Nintendo 3DS Targets Core Gamers, Sony’s PlayStation Portable

By Pavel Alpeyev and Yoshinori Eki

In “Nintendogs,” a game franchise for Nintendo Co.’s DS, players train, groom, and feed a virtual puppy. Neglect your Nintendog, it gets filthy and runs away; care for it, the pup frolics and paws at the screen.

With more than 23 million copies sold, it’s one of Nintendo’s most popular series. It also helps explain the company’s current difficulties, Bloomberg Businessweek reports in its Nov. 1 issue.

Nintendo became a runaway success as the gaming company for non-gamers. The motion-sensing Wii console and the handheld DS featured beginner-friendly fun for the whole family with titles such as “Mario Kart” and “DJ Hero” in addition to Nintendogs.

Nintendo kept the technology simple and the prices low — the Wii debuted in 2006 at half the price of Sony Corp’s PlayStation 3 — to attract casual players. Trouble is that casual gamers, by definition, don’t play or buy a lot of games. While Nintendo isn’t forsaking those customers, its new 3DS, due out in February, aims to win back the core players that prefer their games to feature lifelike commandos instead of canines.

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