Nintendo 3DS 'will not outsell its ancestor'
Monday, April 11, 2011 4:40 PM
The Nintendo 3DS is set for strong sales over the coming year, according to electronics industry analyst iSuppli.
However, the firm's forecast predicts that the unit shipments seen will not manage to exceed those achieved by the handheld console's ancestor, the Nintendo DS.
Over the first four years of their release, the DS and DS Lite managed to reach 91 million unit sales.
The Nintendo 3DS, however, is expected to achieve 70 million sales by 2015 - 77 per cent of its ancestors' success.
According to iSuppli, the reason for this is the level of competition that now exists in the handheld gaming sector from form factors like the iPhone, iPod and tablet systems including the iPad.
Piers Harding Rolls, lead games analyst at IHS, which acquired iSuppli in November 2010, says the portability of the 3DS is an important characteristic in the US market.
Nintendo is promoting the console as a take-anywhere device for gamers in North America, he notes.