Nintendo DS sells a lot

DS News | 10m in Europe, it says here.

If you still haven't heard by now, get this: Nintendo's DS handheld is pretty damn popular. To advertise this fact, Nintendo has today thrown a press release our way to tell us that the little handheld that could has now sold - that's sold, not shipped - ten million units in Europe. In time-honoured fashion, someone from Ninty was on hand to tell us why this was Really Ace.

“This landmark figure of 10 million Nintendo DS gamers cements the console’s position as undisputed leader of the handheld market," said Nintendo of Europe marketing bod Laurent Fischer, speaking from a private jet made entirely of gold. "It's brought gaming to a whole new audience - something that was unimaginable a few years ago! The innovative Nintendo DS is now helping to shape the whole market with sales of the Nintendo DS console and games being the main drivers behind recent market growth all across Europe.”

Thanks Laurent. And credit where it's due - it feels slightly absurd now to recall there was a time when everyone was queuing up to take potshots at the handheld.

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41 Comments

ugh the boot

5 years ago

I still think the machine's crap in comparison. Also I don't see how it's shaping the market....I don't really see anything different happening except in the Nintendo corner.....so Nintendo's market maybe cuz all I see coming out of them lately has been games for mum, gran and sis....not me.

Flame Shield +1000 equipped.

renegadesx

5 years ago

ugh the boot wrote

I still think the machine's crap in comparison.

Flame Shield +1000 equipped.

Yeah well your an idiot

ugh the boot

5 years ago

Yea well so are you then.

And it's "you're" smartass.

LeonJ

5 years ago

ugh the boot wrote

Ha, I'm not a fan of the way you write of the DS as a crap machine Ugh, I mean your personal tastes don't match that of Nintendo in general to start with. I harbour similar feeling towards the PSP where I have been compelled to buy no more then 4 games for. Frankly, the DS success is hardly surprising at all.

DS will become a monster in the next year, with all the Japanese developers getting sqaurely behind it, I can't see how Sony can pull it back.

admeister

5 years ago

leonmc wrote

DS will become a monster in the next year, with all the Japanese developers getting sqaurely behind it, I can't see how Sony can pull it back.

Agreed. Now tat a clear winner (or at least leader) has been established in the DS, almost every developer will support it.

Ugh: You may think that DS is crap, but the stats say different.

stevolution

5 years ago

Apart from the Pokemon series I've never really got into the whole handheld gaming experience but I absolutely love my DS so this doesn't surprise me much.

Gizmocreative

5 years ago

I have both consoles and I'd have to say, I dont favour either of them, there was a time when I did favour each of them, but I just carrry both wherever I go on the weekends and if I feel like a game of lumines or a bit of a battle in popolocrois, its the psps or if new smb or trauma centre is what i feel like, then its the ds. I think it all depends on what you feel like playing at the time.

Gizmocreative

5 years ago

on a side note, I definitely think its the price and the demofgraphic that puts the ds on top.

IT is affordable, although I think the psp is coming close to it in price now (not including the extras you have to buy anyway, ie. memory stick). The games arent too different in price, but I think the portable market is definitley mor popular for the younger agge groups. PArents can take their kids anywhere as long as they have the ds to entertain them.

ugh the boot

5 years ago

^ Basically the single most important factor in the whole argument. Price point! Like I said in another thread....just because something is cheap and sells more than something similar which is more expensive hardly means it's better.

leonmc wrote

Yea well i'm not really on here to make friends or anything but I appreciate you articulating a post to explain your reasons (unlike "yea but you're just a potato head" etc). Quite honestly my tastes did match Nintendo's untill they brought out the DS. Unfortunately my tastes aren't the same as girls, grans and mums which is who Nintendo mainly cater for now. Why is it i'm all of a sudden not interested in Nintendo's console when last gen they were my favourite? It's because Nintendo have changed.....not me!

And I stand by the fact that I said it's crap in comparison (to the psp), which is exactly what it is. It's success doesn't dictate it's capabilities and never did I say that.

Edit: And as Obs has stated below....

ObsoletE

5 years ago

admeister wrote

Ugh: You may think that DS is crap, but the stats say different.

stats != quality.

