Gracklecast Episode Four/Five - The 3DS's Swansong

The 3DS was stuck in the shadow of its younger, shinier brother last year but that's not to say that there weren't any titles to pick up and enjoy on the aging handheld. Join Jay along with ZeroJones and Balladeer for a look at the 3DS in the first half of 2017. Make sure to come back next week for part two/episode five!

Link to the audio (past).

Listening right now, Zero got his Dragon Quests XI slightly wrong as it's out on PS4 and 3DS in Japan but coming to Switch at some-point. In the west both PS4 and 3DS are coming this year but I'm not sure if it's worth the effort for a translation for the 3DS version now as it's not like Detective Pikachu with mainstream appeal.

I know next to nothing about Dragon Quest, so I took anything Zero was saying as gospel as he's our resident Dragon Quest man!

Woo, thanks for putting this up sir! Had a blast doing it with your good selves.

No problem! It was fun to listen back to it during editing. Hopefully the echo issue isn't too noticeable!

masofdas wrote:

Listening right now, Zero got his Dragon Quests XI slightly wrong as it's out on PS4 and 3DS in Japan but coming to Switch at some-point. In the west both PS4 and 3DS are coming this year but I'm not sure if it's worth the effort for a translation for the 3DS version now as it's not like Detective Pikachu with mainstream appeal.

You're right, I did get that wrong in the moment. My apologies to all for the misleading words.

It was a pleasure to listen back to this. Thanks for editing, Mr. Jay!

Any idea when part 2 is going up?

Is there any chance that youse could beef up the sound in future? Balladeer in particular is so quiet that I think it's a struggle to hear what he's saying.

Can we get one of those Space Ark-style podcasts next time? Like the one Jay and Zero Jones did. That was quality 👍

Sound issues are constantly being worked on, I assure you! The biggest issue is that, like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get. The second part is likely to be similar, I'm afraid. Future ones should be better.

I believe there is a Versus Mode in the editing suite at the moment, but Jay knows much more than I do.

I think it all depends on who's on but from the GOTYcast which Balla was on, he seemed much clearer.

Seems to be a lot of content to go up from Jay with Part 2 of 3DS chat which I'm really looking forward to, we've GOTYcast which will likely be two parts as well and I know like Zero a Versus is in the bag and that likely could be a banger of cast with who's on it.

Just to get them all out now.

I'm sorry to say that my volume issues will likely persist for the next two podcasts I do. We've identified the cause, I just ballsed it up again on the last one I recorded. Apologies.

masofdas wrote:

Any idea when part 2 is going up?

RIGHT NOW.

Sorry about the delay, chaps.

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

Is there any chance that youse could beef up the sound in future? Balladeer in particular is so quiet that I think it's a struggle to hear what he's saying.

Can we get one of those Space Ark-style podcasts next time? Like the one Jay and Zero Jones did. That was quality 👍

Yeah, the audio on the 3DS special isn't fantastic as I could either have Balla's audio a little bit louder but suffer from an echo whenever Zero or myself were talking or reduce his audio to try and make the echo inaudible at the offset of Balla being a bit quieter. The next episode with Balla on it should be a little bit better, we shall see.

As for future casts, the next two will be a GOTY two-part special, but I've got a Versus Mode recorded from ages ago to go up shortly after that. I think I'll do Versus Modes back to back actually. It'd be decent to have you on for the third Versus Mode Cappa, if you're still keen of course!

I've given it a listen and it's interesting the thoughts of Balla about console quality games on the go as someone who's a fan of the VITA that was something it tried to do and the problem I found was things like Uncharted on it even though rather decent I'd sooner be playing it on my PS3 (at the time) and my preferred games on it where the indies, visual novels etc

Which would be the same as Ace Attorney on 3DS, I can't see me playing that on a console but could on the go that the Switch has found this happy medium where I'm someone who has it docked 90% of the time but games like AA, SteamWorld Dig 2 etc get me to use it as a handheld.

On the 3DS lasting, I think it will as the cheap system for kids the PS2 did it and this will be the same, much like Labo it's not really for us anymore but will have the odd hardcore game.

It's weird: I was as as anyone about the Vita at the time. Yet I find the Switch, for the most part, works really well. Even for XC2, which with its long battles definitely isn't designed with the handheld in mind: I can just hit Home, and put it to sleep, and come back later.

