New Nintendo 3DS XL Launches In U.S., Sells Without Charger

[Guest]

Today, Nintendo released the New Nintendo 3DS XL in the United States, but the company has fumbled the launch somewhat by not including a charger with new units.

New Nintendo 3DS XL Launches In U.S., Sells Without Charger : Read more

 

[FlayerSlayer]

"This works out really well for users who will trade in their old devices towards credit on the new one"

Except that GameStop won't accept a 3DS trade in unless you turn in the charger, too. So even people upgrading will need to buy a new charger.

 

[koss64]

This has got to be the silliest thing Nintendo has done in years.How can you sell a handheld system for $200 and not include a charger just to shave something off the manufacturing cost?Its like walking barefoot because you think the price of shoes are too high.Not everyone has owned a 3DS before Nintendo.

 

[DannyMac]

The only way I would be somewhat okay with this is if the New Nintendo 3DS (also a dumb naming move), was if it used Micro USB. I have those chargers out the wazoo.

 

[qlum]

Considering I could still use the charger from my dsi on my australian import 3ds xl it was not a big deal for me but I can get it why it could be a problem, still the charger I got for my brother's ds light was only € 8,- so really I don't see it as a big deal.

 

[dmb77]

This is just plain stupidity. Nintendo has always been the most creative , accessible , and plain fun of all the systems, but this move makes ZERO sense . So you want to push people to use old used adapters when they can't find one anywhere locally ? Inexcusable blunder .

 

[dstarr3]

Yeah, I don't think there's any way to spin this. This is just dumb.

 

[thundervore]

Bad move on Nintendo. After owning a DS then going to DS Lite then the DSi I threw in the towel.

I am tired of buying the same device all over again just with a new gimmick just to play a handful of new games. Releasing a rehashed device with a new gimmick and removing the charger is just insane for that price.

Honestly if they included a charging cradle that uses micro USB this would not be an issue. But instead they force you to buy an accessory that should have been included.

 

[bluestar2k11]

I see a very easy way to spin this:

They cut costs down on packaging by not including the charger, which isn't a problem at all for 2 reasons:

1: A LOT of people own a DS of some type, and sometimes more then one, and if I'm not mistaken, the entire DS line from the first to this one, uses the same charger. So most people already have one or more.

2: If you need a charger, you'd be paying the same cost in the end anyway to buy it. Nintendo just shaved off the cost of the charger plus a bit extra, from the cost of the 3DS for those who don't need it. Which is likely more then half of anyone who games on handhelds.

People are just raising a fuss because they can't do math, and corporations are just evil entities. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this decision, and it even can save the consumer money.

So why is that an issue for people?
If you need it, you would have to buy it anyway for the exact same cost as buying them in separate boxes, if you didn't need it, you just saved like 15-20$.

 

[Albert Rampo]

this is so freakin stupid its actually funny

 

[burkhartmj]

I see a very easy way to spin this:

They cut costs down on packaging by not including the charger, which isn't a problem at all for 2 reasons:

1: A LOT of people own a DS of some type, and sometimes more then one, and if I'm not mistaken, the entire DS line from the first to this one, uses the same charger. So most people already have one or more.

2: If you need a charger, you'd be paying the same cost in the end anyway to buy it. Nintendo just shaved off the cost of the charger plus a bit extra, from the cost of the 3DS for those who don't need it. Which is likely more then half of anyone who games on handhelds.

People are just raising a fuss because they can't do math, and corporations are just evil entities. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this decision, and it even can save the consumer money.

So why is that an issue for people?
If you need it, you would have to buy it anyway for the exact same cost as buying them in separate boxes, if you didn't need it, you just saved like 15-20$.

1: The DS and DS Lite use a different charger that looks similar to a Micro-USB but isn't. The current charger port was introduced with the DSi. I imagine a lot of people skipped the DSi, and if they haven't gotten a 3DS yet then they indeed have no charger lying around for this. On top of that, as many have pointed out, unless you just like having multiple redundant consoles lying around, trade-ins usually require including the charger.

2: You don't pay the same cost. The overhead of something being sold separately on top of the separate profit margin takes a charger that is probably 2-3 dollars to make up to $10-20 at retail. Including it wouldn't hurt Nintendo's bottom line at all, not including hurts consumers plenty.

I'm not getting this either way [was cheated out of the non-XL N3DS] so I'm not super invested in the situation, but I'm not sure how anyone could possibly defend such a cheapskate move on Nintendo's part.

 

[bluestar2k11]

I didn't remember that. It's been a long time since I had either of those. and I never had the first generation DS. I just remember all my systems looked the same to me. But memory falters sometimes.

Not everyone trades in their system though, most might, but not all, and sure, selling to gamestop might require the charger, that isn't a requirement for selling on ebay or amazon to get higher cut of the value then gamestop offers, which, as I hear, more people are tending to do because they're sick of only getting a 1/3rd of the systems value.

I just recently bought a 360 to replace my old dead one, not every system even listed the controllers, hell some don't even have power cables. I saw a handheld psp that didn't even include the battery. Things aren't the same for online personal sales as they are for retailers.

But Yeah... we pay the same cost. Nintendo doesn't, but I never said they did. I just said we do, and that's the truth. Had Nintendo included it, the system would likely be 219.99$. So yeah. You pay the same, maybe a bit less depending on shipping, taxes etc... or if you even need the charger. So there's plenty of space to actually save the consumer, people just have to stop and see the reality of it.

Which nobody wants to do. Gamers are notorious for labeling companies the devil when they may not be. Just look at EA (Though yeah, they kind of do suck). Named worst company in the US by gamers. Yet comcast makes it by just fine and everyone (gamer or not) hates them.

