Nintendo Says Old DS Will Not Be Dropped
When the Gameboy Advance SP replaced the old Gameboy Advance back in 2003, Nintendo decided to phase out the older model. Alas, we would not have been surprised if the same announcement had been made regarding the old DS, which has become largely obsolete in light of the now worldwide availability of the DS Lite. But no, this time Nintendo went for the other direction.
A Nintendo spokesperson said that Nintendo is “still committed to the old DS as long as there’s demand”, pointing to the larger variety of colors with the old DS. “Don’t forget that the Pink and Blue DS units are only available in the old model, which account for a large percentage of our sales to girls”.
The spokesperson also claimed that sales of the old DS have been largely unaffected by the launch of the DS Lite inside as well as outside Japan. While that statement remained true during the 30-40k mark in the run up to Lite’s launch, everything has changed recently. In Japan, DS Lites continue to sell like hotcakes, leaving the old model in the dust.
Now the Western market might face the same situation soon: In the UK, the Lite costs only £10 more than it’s predecessor. If Nintendo doesn’t introduce some sort of price drop for it, store owners expect most people to go for the Lite.
Then again, I myself don’t see any other reasons to prefer the ugliness of the classic DS over the Lite, even if it’s pink.
So don’t say goodbye to the old grey pal just yet – we might continue to stumble upon it in the coming months or even years. Kudos to those reminding us where the DS mania all started by buying the old model.
Via Games Industry
When the Gameboy Advance SP replaced the old Gameboy Advance back in 2003, Nintendo decided to phase out the older model. Alas, we would not have been surprised if the same announcement had been made regarding the old DS, which has become largely obsolete in light of the now worldwide availability of the DS Lite. But no, this time Nintendo went for the other direction.
A Nintendo spokesperson said that Nintendo is “still committed to the old DS as long as there’s demand”, pointing to the larger variety of colors with the old DS. “Don’t forget that the Pink and Blue DS units are only available in the old model, which account for a large percentage of our sales to girls”.
The spokesperson also claimed that sales of the old DS have been largely unaffected by the launch of the DS Lite inside as well as outside Japan. While that statement remained true during the 30-40k mark in the run up to Lite’s launch, everything has changed recently. In Japan, DS Lites continue to sell like hotcakes, leaving the old model in the dust.
Now the Western market might face the same situation soon: In the UK, the Lite costs only £10 more than it’s predecessor. If Nintendo doesn’t introduce some sort of price drop for it, store owners expect most people to go for the Lite.
Then again, I myself don’t see any other reasons to prefer the ugliness of the classic DS over the Lite, even if it’s pink.
So don’t say goodbye to the old grey pal just yet – we might continue to stumble upon it in the coming months or even years. Kudos to those reminding us where the DS mania all started by buying the old model.
Via Games Industry
