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3DS Retail Deals

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2

2San

Member
I think the current 3DS pricing is fine. Why the hell are all the games so damn expensive though. The volume of quality games coming it out has been sorta disappointing as well in the west. Where are the must have rpg's?

At the moment my 3DS does fine as a DS player, since missed out on the DS generation(lot's of good games still damn pricy or hard to track down).
 
B

Bending_Unit_22

Member
Byakuya769 said:
Stick to bending. Inflation is causing you software problems.
Click to expand...

Even though bending is fun, I do like discussing video games. Is there something that I said with which you disagree? If so let me know.

gcubed said:
i used to love handhelds, but i find that i dont want to carry something ELSE with me when i have multiple devices with me already that are more powerful. I bought and sold a vita for this reason.

Dedicated handheld gaming is down to a niche in the west.
Click to expand...

If the 3DS is niche in the west then pretty much all handhelds with the exception of the DS are/were niche in the west. So you're basing your rule of thumb on the exception I take it?
 
Bruno MB

Bruno MB

Member
I don't think the problem lies specifically in the price of the games.

What I think is that outside very few titles, 3DS software is not attractive enough for most consumers in the West.
 
J

jwhit28

Member
mclem said:
The product in question isn't simply 'a 3DS', a purchaser is buying into the whole '3DS ecosystem'. i think it's valid to question whether this moves like this have an impact on the ecosystem...

... I should also add that I *don't* think this move threatens the ecosystem, but I think it's a fair reason to bring up points about how Nintendo making less profit can in turn harm the consumer. You're not buying into a single product here; you're buying into a long-term plan.
Click to expand...

So on one side we have people worrying about buying into a long term plan of a dedicated handheld, and on the other we have people touting the advantages of a $200 phone with $70 a month bills that without of doubt will be dropped in 2 or 3 years.
 
D

dallow_bg

nods at old men
TheNatural said:
True, but there's no chance MSRP changes within as generation as far as game prices go. I don't think it's ever happened. I would be content with a Player's Choice lineup though.
Click to expand...
It happened with PSP and ( I believe DS) at the start of their lives.
Msrp was too high at 40-50 and dropped to 30 minus the odd SquareEnix game.
 
W

Why would you do that?

Member
Isn't the $180 3DS doing par when compared to the $99 GBA's launch or $130 DS's launch in America?

Of course, post-DS Lite, DS sales picked up massively, and the 3DS doesn't have any new hardware revision to do that, so lowering the price may curve the sales up in a somewhat similar fashion.
 
S

Shabutaro

Member
wow! what perfect timing! I was literally on the check out page of toysrus buying an XL and mario kart when I stumbled upon this!
 
2

2San

Member
tuffy said:
By spring, perhaps. A 3DS Lite is a good opportunity to make the design consistent with the XL and to overhaul the hardware with more cost-effective parts.
Click to expand...
Didn't they already go all cheap with the original 3DS though? Lot's of build issue's imo.
 
B

Bending_Unit_22

Member
Bruno MB said:
I don't think the problem lies specifically on the price of the games.

What I think is that outside very few titles 3DS software is not attractive enough for most consumers in the West.
Click to expand...

It's not the only problem but along with the ridiculously high price for a dedicated handheld, the price of games is a major issue. $40 is simply way way too high for portable games. I know I would have bought several more games last year if the price was the typical $20-30 for handheld games, with a few worth the tax at $35.
 
G

gcubed

Member
Bending_Unit_22 said:
Even though bending is fun, I do like discussing video games. Is there something that I said with which you disagree? If so let me know.



If the 3DS is niche in the west then pretty much all handhelds with the exception of the DS are/were niche in the west. So you're basing your rule of thumb on the exception I take it?
Click to expand...

Nintendo was the only one to make it beyond a niche, and most of their handhelds were partly successful. The DS was immensely so, to the point where it could have made some headway for the "next" in line.
 
S

Spiegel

Member
Graphics Horse said:
Wouldn't explain the apparent XL drop.
But I do expect some sort of new model next year.
Click to expand...

tuffy said:
By spring, perhaps. A 3DS Lite is a good opportunity to make the design consistent with the XL and to overhaul the hardware with more cost-effective parts.
Click to expand...



Yes, I meant next year.

Price drop to get rid of the stock, because Nintendo must be sitting in a good amount of unsold 3DS if they produced a number close to what they projected for this year, and new model in march/april.
 
Alex

Alex

Member
Im OK with the blue, but the machine itself really looks like shit. Still, I wanted an XL so unless they redesign the XL itself I'm not budging off of it.

