Nintendo 3DS Price Drop Fixes Problem, But Has Nintendo Learned Anything?

Too expensive, Nintendo.

The 3DS launched at $249.99 in this country. The new machine is a hardware upgrade from the DS hardware, and this goes for more than screen. In Layman's Terms let's just say the DS had roughly the graphics capabilities of a Nintendo 64. The 3DS has roughly the graphics capabilities of a Gamecube. So it is a "Next-Gen" handheld from Nintendo.

Then of course the quite fantastic 3D screen. The ability to take 3D photos. Downloadable games, the fairly useless Nintendo Video, other various apps available and more on the way. The machine didn't launch with the Nintendo Store, but it is there now, and we knew it was coming.

Nope, none of that mattered. The machine launched at $249.99, fell on it's face, then immediately took off when Nintendo cut the price to $169.99.

Now, we have to ask, "Why the hell didn't Nintendo just launch the thing at $169.99 in the first place?"

And our question would be a really, really good one! Did Nintendo learn NOTHING from Sony's ridiculous $600 box from 2006? A little device called the PS3? I call it "pricing outside of your own range". If you have been releasing handheld devices for years for $129 to $169, you can't suddenly begin pricing your new device outside of that range. Consumers come to expect Nintendo to deliver their newest experience in the handheld market for, at most, $169.99. I'll concede and say perhaps a little more, but not $80 more, all in one shot like that.

Let's be realistic, it's not an iPod Touch, so it shouldn't be priced like one. The 3DS lacks the apps (and probably always will) to compete with an Apple Device like that. Not to mention the music playback on the 3DS is something I can almost hear. No, Nintendo needs to stay in their own range and just do what they do best. And keep the prices reasonable.

I hope Nintendo has learned their lesson and doesn't try something similar with the WiiU.

And by the way, sales reports are showing the sales increase for the 3DS is climbing in the second month.