If it ain’t selling in Japan, it ain’t selling here.

For those still holding out hope that the regular sized New 3DS will land in Western shores, we’re now all but certain you won’t be getting your hands on those sweet customizable face plates. In June, a Japanese data tracking company called Media Crate counted and presented national video game hardware sales across all of Japan. The data revealed a surprising difference in sales figures between the standard New 3DS and it’s XL counterpart.

While Nintendo performed well overall in Japan, their standard sized New 3DS only accounted for 6.5% of all console sales, a strikingly low number compared to the 29.2% and 24.5% of sales attributed to the New 3DS LL and Wii U, respectively. Many westerners have been vocal that if the smaller version of the New 3DS were made available they would purchase it instead, but the low Japanese sales figures give Nintendo every right to deem the standard system as not worth distributing in other regions.

It’s also important to keep in mind that Japan is Nintendo’s most profitable market. Since Xbox and Playstation both take larger cuts of market share in areas like the U.S. and Canada, the New 3DS is likely to meet sales numbers even lower than Japan’s 6.5%. While it’s easy to view companies like Nintendo as above it all, it’s important to remember that they are still a business, after all, and make decisions in the best interest of sustaining their company. So as much as we may yearn for those rad swappable face plates, if the standard New 3DS ain’t selling in Japan, it’s not going to sell anywhere else.

Do you think Nintendo’s wrong in excluding the smaller console from other markets? If given the choice, which model of New 3DS would you rather buy? Comment and let us know!



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