Shame they couldn't look like the DSi XL's
 
A

AranhaHunter

Banned
Striek said:
Nintendo doesn't only want 'profitability' they target a level of profitability. They can't risk missing their forecasts again and losing more support outside Japan. They need to move hardware short term to sell more software long term. Increase that installed base.

They way not outsell tablets/smartphones or reach the DS LTD, but that doesn't mean they give up. First salvage the 3DS situation (like they've mostly done in Japan) and then plan the next move.
Click to expand...

IMHO, short of making a 3DS phone and 3DS tablet SKU, they are not gonna salvage it in the west. They need to accept that dedicated gaming handhelds are now a niche market in the west. Sony had the right idea with ps mobile, but poor execution. Sony has definitely accepted this and is letting the vita die, some of us are playing that and enjoying it, but knowing fully well it's a niche machine. The 3DS is way more popular than the vita, but like it or not iOS and android have taken Nintendo's casual market lunch. Brain Training 3DS will not sell 1/10 of what Brain Training DS sold. It wouldn't even get close to it if it launched for $10, let alone for $30 like it will.

Baconsammy said:
This is the reason why no amount of hardware price dropping is going to attract consumers who are avoiding the platform simply due to idiotic game prices.
Click to expand...

This too. If Ninty wants to stay in the dedicated handheld with $30-$40 games, then that's fine, but they need to understand that the days they have dedicated game machines with those prices for games and are still ubiquitous are over.
 
2

2San

Member
Bending_Unit_22 said:
It's not the only problem but along with the ridiculously high price for a dedicated handheld, the price of games is a major issue. $40 is simply way way too high for portable games. I know I would have bought several more games last year if the price was the typical $20-30 for handheld games, with a few worth the tax at $35.
Click to expand...
A $40 price tag is fine for day 1, my problem is that the price never goes down.
 
F

flyinpiranha

Member
marrec said:
3-4 years ago kids were all about iOS and iPod Touches, now they can't stop talking about 3DSes, at least from my experience at my son's school. Of course, a few kindergarten classes at one school don't really mean much.
Click to expand...

Within my immediate family the kids usually want the iPhone/iPad not because it's necessarily what they want to play, but because the parents stopped buying $40 games for their DS/3DS. Purely anecdotal I know, but it's what I've observed. "Here's my phone" for $1.99, or "which game do you want for $40?".

Personally, I bought the kid (7) a red 3DS XL and got Kingdom Hearts and will pick up Pokemon B/W and maybe another game for him for Christmas. While he still plays on the iPad and our Androids/iPhones at times it's usually when his (wait for it) Game Boy Advance SP is not charged. He would also rather play Wii games like Kirby or SMG than things on the tablets.

While I don't discount the value in table/phone gaming, I still feel the reason it's such a 'hit' is because it's what is readily available and cheap, kind of like why McDonald's is so popular.
 
B

Byakuya769

Member
Bending_Unit_22 said:
Even though bending is fun, I do like discussing video games. Is there something that I said with which you disagree? If so let me know.
Click to expand...

Nah, I checked. Launch prices of $79.99 (gbc) and $99.99 for the gba is much closer to $139 in today's dollars. So you have expanded beyond bending effectively.
 
T

tuffy

Member
2San said:
Didn't they already go all cheap with the original 3DS though? Lot's of build issue's imo.
Click to expand...

Lots of build issues doesn't imply the hardware was cheap to make. According to interviews at the time, the original 3DS was their most challenging portable to engineer to date. Given the XL seems to have far fewer problems, it's reasonable that a 3DS Lite could be produced more cheaply and with better quality.
 
N

Neo C.

Member
Kaijima said:
The problem they've got is that there's no Touch! Generations phenomenon helping to power the 3DS into the mainstream. 3DS does not have its Brain Age - Nintendogs+Cats didn't work at launch.

They do seem to be trying to avoid devaluing software, which is good in the abstract. But I think their biggest mistake is in holding the line too firmly there. Plenty of 3DS games don't have the content of a $40 game. Only a handful do. I wish they'd establish a robust line of $20 retail titles, and price the typical "core" 3DS game at $30 - $35.

The bigger issue may be yen to dollar troubles right now. Nintendo's already having financial trouble with this thing. They need to drop software prices, but currency conversion has to be hurting them.
Click to expand...
Even if the dollar were higher than now, it doesn't change the fact that PS2-level games need more or less PS2-level budget.
Nintendo AND third parties won't be happy with $30 - $35 unless they go back to DS-level development budget.