 

[SteelCity1981]

so a few more extra buttons a better 3D display and a bump in clock speed yields a 200 dollar price tag over the older 3DS? yeah no thank you, this reminds me of the DSi all over again....

 

[cbfelterbush]

The 3DS launched at $249.99 the New 3DS is Launching at $199.99, the 3DS had the charger the New 3DS doesn't, it gives you the ability to save $50 of the release price. This seems to me like a good thing.

Some of you must be very poor at basic math. If you need on, buy it total $215 if you don't great save some money. I don' t need four chargers, am just giving the old 3DS to the munchkin. I like the option, I like saving $50 on launch.

-CB

 

[dstarr3]

Products should include everything needed to operate them. End of.

 

[dark_lord69]

"Nintendo plans to sell the New Nintendo 3DS XL without a charger"
Wow... just wow..
Nintendo's stupidity never ceases to amaze me.

They've been making poor choices ever since they decided that the Nintendo 64 was going to be cartridge based. Oh, and the fact that it was called the Nintendo 64 instead of the much cooler name.. The Ultra 64.

Also, I've gotta bring up that this is the same company that said no one wants to play multi-player games online.

They should put me in charge before that whole company goes down in flames... I know what the future of gaming is, they have the money, the technology but not the leadership to take the company forward... At this point I really wish they would just go the way of Sega and make games.

 

[synphul]

At the very least they should have different options (just about every company has done this in the past). A lite version without the charger for those who don't need it and a complete set for those who do. Leaving the customer to find their own parts to make a high priced toy functional is just poor planning. Especially since as many pointed out, the charger should only cost around $10 but is having the price inflated by several other outlets most of which don't even have it in stock. I would expect this for a legacy device that's been replaced by an updated model, not for the latest model.

Sad to see a company that was on top of it's game in the 80's turn into such an epic fail through the years. I'm not sure what's so hard about multiple versions, they sell gaming systems as basic or deluxe sets - one with a console and 1 controller, another version with a console, 2 controllers and game packs or something similar. Nintendo themselves were doing that going clear back to the 8bit nes.

It's obvious the company started cheaping out back when they first released the gameboy. Everyone else, sega's gamegear, atari's lynx and turboexpress were in color and not sure about the turboexpress but the lynx and gamegear were both 16bit backlit color screens while the gameboy was still plodding along in 8bit monchrome lcd. Considering the latest wii vs xbox one and ps4, it seems they're still lagging behind. It's this mentality that leads them to send out incomplete gaming units.

Some may think it's no issue, would people be happy getting an xbox one or ps4 with critical parts like the power adapter missing? Not so much, this isn't any different.

 

[rawoysters]

I bought a car today. It runs great, but it came without wheels.

 

[dmb77]

Folks pointing out the poor math skills aren't seeing the real problem. If I go to a place to buy a new 3ds and they don't have the chargers in stock, I'm faced with having to wait until I find one to use it. It may be as simple as stopping by another retailer on the way home , or a frustrating situation of every local store being out of stock and having to order one online. Furthermore, these companies very well may lose money on the consoles themselves, but chargers in general are cheap on their end. Like rarely over a couple bucks kinda cheap. No excuse to omit that. Leave the stupid gimmicks out of the box like those silly cards that come with it or whatever. Or better yet, leave out the microSD card. It's not like those things are hard to come by and would cut costs from the system far more effectively than the second most important thing.

 

[NightshadeRC]

Yes the lack of charger thing is dumb but the console itself is excellent, I already had a 3ds and didn't use the 3d very much so I was sceptical of any benefits of the new system. That was until my wife got one. This isn't a small jump in 3d, it really is the next generation of it. No phasing in and out means it can be comfortably played for hours. The depth it can generate is also substantially better.

They really should have marketed this as a brand new console a lot better than they did. It is the Wii U all over again

 

[salimbest83]

is it that hard (for corporation ) to make the charger port use standard micro usb?

 

[salimbest83]

Is it that hard (for corporation) to use the standard micro usb port as a charging port? and obviously can use all of the phone charger laying around.

 

[gopher1369]

"Nintendo plans to sell the New Nintendo 3DS XL without a charger"

Welcome to the rest of the world, US. Nintendo haven't sold their 3DSs with a charger for years. This is from 2012:



Iwata -
According to the original specifications, if you were playing while charging, you were surpassing the capacity of the existing AC adapter. For that reason, there was a time that, you thought you might have to prepare a special version.

Koshiishi -
Yeah. But later on, through cooperation with the manufacturer, we were able to get by with the existing adapter. We also discussed cost and whether we needed to include the charging cradle. And you suggested not including the AC adapter.

Iwata - That's right.

Koshiishi -
We worried over it, but during that time, all the groups within the company naturally shared a desire to separate what was absolutely necessary and what wasn't. In the end, we decided that it was best to sell the AC adapter and the charging cradle separately.

Iwata -
About the AC adapter, this is the fourth of this type since the Nintendo DSi13 system, so I think many people have the previous AC adapters. That being the case, we thought we should make it easier, even if just a little, to buy the system. However, you have to have the stores notify shoppers that this product doesn't come with an AC adapter, so if you don't already have one, you have to buy it separately. This project required the sales division to be thorough on that point as well.

Koshiishi -
That's right. I was relieved that everyone on the staff understood that we were saying to the players, "We won't make you pay for something you don't need."

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=38614.0

 

[gopher1369]

Deleted: accidental double post

 

[DeadRam]

Nintendo is like Blackberry. They are out of touch with consumers and haven't had an innovative product in years. They keep releasing the same stuff. NintenFail