Adam Sandler films sell tickets by the truckloads, are they good?

case closed.

ugh the boot

5 years ago

I do appreciate that Nintendo have made gaming a little less 'geeky' because it has become a little more commercial/mainstream because of it....but other than effecting the image of me as a gamer it hasn't done much other than cloud the market with useless gimmicky games imo. A majority of these games that are being bought by mums, grans and gals are actually the kinds of games that least interest me....and Nintendo haven't been known too much for games like this in the past. Sure there has been a Mario Paint here and there but stuff like Brain Training & Nintendogs really aren't games for someone who has been shooting stuff for 20+ years! I have fond memories of Double Dragon, Contra, Life Force Salamander, Megaman and Kid Icarus when I think of Nintendo....not of sh!t like Mario Party 8, Nintendogs & Cooking Mama.

I don't want Nintendo to go bankrupt or for the DS to fail....I just don't want people thinking the Psp is a failure because it hasn't sold as many as the DS. On the contrary....I think Sony's first foray into the handheld market was absolutely massive imo and funnily enough they're the ones that are providing me with the classic gaming fix I desire on the handhelds (ultimate ghosts and goblins, gradius collection, megaman X and remake and soon Earthworm Jim). Mario, Zelda and Metroid are the only reasons I still bother with Nintendo. They've stuffed up the Donkey Kong and Starfox franchises and Castlevania can be and really should be done on Sony's platform.

ObsoletE

5 years ago

ugh the boot wrote

I don't want Nintendo to go bankrupt or for the DS to fail....I just don't want people thinking the Psp is a failure because it hasn't sold as many as the DS. On the contrary....I think Sony's first foray into the handheld market was absolutely massive imo.

that's essentially how i feel too.

i do think Sony made some mistakes, but for their first attempt, it was/is damn good.

i also don't think a PSP-Lite is needed. PSP2, for sure, but what, exactly, is there to change in order to make a PSP-Lite/PSPone?

probably not the place to ask, since this is supposed to be a DS thread.

ugh the boot

5 years ago

Sorry I made quite a few amendments to my last post.

But I completely agree with you Obs, I too don't think the Psp needs a redesign and that Sony should definately continue in the handheld market.

LeonJ

5 years ago

ugh the boot wrote

Sorry I made quite a few amendments to my last post.

But I completely agree with you Obs, I too don't think the Psp needs a redesign and that Sony should definately continue in the handheld market.

Agreed, they need to address the issues and bring it into line with the PS3.

renegadesx

5 years ago

ugh the boot wrote

Sorry I made quite a few amendments to my last post.

But I completely agree with you Obs, I too don't think the Psp needs a redesign and that Sony should definately continue in the handheld market.

I think they need to go back to square one. Here are my points

* Redesign the system, it is big and clunky
* Extend battery life, it is terrible
* Internal memory, memory cards to me have always been a terrible idea, especially on a handheld
* Try to convince 3rd partys to stop making stupid ports of successful AND crap PS2 games and actually release more content suitable for a handheld.
* Reduce the cost.

They are 5 areas where the PSP is doing really poorly where the DS is preforming well.

Even if Sony were to fix all of these things, there is one more obstacle, momentum, the DS and Wii have it, the PS3 and the PSP do not. I think the PS3 will be doing really well in 2009-2010 but the momentum for the handhelds is in the DS favor and the gap between them will continue to grow

LeonJ

5 years ago

renegadesx wrote

ugh the boot wrote

Sorry I made quite a few amendments to my last post.

But I completely agree with you Obs, I too don't think the Psp needs a redesign and that Sony should definately continue in the handheld market.

You make some good points. The worst thing about the PSP for me is load times. They are shocking.

I would like to see all your points above addressed with a download service via the PS3, so you can simply log on and buy PSP games ie not PS1 ports (and synch up, ie keeps your save data on the PS3 too) and d'load straight to your PSP. Be great to have say 4 games on your PSP at once with no load times.

And of course the BR coming with mini-movies idea. Which is plain awesomeness.

I'll slape down another $500 for this version if/when it is coming.

ObsoletE

5 years ago

renegadesx wrote

* Redesign the system, it is big and clunky

matter of opinion. i quite like the look/feel/size of the unit.
and anyway, i'm asking HOW you would plan to make the PSP smaller. you can't say "make it smaller by making it less big and clunky"

renegadesx wrote

* Extend battery life, it is terrible

agreed, but not something that requires a total re-design of the system, just a new battery pack.

renegadesx wrote

* Internal memory, memory cards to me have always been a terrible idea, especially on a handheld

seems somewhat counter-intuitive to your first point. make it smaller, or add more to it, can't really have both.
personally though, i prefer removeable memory, as i can then expand what i have by buying another memory stick/card without deleting everything on the memory i've got.
actually, i'd prefer both, some internal, and a memory card slot, but then if you want to reduce the size, this isn't going to help there either.