If people think Nintendo has trouble with the current handheld market, all I can say is that the next generation will be a blood bath with game development budget even higher than now.
 
Y

Yaranaika

Member
From the Canadian Deals Thread:
booyakasha said:
3ds xl was 149.99 at costco

20121124132744.jpg
Click to expand...

Most likely locked at that price.
 
B

Bending_Unit_22

Member
gcubed said:
Nintendo was the only one to make it beyond a niche, and most of their handhelds were partly successful. The DS was immensely so, to the point where it could have made some headway for the "next" in line.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but they did it one time. The DS was basic lightening in a bottle, they grabbed the proto-smartphone casual market before it knew it existed. Now it's back to what handhelds have always been outside of the DS (and briefly the out of the gutter making handhelds cool for men PLAYSTATION everything ultra hyped PSP).

2San said:
A $40 price tag is fine for day 1, my problem is that the price never goes down.
Click to expand...

Still a problem to me (and the market given sales), especially now with smartphone games being so cheap. Yes I know 3DS games have far more polish, content, and what not but price matters. I think games should be $30 day 1 but I agree they should come down in price over time, especially with everything basically being downloadable.

Byakuya769 said:
Nah, I checked. Launch prices of $79.99 (gbc) and $99.99 for the gba is much closer to $139 in today's dollars. So you have expanded beyond bending effectively.
Click to expand...

Pretty much, those are they prices at which dedicated handhelds have survived at in the past. $250 or even $180 is, and has always been, too much for a handheld. Smartphones/tablets took away the market that allowed them to be priced higher I think, but like I said it's just back to normal. Nintendo at least has a handheld that allows them to do that and tit looks like they are. Also, thanks.
 
T

The Wraith

Member
When the 3DSXL reaches 150$ I will scoop it up. Resident Evil and Mario on that screen will be glorious. Sony needs to drop the Vita price about 50$ and pack a game and a memory card in with it to compete, I love my Vita but its going down quick.
 
J

Jeels

Member
When I heard Mario Kart Bundle I got excited because Europe's Mario Kart Bundle came with a white XL.

Still not interested.
 
W

WickedCobra03

Member
The is basically at my "buy it" price, but god, the battery is still probably kind of bad as well as those buttons being kind of crummy... come on revised 3DS.
 
V

vareon

Member
Kaijima said:
The problem they've got is that there's no Touch! Generations phenomenon helping to power the 3DS into the mainstream. 3DS does not have its Brain Age - Nintendogs+Cats didn't work at launch.

They do seem to be trying to avoid devaluing software, which is good in the abstract. But I think their biggest mistake is in holding the line too firmly there. Plenty of 3DS games don't have the content of a $40 game. Only a handful do. I wish they'd establish a robust line of $20 retail titles, and price the typical "core" 3DS game at $30 - $35.

The bigger issue may be yen to dollar troubles right now. Nintendo's already having financial trouble with this thing. They need to drop software prices, but currency conversion has to be hurting them.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the market in the west is educated with sub $5 games (regardless of worthy content or not), and they are facing a challenge of educating the market to buy games at a higher price. Again, this is regardless of content--people will only see the prices ($5 vs $40).

Anyway $139.99 is a good entry price. And 199.99 with Mario Kart always on the device is really good.
 
M

metalslimer

Member
Agreed with people that say software pricing is the real issue not hardware pricing. It's still a great move. And do people seriously think that Amazon Vita bundle will do anything?
 
The Horror the horror

The Horror the horror

Banned
Nintendo doesn't need to drop the game prices of their established IPs; they simply need to develop and release new IPs that fit within that $5 framework. And they're already doing this.

Games like Pushmo was a good start.
 
K

KalBalboa

Banned
Two drops in 18 months. Weird. There are three motivations behind it, from what I can guess:

1) The 3DS, while selling well enough, isn't meeting their expectations for this Christmas season.
2) The Wii U launch isn't causing as much of a PR stir as they were hoping, so they're trying to keep their name on top.
3) Nintendo wants to absolutely bury the Vita just after it had a strong November in terms of titles, sales, and PS+ integration.
 
F

frankie_baby

Member
KalBalboa said:
Two drops in 18 months. Weird. There are three motivations behind it, from what I can guess:

1) The 3DS, while selling well enough, isn't meeting their expectations for this Christmas season.
2) The Wii U launch isn't causing as much of a PR stir as they were hoping, so they're trying to keep their name on top.
3) Nintendo wants to absolutely bury the Vita just after it had a strong November in terms of titles, sales, and PS+ integration.
Click to expand...

We don't actually know that
 
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