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Reggie - Can't compare DS to 3DS launch, Nintendo made sure 3DS wouldn't sell out, no production line worries in Japan

by rawmeatcowboy
14 April 2011
GN Version 3.1

A portion of a USA Today interview with Reggie Fils-Aime…

USA: Is it fair to compare the launch of the Nintendo 3DS and the Nintendo DS?

RFA: It really is apples and oranges. When we launched DS we launched going right into the Thanksgiving week (in 2004). From a pure timing seasonality, you are not going to be able to compare the two launches. We are going to be continuing to sell DS and that platform is going to continue to build on its legacy of the best-selling hardware system ever in the US. I would love to have the Nintendo 3DS eclipse that, but this is a new platform that we have just given birth to. I would love to have ongoing comparisons to the DS business because that would certainly mean we are doing a good job growing the Nintendo 3DS business.

USA: There haven’t been sellouts of 3DS? Are you purposefully underpromoting it?

RFA: I would characterize it as a launch where we learned significant lessons from the launch of Wii and we made sure to have not only ample supply in the marketplace, but we staged supply so it would not sell out. We had product going direct to store and we also had product in retailers (distribution centers), so they could easily replenish when they had stores running low on inventory. That strategy is why you didn’t see massive sellouts on Nintendo 3DS. Obviously, a sell-through of 400,000 units in one week is exceptional. And the fact that we achieved that without people being worried about massive stockouts and shortages just underscored how we properly executed our supply chain.

USA: Are there any foreseeable concerns about impacts on 3DS manufacturing with the catastrophes that have hit Japan?

RFA: At this point, we can say that there are no negative repercussions to our supply chain from the tragedies in Japan. But as you know it’s an evolving situation and it is something we continue to review very closely and attempt to manage as small an impact on our business as possible.

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