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GameStop opens Nintendo 3DS preorders in Canada, sets 20th March release and $299 pri
- Thread starter wwm0nkey
- Start date
QuiteWhittle
Member
The only SKU on sale was the Value Pack.DonMigs85 said:
The 3DS isn't even the first glasses-free 3D portable device and at its release I'm sure the market will begin to flood with such devices at a much cheaper price.Plinko said:
Phenomic said:
Yup. I probably wont be able to hold myself either. And a lot of my friends that aren't even really fans of Nintendo's stuff has said that they'll buy it day 1, regardless of price.
And yes, I also under-use my handhelds. My DS has basically become exclusively a Tetris machine. Thank God for that homebrew port of TGM, otherwise my XL would just be lying there on my bookshelf.
BoilersFan23
Member
People kept saying there's no way Sony was going to price a console high because all their consoles were priced at $299.99 at launch, and look at what the PS3 is priced it.Nuclear Muffin said:
Having something a bit high tech in ways does not come cheap. Quite honestly, I expect the price will be $299. We might get lucky and see it for $250, but I really doubt it (especially with the weak dollar right now).
Fantastical
Death Prophet
They are supposed to be closely priced to DS games. I doubt it would be over $50.LiK said:
H_Prestige
Banned
I'd be surprised if it ISN'T $300.
Nintendo isn't a charity, they are in it for the money just like everyone else. No company gets aggressive with pricing unless they are faced with stiff competition, which Nintendo really isn't at the moment.
Nintendo isn't a charity, they are in it for the money just like everyone else. No company gets aggressive with pricing unless they are faced with stiff competition, which Nintendo really isn't at the moment.
Lance Bone Path
Member
I'm a little surprised it's not $349.99 myself. $299 is a veritable bargain in comparison!
As far as price comparisons to the 360 and PS3 go, you're not exactly going to be carrying those around in a (normal sized) pocket to get your portable gaming fix.
As far as price comparisons to the 360 and PS3 go, you're not exactly going to be carrying those around in a (normal sized) pocket to get your portable gaming fix.
Father_Brain
Banned
I don't think even a $300 price tag will be the kiss of death for 3DS in the early months; demand for this thing will be huge. But in this economy, I can't imagine that level of demand being sustainable. Even if it actually launches at $250, Nintendo should be prepared for a price cut much earlier in the system's life than with Wii.
storafötter
Member
Thats almost 2/3 of the price of what we will be getting in Europe I am positive of. Till the launch I will try my best to gather gift cards from surveys in order to purchase for the 3ds at launch 
.
.AceBandage
Banned
Amir0x said:
That goes against Nintendo's strategy, though.
I just can't see them going for $300 (though, I also didn't see them going for over $200 either).
Especially if they're going to follow past handhelds and continue to raise the price through revisions.
A $350-400 3DSXLi just doesn't seem possible... and yet.
Pureauthor
Member
apana said:
The problem is that it is against Nintendo's publiclly stated policy to have pricedrops unless they believe there is a good reason to. If the 3DS remains selling at the levels they want, they won't drop the price, and given that I think the 3DS will remain selling very well for a very long period of time, I think hoping for a decent launch price is the best many of us are going to be able to manage.
charlequin
Banned
Pureauthor said:
With Nintendo's approach to pricing recently too, it's easy for me to imagine them sitting on an overpriced, underperforming 3DS out of misplaced pride rather than dropping the price to where it ought to have started in the first place.
Plinko
Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
QuiteWhittle said:
1. It will be for the mainstream "Joe Consumer" in the United States.
2. Not before the 3DS hits.
I can't believe some people are discounting this thing. It's going to be more popular than the Wii.
BattleMonkey
Member
I'll be waiting for the first price drops if the price is too high, or perhaps just best to wait for the 2nd gen 3DS that will eventually come.
H_Prestige said:
The price doesn't matter. What matters is the sales volume overall : if you can convince 30 millions of people to buy a device at 250 $ while a pricepoint at 300 $ would only satisfy 5 million of them, you will obviously choose the first option.
The big question is : what pricepoint will translate in most revenue.
I haven't followed economics classes in ages but I recall the pricepoint/volume curve to be a f(x) = -ax^2+bx+c function :
Less people buy a device that is priced low because it would make the people believe that it has only few qualities. And few would buy it if it was too pricy. Thus, there must be a maximum somewhere between those two bounds. Now, finding the maximum is not everything : the sales volume is what matters and it is given by f(x)*x. This is the quantity to optimize.
Next question : how can you plot this demand curve if you know jackshit about how much people are willing to spend ?
Kenka said:
That's not the way Nintendo is thinking.
They already stated that:
1- the hardware itself cost more to manufacture than any other Nintendo hardwares before;
2- After E3 people claimed to actually want the 3DS at all cost;
And the most important thing 3- They sold out the DS and the Wii during their first 1 or 2 years, which means they could have -in theory- sold it for an extra 50 or 100$. In theory yes, but 4- Unlike the DS and the Wii, the 3DS will not have a competitor until the psp2 came out.
