[by Kevin McGuire, Philidelphia Video Game Examiner]

Nintendo 3DS has failed to live up to the expectations according to an independent report, as interest in the portable 3D gaming device has dropped 27% since last year.

Entertainment research firm Interpret released their Q1 2011 3D Entertainment report and showed that the 3D market for the 3DS paled in comparison to the 3D market for other entertainment.

“The lack of sales for the 3DS does not reflect the overall interest in 3D gaming,” said Michael Cai, Interpret VP of Games and Technology. “Instead, it illustrates that Nintendo put the cart before the horse; that is, they released the hardware without the necessary software to engender robust sales. Our data shows that gamers want the Nintendo franchise games – Super Mario Brothers, Zelda, etc – but without them, the 3DS will continue to flounder.”

The good news for Nintendo is that those core franchises are starting to filter their way on to the 3DS. The 3D port of the classic Nintendo 64 title, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, was released this month and is being well received even if it is not a brand new game. An original Super Mario game will be released on the 3DS during the 2011 holiday season, and when a Mario game is released on a Nintendo system the overall sales tend to swing upward.

At the E3 conference earlier in June Nintendo showcased a strong lineup of future titles for the 3DS. In addition to the Zelda and Mario titles, Nintendo also announced an updated Star Fox game, a Mario Kart addition, a new Kid Icarus title and a sequel to the GameCube’s Luigi’s Mansion. The release of these titles in addition to the already released Zelda title and upcoming Mario title figure to help Nintendo turn around the 3DS outlook.

See the original post here: http://www.examiner.com/video-game-in-philadelphia/report-nintendo-3ds-interest-drops-27