Study: You’d Rather Have A 3DS Than A Kinect Or Move

A new study shows that gamers are keener on buying a Nintendo new handheld than either the coming motion controllers for Xbox or PS3. Thirty-nine per cent of respondents intend to buy the Nintendo 3DS in the future, whereas the Kinect and PlayStation Move only garnered 25 per cent.

Now, while that’s perhaps a telling look at the shape of holiday shopping to come, it’s not exactly a fair prediction of future market share. Think of it like a poll in a political campaign asking gamers who they’d vote for if there were an election today. The winner is likely to be the one gamers have heard more about lately. That means these numbers might change quite a bit in the next month.

The survey of 1,000 Game Informer readers asked questions like what gaming hardware people own and what they want to own.

At E3 early this year, the Move, Kinect, and 3DS were all on display, but it was the 3DS that earned a lot of coverage as people were wowed with its glasses-free, high-resolution 3D display. I don’t know the exact numbers, but so many more people got hands on time with the Nintendo handheld than with the motion controllers–that type of time translates into more people talking about their actual experience with the product; and that builds awareness.

Perhaps its also not fair to compare the potential purchases of all three products. The 3DS is a stand-alone console while the Move and Kinect require the original purchase of a PS3 and Xbox 360 (respectively). That can be a major investment for folks. If given the option to purchase one of the three, one would be forgiven with going for the cheaper option that still appears to have some really cool tech behind it.

But, really, is a handheld mutually exclusive from a motion control peripherals for you consoles? Can’t we call just get along and get both or all three?

[via Game Informer]