In other words, firts adopters will be geeks and Nintendo fans, others will wait a price drop, this doesn't change anything, they will probably sell as mush as they can product until 2012, at least.
Fantastical
Death Prophet
EDIT: Read this again and I understand what you mean now. Didn't realize you were talking about them lowering the price.charlequin said:
DonMigs85
Member
After the Wii's success Nintendo has gotten cockier though.TAS said:
And yes the glasses-less 3D is cool and all, but the processors, amount of RAM and GPU are still fairly weak and dated. But as we all know Nintendo is a master of extracting quality visuals out of low-spec hardware.
ShockingAlberto
Member
Being cheaper than Japan seems unlikely. It's literally a money-losing proposition.
Early adopters are predictable, they'll buy it until Nintendo gets manufacturing processes down cheaper or the dollar sees better parity with the yen and can lower the price.
More than likely they'll pack the system with enough cheap things that does not cost them a lot (like the charge stand or built-in games) to try and justify the higher price.
Early adopters are predictable, they'll buy it until Nintendo gets manufacturing processes down cheaper or the dollar sees better parity with the yen and can lower the price.
More than likely they'll pack the system with enough cheap things that does not cost them a lot (like the charge stand or built-in games) to try and justify the higher price.
Dreams-Visions
Member
and I will have one.Kusagari said:
MrBelmontvedere
Member
3DS will still be supply constrained at $300. meaning they can sell more than they can make.
Jackano said:
There is no flaw in your argument but do you think Nintendo will pull a price reduction easily ? And from my humble sight, I quite don't think that the 3DS is receiving as much hype as the Wii back then in 2005. There might not be as much demand as back in 2006. Though, I agree that the current lack of competitors may translate in a higher price point.
If it is really $300, even I, who have been crazily hyped for this thing Day 1, will hold off until they release the inevitable 3DS Lite before jumping in.
I don't mind paying $300 if it is like the Wii when I am sure it will not be revised for the whole generation - there's way more benefit to be early adaptor for just a $50 difference. But when the system is so expensive, and each iteration comes out so frequently and will be so much better than the last (DS, DSL, DSi, DSiXL ) it will be hard for me to upgrade.
And this is coming from me who own 3 DSes. (DS fat, DS Lite, and just got a DSi XL Mario Edition)
I don't mind paying $300 if it is like the Wii when I am sure it will not be revised for the whole generation - there's way more benefit to be early adaptor for just a $50 difference. But when the system is so expensive, and each iteration comes out so frequently and will be so much better than the last (DS, DSL, DSi, DSiXL ) it will be hard for me to upgrade.
And this is coming from me who own 3 DSes. (DS fat, DS Lite, and just got a DSi XL Mario Edition)
Throwaway123456789
Member
I already have six DS systems. Nintendo can price this shit at 32583725923 dollars and I'll be all over it. I am a consumer whore. *weeps*
MidnightScott
Banned
FoxHimself said:
Why the hell does one person need 6?
I have 3 though...:X
AceBandage
Banned
MidnightScott said:Why the hell does one person need 6?
I have 3 though...:X
I still sport a silver DS Phat from launch day.
Mwhahaha!
durrrrrrrrrr
Member
300 dollars to replace all your consoles is a fair price.
civilstrife
Member
Wii had 5 year old tech inside at launch. $250. Sold Gangbusters.
Gamecube was cutting edge at launch. $200. Sold Peanuts.
If consumers find value in glasses-free 3D, they'll pay.
It's a novelty, sure. But it's a huge one. It'll be the first major mainstream consumer product to utilize the tech at a non-bank breaking price. It will get people's attention.
Gamecube was cutting edge at launch. $200. Sold Peanuts.
If consumers find value in glasses-free 3D, they'll pay.
It's a novelty, sure. But it's a huge one. It'll be the first major mainstream consumer product to utilize the tech at a non-bank breaking price. It will get people's attention.
charlequin
Banned
The fact that it is possible to price discriminate does not mean that it is necessarily a good idea. Yes, Nintendo can sell out a $300 3DS for several months. But if they have to price drop six months out because they started out too high, that's a problem.
The idea that $250 would be a "money-losing proposition" assumes the device costs more than $250 to manufacture, which I think is basically impossible:
The idea that $250 would be a "money-losing proposition" assumes the device costs more than $250 to manufacture, which I think is basically impossible:
charlequin
Banned
flawfuls said:
An excessive early price actually reduces demand as people on the bubble decide they don't need your prodcut after all, and you don't get those people back by dropping to a still high but not extremely high price (like, say, $250.) If you drop too fast, you piss off early adopters and make your product look like a failure, plus you encourage people to wait for even more price drops (this is why Nintendo's stated preference is to never drop prices if they can help it.)
Broadly speaking, in a market like game systems, you want to launch at the highest price you can sustain for multiple years, not the highest price literally anyone will pay. Execs who get stars in their eyes over eBay resale prices are missing the bigger picture.