What is my original DS is not a 2DS? What is my original Xbox if not an Xbox One? What the heck is a Wii U if not a special edition Wii, or some crazy Sega add-on?
Oh Nintendo, ya big doofs!
On 08/28/2013 at 01:56 PM by Jon Lewis See More From This User » |
For those who don't know, I work part time at Toys R Us. Every now and then I get the chance to work in the Electronics Dept and while I enjoy selling games, it can be frustrating. This is because many consumers have no idea what they want, and you have to explain everything to them so they can make a smart purchace.
I don't mind doing this in most cases - I enjoy selling video games much more than toys and baby items - but one extremely annoying part of retail is brand confusion. Parents get so confused about what to buy because there are so many options. Sure, those options are great in the grand scheme of things, but I always find myself having to explain some things to parents. Things like : Why does the 3DS play DS games, but not the other way around? And Why don't they make Mario on Playstation? Stuff like that. It's frustrating, but especially with the handhelds, since in most cases, they are the same device with small feature additions (or reductions).
So today's announcment of the Nintendo 2D's has good intent, but overall frustrates me as a retail salesman. I can already imagine all of the parents coming in, looking for 2DS games only to find that it's a scaled down version of the 3DS. Some parents actually go as far as to talk down about the product because their young kids keep badgering them for the newest tech, and the parents often feel obligated to buy the newest stuff, even though they don't need it.
I know that I'll have to answer all of these questions, and correct my co-workers that don't understand but overall, I feel Nintendo really needs to work on its presentation of its products. It's becoming more and more confusing for the average consumer with their products lately. I've had to explain to way too many people that the Wii U is something brand new, not just a new Wii Controller.
I'm not looking forward to Black Friday (or this retail holiday) at all! (Let me be clear though, as a consumer I'm very excited, but as an employee of Toys R Us, not so much.)
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