DS pre-orders hit 2 million in Japan - Shares rise 4.5%

[Teasy]

From Nikkei:

OSAKA (Nikkei)--Domestic orders for the Nintendo DS, a portable video game system to be released by Nintendo Co. (7974.TO) on Dec. 2, have reached 2 million, double the firm's initial plan, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported in its Friday morning edition.

The major manufacturer of home-use game machines and software began accepting orders for the DS at volume electronics retailers and convenience stores on Nov. 3.

To deal with the larger-than-expected demand, Nintendo plans to boost output quickly by outsourcing production to three sites in China, up from the current two. Although shipments by the end of the year will likely total slightly more than 1 million, the firm expects to fill the remaining orders at the start of next year.

Nintendo has revised up its worldwide sales projection for the DS for fiscal 2004 to 4 million units from 3.5 million.

With the DS, whose new features include two screens and touch input, the company aims to "expand the market by attracting customers who are not so familiar with" portable game machines, according to President Satoru Iwata.

Orders for the DS are substantially higher than those for Nintendo's current portable, the Game Boy Advance SP, which drew about 1.5 million orders in one month after its release.

For new game consoles, growth in sales immediately after their release is seen as the key barometer of future performance, including software sales. With the Sony Corp. (6758.TO) group's release of a portable gaming device in December expected to add to the competition, Nintendo plans to secure its competitive edge by further expanding orders.

From Bloomberg:

Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Nintendo Co., the world's biggest maker of hand-held game consoles, surged as much as 4.5 percent after the game maker said advance demand for its newest player is outstripping the company's expectations.

Nintendo, based in Kyoto, Japan, has received 2 million orders at home for its DS game machine, double the company's target of 1 million domestic orders, spokesman Ken Toyoda said today in response to a Nikkei English News report.

Sales of hand-held hardware and software accounted for 62 percent of Nintendo's revenue in the business year ended March 31. The company is counting on the DS's two screens and voice recognition to counter a challenge from Sony Corp., which will release its own hand-held player on Dec. 12 in Japan with the ability to play music and movies in addition to video games.

Nintendo's shares were up 490 yen, or 4.1 percent, at 12,590 as of 11.17 a.m. in Osaka, which would be their biggest one-day gain since Sept. 30 when they rose 4.3 percent. The shares rose as much as 540 yen to 12,630 earlier in the day.

The DS goes on sale in the U.S. on Nov. 22 for $149.99 and in Japan Dec. 2 for about 15,000 yen ($140). Sony's PSP, also known as the PlayStation Portable, will reach stores in the U.S. before March 31, Sony has said.

Sony plans to ship 500,000 PSPs in Japan by the end of the year and 3 million worldwide by March 31, the company said Oct. 27 when they announced the PSP's price and the debut date.

Marketing Push

To meet demand for the DS, Nintendo will extend production to a third site in China, Toyoda said.

The maker of the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance players holds 95 percent of the market worldwide for hand-held video-game consoles. Nintendo also makes the GameCube home console, which competes with Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox and Sony's PlayStation 2.

Nintendo's marketing efforts for the DS include television commercials featuring best-selling female pop singer Utada Hikaru, as well as a five-city tour this month to show off the device and some of its functions such as the touch-sensitive screen.

The marketing blitz is designed by Nintendo to hold on to customers ahead of the debut of Sony's PSP PlayStation Portable, which will sell for 19,800 yen in Japan.

 

[jvd]

Heh. And here I was told they had to lower the prices as no one would buy them with the psp coming out so cheap.

Oh well .

 

[London Geezer]

Heh. And here I was told they had to lower the prices as no one would buy them with the psp coming out so cheap.

Oh well .

I thought it was Sony who had to lower the price as no one would buy a PSP with the DS coming out so cheap................

 

[Phil]

Honestly, this comes to no surprise to me. I'm more interested in PSP's inital sales into the first few months until march 2005.

 

[jvd]

Heh. And here I was told they had to lower the prices as no one would buy them with the psp coming out so cheap.

Oh well .

I thought it was Sony who had to lower the price as no one would buy a PSP with the DS coming out so cheap................

YOu can't read can you ?

I said here I was told.


I am the one who said sony had to lower the price and judging by ds preorders they have too.

Since i'm the one who said it , i can't be told now can i

 

[PC-Engine]

Those preorder numbers are pretty sick.

 

[London Geezer]

Heh. And here I was told they had to lower the prices as no one would buy them with the psp coming out so cheap.

Oh well .

I thought it was Sony who had to lower the price as no one would buy a PSP with the DS coming out so cheap................

YOu can't read can you ?

I said here I was told.


I am the one who said sony had to lower the price and judging by ds preorders they have too.

Since i'm the one who said it , i can't be told now can i

Sarcasm, jvd, comes natural to my kind....

 

[Teasy]

Well I've just been told that I might not get a DS on its U.S release day despite the fact that I pre-ordered over a month ago...

