The Nintendo 3DS is being released today, and everyone expected it would immediately sell out. Those hopes may have been premature, because I went by my local GameStop, and they still had plenty of units left for sale.
I think the reason the 3DS hasn’t sold well yet is because none of the 3DS games available for purchase seem very…good. I mean, from what I hear, the best game they have is a flying sim. Plus, the GameStop I went to has a strict “we won’t let you see what the 3D looks like unless you buy the system” policy, which makes me suspicious that the 3D doesn’t really work all that well.
In Japan, the 3DS sold a lot of units, and their best-selling game was Professor Layton 3DS. See, now that’s a game people will buy. Why don’t we have cool launch titles like that?
Oh, right, because we’re two years behind Japan. For those of you who don’t know about this, check out my handy-dandy recap of the Professor Layton series:
| Game Title | Released in Japan? | Released Elsewhere? |
| 1. Professor Layton and the Curious Village | Yes | Yes |
| 2. Professor Layton Rides a Choo-Choo Train | Yes | Yes |
| 3. Professor Layton Goes Back to the Future | Yes | Yes |
| 4. Professor Layton and the Specter’s Flute | Yes | No |
| 5. Professor Layton RPG | Yes | No |
| 6. The Professor Layton Movie | Yes | Only in the UK |
| 7. Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle (3DS) | Yes | No |
| 8. Professor Layton VS Phoenix Wright | Coming This Year! | Probably Never. |
Right now, the big question outside of Japan is, “When is Game #4 going to be released?” No announcement has been made, except for “eventually.” But as the 3DS marches on, and as the Layton series drags behind, it’s starting to look more and more likely that they’ll just skip over the DS titles and go straight to translating the 3DS game.
There are a few lesser-known games in the series, such as the cell phone game, the other cell phone game, the special edition of the first game, and the really short bonus story for the second game. People are most excited about the first cell phone game, Professor Layton RPG, made by one of the companies responsible for Mother 3. It was so popular in Japan that they bundled it with Game #4. They’re going to do the same thing here…right? Right?
…We’re so not getting Game #4. And Professor Layton VS Phoenix Wright is going to have something horrible in it, like an awkward kiss between Maya and Layton, or Phoenix Wright and Luke becoming drunken hobos together. And the non-Japan release date won’t be until 2013. I’m depressed now.
[Article reprinted from Michael Gray’s blog.]
I think they had a couple of decent launch games. Bust-A-Move Universe & Lego Star Wars are both kinda cool in 3-d. But if they’re already up to the 3d game in Japan, they should stop being so selfish, get their systems in gear, & send us all 3 at once, or 6 months in between. At least I’ll have Capt. Jack Sparrow in May to keep me company while I wait.
P.S. Where do you live? Our local GameStop has had a demo 3DS out since the launch date. The only drawback is they sold the system on preorder basis only.
A wait for a Phoenix Wright game? FOR YOU? Oh no. :/
It is disappointing that a series you know and love will not be available unless you’re willing to shell out 200 bucks for a game that, even brand-new, retails for no more than 60 elsewhere.