renegadesx wrote

* Try to convince 3rd partys to stop making stupid ports of successful AND crap PS2 games and actually release more content suitable for a handheld.

this, i agree with. there are some very good games on the PSP with portability in mind, but then there are also some games (some of which are fantastic as games)that really aren't suited to a handheld unit.
but then, wtf does this have to do with re-designing the PSP into a PSP-Lite?

renegadesx wrote

* Reduce the cost.

same could be said of the $200 DS-Lite.
and again: wtf does this have to do with re-designing the PSP into a PSP-Lite?

ugh the boot

5 years ago

Some good points renegadesx and leonmc:

I don't think the system is clunky but the Ds-Lite is much more portable. You can stick the ds-lite in your pocket because of the fold design whereas psp you don't really wanna do this without a case because the screen is exposed and once you put the psp in a case it is no longer pocket worthy. So I don't mind the system design....it's just the portability for a pocket aspect. I mean seriously how many of you carry your ds in your pocket anyways? If there is a significant amount, then i'll agree but as far as I know most people just chuck the psp or ds into their bags and pull it out whenever it's needed. So imo I don't think the Psp is too big and clunky but the ds-lite is definately sleeker and smaller in comparison.

Battery life on Psp SUX HARD! No argument from me there. However this does stem a lot from the fact that most of that seems to get used up when it's using the UMD drive....which brings us to the next point......or next 2 points.....

Umds suck compared to the Ds cartridges but I love how you can get ps2 quality fmv so I would miss that. I'd rather have no loading times though so yea umd's can go. Infact all disc based media is the bane of all evil imo, so down with dvd's and cd's if umds are going. So load times and shorter battery life is all because of the umd format.

I think the Psp's support of Memory Sticks is awesome and is actually something I like. It would've been great if the machine had some internal memory for basic games saves and stuff but I definately think the memory stick duo is a plus.

The 3rd party stuff is actually worse on the Ds than the Psp (just look up any multiplatform handheld game on gamerankings). If the Psp has more bad ports....still a mute point because you can't fault a system for having more games. I don't bother with ports so quite honestly those sort of games don't mean anything to me let alone ones I use to judge the quality of a system. Imo Psp's software lineup sh!ts all over Ds's but that just comes down to personal preference. I agree but....both consoles need less ports.

Yes Psp and it's software needs to come down in price quite a bit. I do also feel that Ds software is too expensive also. And yes I know everything can be cheaper if you look hard....but i'm talking rrp.

EDIT:

@ the similarity of mine and ob's post.

ObsoletE

5 years ago

ugh the boot wrote

The 3rd party stuff is actually worse on the Ds than the Psp (just look up any multiplatform handheld game on gamerankings).

just wanted to point out that 3rd party != multiplatform.

not all the time anyway.

there are some fantastic 3rd party games on the DS that are unique to the DS. (there are also some crap ones.)

but otherwise, yeah, i can't think of a multiplatform game that has it's best version on the DS.

ugh the boot

5 years ago

Also the 3rd party stuff exclusive stuff is much better and more abundant on the psp imo, stuff like Katamari, Gitaroo Man, GTA, Capcom Classics Collections, Powerstone Collection, Gradius Collection (those last 3 also represent more value).

ObsoletE

5 years ago

now we're getting into opinions, and it really comes down to what you like and what you don't.

i know you have "imo" in your post - just saying.
i also don't know if i agree or not with that, most of what i like on PSP is 3rd Party, whereas most of what i like on DS is first, but there is a crossover on both units.

ugh the boot

5 years ago

Yea I was just comparing 3rd party stuff....exclusive or multiplatform the psp seems to fare better with the 3rd party stuff. But like you said that's mostly all opinion.

theory

5 years ago

ObsoletE wrote

stats != quality.

Adam Sandler films sell tickets by the truckloads, are they good?

Yes.

Case reopened.

Gizmocreative

5 years ago

I have really enjoyed the revival of all the retro games that have made it onto all the systems of late. It is quite funny to see that people talk graphics versus playability. But strider, ghosts and goblins, gradius have done me just fine on the psps whereas the simplicity of brain training, new smb and zoo keeper also contribute to awesome gaming.

I feel that both systems offer simple and complex gameplay. The psp has better graphics in many cases but if the game is bad, there is no point playing it. Systems are good for the games they have on them and I feel that the psp would have a chance of increasing its market share if it made its initial product offering a little more affordable and accessible to first time users and younger people. thats just my 2 cents

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