo has slashed the price of the newly released 3DS from $250 (the amount I paid for) down to $170. I would be pissed if not for the free games I I should be getting from Nintendo for my trouble.
My issues aside, Nintendo is in a world of hurt. As like $324 million of hurt. That's how much Mario and friends lost in the latest financial result. And what I did not realize was that they've been bleeding money for more than a year now.
What happened? Apple. That's what happened. Take your pick. iPhone. iPod touch. The iPad 2. This kind of power hit Nintendo hard as it has sold just over 700K...worldwide!
While Nintendo did address the slow start of the 3DS out of the gate, they still refuse to acknowledge the real issue and danced around the true issue of changes in the mobile market and Apple roadblock.
Certainly new games from 3DS will help things in the second half of the year but Apple isn't sitting still. For the Holidays Season, Apple is expected to refresh its iOS lineup.
What's worse, Apple could be gunning for the console market indirectly with the Apple TV. Airplay allows iOS gamers to through the Apple TV. And if you've seen those HD games on the iPad, you know that the graphics are amazing.
In a couple of months, Apple could be creating another disruption. This time, in console gaming through Apple TV. Nintendo could see further losses.
One additional issue we might want to think about: Vita. Wonder how that's gonna perform.
Source: MSNBC.
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