Iwata gives the 3DS 4 months to "make it"?

Well lets see. Sega was in debt. They needed to make profits. They make $0 for people playing their DreamCast. Who knows if they made anything or if they took a loss on people buying a DreamCast console. They did however make money when people BUY GAMES. So, when people steal games instead, they not only lose out on profits for those but perhaps even lose actual money on the console sold to the pirate who did not buy software to offset the loss of the hardware they bought.

Sega DreamCast did not die solely because of piracy but it certainly didn't help. I don't care if the "third world" latches onto a system because of piracy. That's just an insane argument. You don't get money because a bunch of people like stealing your games. Infact that may be part of why hardware is so expensive in non-primary markets since they may be trying to make up for piracy's impact.

I just don't see how people link piracy with platform success. Playstation 1 was pirated alot yes, but it survived and did very well just because it had alot of support from real customers. Unless a system is dead and no longer has games at retail then piracy still hurts.

 

I think the PSP is hurting 3DS sales in Japan. You might laugh, but the PSP is really popular in Japan right now and there are a lot of good games for it. It is also cheap.

I wonder if Nintendo is basing its success on a global scale or in Japan?

 

I wouldn't go as far as to link Piracy with Platform Success, but it is a decisive factor in hardware sales in emerging markets. I see how Piracy can kill a platform sold at a loss, certainly - but that policy is marketing more than anything.

I'm not advocating for piracy, but I can tell you, for sure, that it moves hardware in emerging markets, and it's probably one of the main factors that moves it. I'm not saying companies should embrace it or anything, man. The Dreamcast example is pretty much the main supporting argument here: if you sell your hardware at a loss and it's easily pirated, you will lose a fuckload of money because of piracy. But the market here was minimal - it was a large hit, but most of what killed Dreamcast was lousy marketing.
Piracy is wrong and it hurts developers, but it is a huge factor for the end consumer down here.

And generally, when a company supports a hardware officially in a given market, it becomes a real platform and it really helps combat piracy in said market. No support = more counterfeiting and smuggling.

 

i was reading a big Sega worker that stated that the did not care about piracy and that it came out when things were already downfalling...

i think it was posted here too.

 

Oh I would imagine they were in trouble before piracy hit. But when you suddenly lose alot of potential revenue it makes things that much worse. I'm not really saying that piracy was DreamCast's death blow but maybe it would have lasted a bit longer and more games could have come out if it hadn't happened.

 

there hasn't been a major console without a touch of piracy in its lifespan though, it's natural and realistic, even expected:/

 

So did it make it? Are sales up? Was it the best portable ever?

 

Doubt we'll know all of that until after the holidays.

 

You're right. DonnyK basically said that much.

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