It just copied the PSP and didn't take off, I did read article as well on how things have changed as well since the VITA release as we now want things even more directly then it used to be and you look at the games on mobile with things like Res Evil 4, Final Fantasy XIII, Bioshock (I know not great ports) and being able to watch movies or a TV series.

That I think people's views have changed over the years on gaming.

Just finished listening back: top stuff from my fellow casters!

Updates: I did get Monster Hunter Stories with some Christmas money but have yet to play it; I have now beaten Pokémon Gold (well, Johto, anyway); I am now in Hooniversity in Superstar Saga; and I still haven't played my own copy of New Style Boutique 3.

The 3DS probably has more of a future than we were anticipating at the end of the cast there: I'm sure there'll be more retail games released after Detective Pikachu next month. I should mention that the third game in the second Inazuma Eleven trilogy has yet to come out in Europe (Arion's story is still unfinished, goshdurnit! ). It's a possibility.

Just wanted to talk about Chicken Wiggle as Balla dismissed it much like me saying Severed was a VITA timed exclusive (I even reviewed it for Gintendo on VITA) and not a mobile game first.

Even if you look at the 3DS now it has an install base of 72m and even you took away the 15m install base of Switch and go all those people have gone the 3DS is dead, you still got an install base of 57m which is huge and of course when development started that would have been bigger and Super Mario Maker on 3DS got some backlash as you couldn't share levels where you can on Chicken Wiggle, that I can understand why Jools would have thought it would have done better (he was on NVC where he talks about it).

That it does make you wonder why it did flop and nothing is really coming to 3DS now at least not on the eShop, as you look at the VITA (sorry to keep bringing it up) which has an install base of 15m which is way lower yet it still get games and from developers I know the VITA is a viable option to bring a game to as you know the people on it will buy games, much like the Switch now when you look numbers for likes of Super Meat Boy.

Why not with the 3DS as it far larger, the only thing I can think of is that the core has gone to Switch and it's left the kids or the people (I know a few of these) that just play Pokemon and don't touch the eShop.

The 3DS year could look like this:

The Alliance Alive
Dillon's Rolling Western: The Dead Heat Breakers
Detective Pikachu
Dragon Quest XI
Persona Q2
Radiant Historia Perfect Chronology
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux
Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido

Along with anything not announced and I reckon Zero might be right with things like the 3rd Inazuma Eleven, could things like that and Yo-Kai Watch 3 come over but I think the biggest problem with these games much like I was saying about Chicken Wiggle these seem for the hardcore, that will the audience be on the 3DS them and yeah I know the Atlus games are for the hardcore of the hardcore that they likely will be an audience.

I think for the likes little Timmy they will be looking more at Player Choice games coming that will appeal to the people buying a 2DS in 2018 and possibly beyond.

I was right Dragon Quest XI isn't coming to 3DS in the west but is coming to STEAM along with PS4 in September and the Switch version is coming but no info still even in Japan.

I was just going to post that in the Dragon Quest thread! Sad, but not unexpected, times.

Yeah and with Detective Pikachu not setting the world on fire in the charts, could the 3DS now be over.

In the case of Detective Pikachu, I’d like to suggest that sales were low because it was hard to find in shops. If that’s the hypothesis, then I would say that retailers have decided that the 3DS is dying - I certainly haven’t!

I know one local GAME hasn't got 3DS section and if it has I can't find it and the other has but is much smaller then it used to be, that you might be right but then even likes of Samus Returns (450k worldwide at reatil) which may have also been hard to find didn't set the world on fire and may lead into the 3DS is dying from retailers if the games aren't selling, I think it maybe simlair to the VITA the last few years that they will get new games but you have to preorder and this actaully has been the case for me for someone 3DS games like Tales of the Abyss but now it might even be the more mainstream ones, not just niche outputs.

Fronk on twitter did think that Detective Pikachu may have legs with kids getting it for Christmas because Pokemon and not all will get a Switch and Pokemon on that (if that comes in 2018 more evidence it is due to toys) and the movie is still to come.

I wouldn't think too much of GAME not having big sections for certain platforms as my nearest barely has anything for Switch & we know that isn't winding down anytime soon.

The 3DS going/gone in mine is to make more room for Switch and yeah it's not the best barometer using GAME but with Grainger Games and Toys R Us gone along with supermarkets not stocking all games is Zero right it that Detective Pikachu is hard to find in shops and would the shops that would have a 3DS range have it and I can only say about 2 of the places near me and the answer is No unless preordered.