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Nintendo Holding Back 3DS Software
The question of quality and timely software (and lack thereof) has been one of the issues that may have contributed to the 3DS' initial poor sales. But with the holiday season upon us, Nintendo says that flooding the market with 3DS titles isn't the best strategy.
Speaking at a Q&A after an investors' briefing, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata explained that some unspecified 3DS games were not being released in order to avoid the holiday crush. "[It's] so dense that, if we added any more software, the total sales would not increase," Iwata explained. "Accordingly, we have intentionally delayed the launch of some software titles to early next year."
This kind of strategic thinking regarding when to release a game is common among all companies, and Nintendo is no different. "Video games need to stay fresh," Iwata said, "so it is not practical for us to put them on hold for too long, but we think that some of them may be held for a certain amount of time so that there will be a short interval between when they are completed and when they are launched."
Nintendo will release Super Mario 3D Land on November 13 and Mario Kart 7 on December 4th for the 3DS, with other games such as Kid Icarus: Uprising and Luigi's Mansion 2 waiting in the wings for next year.
Is this just a decision based on the holiday season, or has Nintendo been sitting on releasing other games that could have inspired 3DS owners and potential buyers all along?
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