DS Pre-Orders Stopped as Sales Soar

GamesIndustry.biz has the story that major retailers Gamestop and EBGames are likely going to stop DS Preorders because they're coming so fast that they won't be able to meet demand when the system launches. From the article: "It appears that six games will be available on day one - Nintendo's Super Mario 64 DS, Sega's Feel The Magic XY/XX, Activision's Spider-Man 2, Ubisoft's Asphalt Urban GT and two from EA - Madden NFL 2005 and The Urbz: Sims in the City." Gamespot also has details on the handheld shortage.

Comments

Smart marketing?

[fembots]

I don't know if this is called smart or stupid marketing campaign.

On one hand, it's good to create (even an illusional) high demand on DS, but on the other, it might have missed the golden opportunity to lock consumers in before other rivals starting coming up with new consoles/games.

I read no mention of increased production before the release, they just promised to ship 4 million units by end of March 2005. This could be a good thing, as rushed products are usually bad ideas.

--
Play iCLOD Virtual City Explorer and win Half-Life 2

Re:Smart marketing?

[PornMaster]

What makes you think it's a marketing campaign?

Every product meets up with delays in getting it to market, particularly technically complex products... if you allow more pre-orders than you can full, then - particularly in litigous societies - aren't you opening yourself up for allegations and possibly lawsuits of misrepresentation or fraud?

Hell hath no fury like a mother who's pissed off that the toy she already paid for won't be available until after Christmas.

Sony must be shaking in their boots...

[Anonymous Coward]

The PSP has been riddled with plausible problems since its inception - a high cost to manufacture, attempting to reach out to a market that's not there (not many older people aside from the hardcore gamers play handheld systems), and low battery life. Now, customers have spoken and they want the DS... I don't think there's much room in the marketplace for both systems, maybe Sony should hold off on the PSP till it becomes a bit more plausible and cost-efficient to develop.

With Nintendo...

[poofyhairguy82]

When it comes to Nintendo, you have to wonder- is this shortage on purpose?

Some might blow off this question. Why would a company create a shortage when the other option is to sell more product? Simple answer- it creates consumer excitement. The N64 definatly benefited over its lifespan from having an initial shortage, the free advertisement from news outlets interested in parents fighting over a video game machine probably boosted the longterm sales of N64 by a few million systems (and they needed it- that was their weakest console system to date). Nintento knows that it has to survive not only this Christmas, but the next two or three as well with the same hardware. Next year when there isn't a shortage all that free advertising from the shortage will pay off.

I think that Nintendo is trying to do it in the U.S. at this point (will Japan have a shortage too?). The only reason to avoid the shortage was if they were newcomers in the biz and they needed the numbers from Christmas to pick up developers. But since Nintendo is assumed to always win in that market, they already have developers lined out the door.

Its a win win situation for them. The only losers are gamers who didn't preorder in time (shame on you!).

Re:With Nintendo...

[phoxix]

The N64 definatly benefited over its lifespan from having an initial shortage, the free advertisement from news outlets interested in parents fighting over a video game machine probably boosted the longterm sales of N64 by a few million systems (and they needed it- that was their weakest console system to date).

Bullshit

The Virtual Boy was their weakest console to date. It even caused the legend himself Gunpei Yokoi (inventor of original Game Boy, Metriod, nuff said) to leave Nintendo. And while the N64 did get a beating from PS-X, it had games the PS-X couldn't touch. (Which makes sense when you think about Nintendo as its own best developer.)

Re:With Nintendo...

[dykofone]

Come on, it's obvious: the Virtual Boy wasn't a console. It was a portable, and marketed as such. I mean, it wouldn't even fit in most backpacks, and ran about 2 hours off of 6 AA batteries, and playing it in the car would cause your inner ear to explode through your retina, but other than it was portable by definition.

[Note: I am sad to say I was a huge Virtual Boy fan. I pre-ordered it, and even after forking over the cash and getting one the day of it's release, only to be the only one in line, I still told myself it was the coolest thing in the world. When nobody else at school had one and claimed it was giving children in Japan brain damage, I still said it was the coolest thing in the world. And when I found a fully-functioning in-store demo kiosk sitting on the side of the road waiting for the garbage truck, I threw it in the back of my truck, took it home and continued to call it the coolest thing in the world. I still live in denial that it was an overpriced, headache inducing pile of crap.]

Re:What is a DS?

[PhoenixFlare]

Try actually following the links or spending about 10 seconds searching on Google...Crazy concept, isn't it?

Google for "nintendo DS". 3rd result on the first page -

"USATODAY.com - Nintendo unveiling a new portable ... The Nintendo DS -- short for dual-screen -- will be unveiled Tuesday morning at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo game industry gathering. ... "

Feel the Magic XX/XY???

[mattkime]

Can someone explain to me what Feel the Magic XX/XY is like?

I have my own ideas about feeling the magic with an xx but i'm not sure anyone here will believe me.

Re:Feel the Magic XX/XY???

[SiW]

One day, a rather ordinary guy sees a really beautiful woman on the street. Before he can move to follow her, he finds himself holding a bag of goldfish. Apparently, the goldfish are ingested by a passerby who bumps into our ordinary guy. After helping him regurgitate the fish, the ordinary guy is recruited into a "superperformance group" called the Rub Rabbits. Their pitch to him is that the best way for him to see the woman of his dreams again is to stage an amazing performance for her. And thus begins your adventure.

I'm not making this up.

DS Shortage

[FugiMax]

To those talking about the DS shortage as a marketing strategy, I highly doubt it. Two reasons:

1. The system is launching Nov. 21st here and Dec. 2 in Japan. That's the closest international hardware launch Nintendo has ever done. I assume Japan will get unit priority after launch to make sure there are units on the shelf to combat Sony's PSP which launches Dec 12.

2. Hardware was finalized only a few months ago, which means production has only recently begun. Add to this that each unit has 2 LCD screens (one being a touch screen), and you can see a possible kink in the supply chain here.

So while shortages always generate a frenzy, and thus free marketing in a sense, I think the shortage here is genuine.

Also, it is unclear whether or not this will hurt Nintendo. With PSP on the way sometime next year, having an install base of 4-5 million never hurts. Look at the wonders that did for PS2.

Hmm.

[thdexter]

I wonder if this might prove advantageous for Sony; if the DS sells out (supply can't meet demand), then maybe consumers will settle for the PSP in lieu of a DS.

Smart marketing & hands-on Nintendo DS preview

[Geartest.com]

We spoke with some people in Nintendo's media/analyst relations department as well as a vice president who said that the company is shipping 1 million units for Nov. 21. This shortage doesn't appear to be an illusion.

If demand really is so high that retailers are stopping pre-orders then there may be a problem on the manufacturing side with a possible component shortage, or a simple lack of manufacturing capacity to produce more. There are a limited number of suppliers for some of the components that go into the DS and those suppliers have other customers besides Nintendo.

A few weeks back, we spent a couple of hours in a hands-on preview of the Nintendo DS and previewing/playing Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt, Super Mario 64 DS, Spider-Man 2 DS and the onboard PictoChat instant messaging software.

We also checked out a few more titles yesterday, and will publish first impressions of those games soon.