Its sold out everywhere, so I'll just have to wait... I'm gutted

 

[Ty]

That's why do what I do, decide to wait since there really isn't any reason other than maybe picto chat (which requires friends to get a DS as well) to rush out and buy one (i.e. no must have games imo since GoldenEye comes out later).

 

[Teasy]

There's every reason to rush out and buy a DS for me and apparently 3-4 million others though

Super Mario 64 DS
Metroid Prime: Hunters - First Hunt
Asphalt: Urban GT
Feel the Magic: XY/XX
Rayman DS
Ridge Racer DS
Spider-Man 2
The Urbz: Sims in the City
Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf
Mr. Driller Drill Spirits
Madden NFL 2005
Ping Pals

Plenty of games there, PictoChat is hardly the best option there surely?

I want Mario 64 DS, Metroid: First Hunt, Asphalt Urban GT, Rayman DS and possibly Spiderman 2 (which looks suprisingly good) out of those release titles. I'm going to be climbing the walls if I don't get a DS around release time.

P.S. Everyone check out this video of Nintendogs:

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/nintendogs.php

 

[jarrod]

Nintendo let a few more US dates slip...

Feb. 14: WarioWareâ„¢ Touched! from Nintendo
March 14: Pokémon Dash from Nintendo
March: Yoshi's Touch & Go from Nintendo
March: Atari Classics from Atari
March: Pac Pix from Namco
Q1: Need for Speed Undergroundâ„¢ 2 from Electronic Arts
Q2: Metroid Prime® Hunters from Nintendo
May: Ultimate Card Gamesâ„¢ from Telegames
June: Ultimate Brain Gamesâ„¢ from Telegames
New titles for Nintendo franchises like Mario Kart, Animal Crossing and Advance Wars remain in development


...also Ignition Entertianment will be releasing Zoo Kepper in the US this December.

 

[Teasy]

Metroid: Hunters using the thumb strap:

http://streamingmovies.ign.com/ds/a...media.gameboy.ign.com/download.html?mu=<URL/>

Any possible problem with holding the system while playing Hunters just went right out of the window..

 

[cthellis42]

Yeah, the thumb strap was definitely a good idea. It might not be as accurate as stylus use (though I imagine that's more a function of "getting used to it") but you should be able to play with the machine held much better, as well as actually being able to hit that shoulder button.

 

[Ty]

There's every reason to rush out and buy a DS for me and apparently 3-4 million others though

/snipped list

Are all of those coming out at launch or a bit later?

Plenty of games there, PictoChat is hardly the best option there surely?

Not for me and the majority of GBA owners. Hunters might be interesting though but I didn't know that it was coming out at launch.

Metroid: Hunters using the thumb strap:

Any possible problem with holding the system while playing Hunters just went right out of the window..

It is much better than before but the first report we read about it said your thumb will get tired. So I'd say, much improved but still somewhat problematic.

Q2: Metroid Prime® Hunters from Nintendo

Eh?

 

[Teasy]

Ty

According to IGN's release list all those games are out 21st of November. Doesn't matter to me much though, Mario 64 DS and First Hunt are enough for me.

Also no control system is perfect, my hand gets tired using a mouse for ages as well. But this is a pretty fantastic control system AFAICS which brings almost PC FPS quality controls to a handheld.

Not for me and the majority of GBA owners.

I don't see Mario 64 DS on GBA, or any of the other games I listed (appart from 2d versions of some of them which aren't the same).

P.S. I'll clear this up since you seem to be a bit confused about it. Metroid Hunters: First Hunt is a demo of the full game and comes packaged with the system. Its a single player level plus 3 multiplayers levels. The full game is released early to mid 2005.

 

[Ty]

Definately no control system is perfect. I think you'll find your thumb getting tired more rapidly than you initially imagine though since it may be stretched out rather far.

IC about "First Hunt" - basically the demo then. If that's enough for you, more power to you. Need to get some of your friends to buy a DS too then the longevity really will kick in.

 

[StefanS]

Also no control system is perfect

Hear, hear! Playing F-Zero on the original GBA left me with cramps in my hands.

 

[Guden Oden]

I'm going to be climbing the walls if I don't get a DS around release time.

PSP still has me salivating far more than DS. Even after redesign the look of the thing is somewhat tacky in comparison, and let's be frank here - it's not exactly screaming of power either. I'm sure I'll buy one, but it won't be right away. Maybe I'll wait for the Game&amp;Watch Dual Screen Retro Edition to hit the streets, would complement my NES special edition GBA SP nicely.

 

[PC-Engine]

Awesome videos there. MP:H looks and moves really well and Nintendogs/PuppyTime is so cute! It'll be cool if you can choose from a selection of puppies to train and give them names then use voice recognition to call them and teach them tricks.

 

[Li Mu Bai]

How many times has the GB line faced technically superior competition, &amp; won? Them being dethroned is akin to the PS3 not being the marketshare leader next-gen. XBX is definitely picking up momentum here in NA, but the rest of the globe is Sonyland. Also, the GBA2 is currently under R&amp;D.