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[plagiarize]

FYI, the retail price of an iPhone is still $600-$700. Your "facts" are irrelevant to a price drop. Apple did not drop the price, AT&T began offering a subsidy on the phone. That cell phone in your pocket does not cost what you paid for it; it is subsidized contingent on your signing a multi-year agreement. You don't have contractual agreements on consoles. The fact that Apple/AT&T tried to break with cellular conventions, and failed, prompting the subsidy is not consistent with what you're proposing.

They did offer vouchers because those early adopters were not offered a subsidy, but they had no contract either. Totally different arrangement.

Check your "facts".

http://www.apple.com/hotnews/openiphoneletter/

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/09/05iphone.html

take it up with steve jobs.

or keep back pedaling. eitherway will be fun for me.

 

[Bizzyb]

Bottom line: If they say its a penny over $250 in the US, I'm canceling both of my pre-orders.

No you won't.

edit: well, maybe just one.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Wait, plagiarize, are you arguing that Nintendo will drop the price within two months or that they physically can and may or may not exercise the option to?

 

[plagiarize]

Wait, plagiarize, are you arguing that Nintendo will drop the price within two months or that they physically can and may or may not exercise the option to?

the latter. that if they launch at $300 in march they have the option to drop the price in autumn and that they might do so, if the PSP2 is launching at a price they want to be more competitive against.

the markey for the first six months of the 3DSs life will be a very different one to the market wherein they have a direct competitor when the PSP2 launches (presumably in late 2011).

i see no reason at all for them not to set a price appropriate to the current market (where a DSI XL is $190 and a PSP Go is $200) and leave it there for the time being, knowing that they might want to drop it next winter in response to the PSP2 or flagging sales.

i see people insisting that they won't do this or that and providing little in the way of supporting evidence. i see people arguing that losing millions is better business sense than an early price drop and not providing any evidence to support it. instead when i ask for some i get 'it's just bad business sense to do that'.

if it is, lets have examples to the contrary of my iPhone example. the fact that my iPhone example has instead been called false (when it plainly isn't) makes me wonder if these people have any examples.

what i really think is happening here, is that people who don't want to pay more than $250 are letting that colour their opinions on what is a purely business based proposition. they don't want it to be more than $250 so they try and argue that it can't be, it won't be, it wouldn't make sense, no one would buy, etc etc.

and it's the same shit i read when the Wii was priced, and when Kinect was priced.

 

[Syckx]

http://www.apple.com/hotnews/openiphoneletter/

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/09/05iphone.html

take it up with steve jobs.

or keep back pedaling. eitherway will be fun for me.

My mistake. The subsidy started with the 3G. My apologies, as they did drop the 8GB of the first, but it's really the exception that proves the rule. Nintendo has mainstream appeal, but they don't have the mainstream mania that Apple does. Not back-pedaling, as I still don't believe it would be a viable strategy for Nintendo. This industry has consistently shown you cannot price drop your way to #1.

If anything, Apple offering a subsidy on the 3G corrected the retail price back to where it was, so it was temporary if anything. But yeah, I'll give you this one as my timeline was incorrect.

 

[Boney]

Early price drop is gonna devalue your product. It means it cannot justify it's pricetag, and consumers will think it'll inevitable drop in price in very short cycles. Droping the price in 6 months is basically saying "our system is crap, we got it wronng". Supply/Demand aren't 45º lines intersecting with this stuff.

 

[Kabuki Waq]

If Mario Kart is in 2010 i might have to go for this. Although $300 for a handheld is ridiculous to me.

 

[plagiarize]

Early price drop is gonna devalue your product. It means it cannot justify it's pricetag, and consumers will think it'll inevitable drop in price in very short cycles. Droping the price in 6 months is basically saying "our system is crap, we got it wronng". Supply/Demand aren't 45º lines intersecting with this stuff.

if there wasn't going to be a major competitor coming to market within six to nine months i'd agree with you.

but there is. right now Nintendo have little idea as to how competitive the PSP2 is going to be feature wise and price wise. if they drop price just before the PSP2 launches (or indeed if they wait to see if the PSP2 launch slows their sales and decide to do a price drop subsequently) that won't be because 'they got it wrong' it will be because the market changed.

dropping the price in response to the PSP2 wouldn't universally be seen as correcting a mistake. it would be seen by many as agressively tackling their competitor.

if they launch low, and the PSP2 isn't competitively priced, and they've struggled to meet demand for the lead up to it's launch, then they just blew millions of dollars of revenue. no debating that.

the DSi XL had it's price dropped in less than half a year. does anyone honestly believe that makes it less desirable or obviously crap or any of that junk?

 

[Syckx]

the latter. that if they launch at $300 in march they have the option to drop the price in autumn and that they might do so, if the PSP2 is launching at a price they want to be more competitive against.

the markey for the first six months of the 3DSs life will be a very different one to the market wherein they have a direct competitor when the PSP2 launches (presumably in late 2011).

i see no reason at all for them not to set a price appropriate to the current market (where a DSI XL is $190 and a PSP Go is $200) and leave it there for the time being, knowing that they might want to drop it next winter in response to the PSP2 or flagging sales.

i see people insisting that they won't do this or that and providing little in the way of supporting evidence. i see people arguing that losing millions is better business sense than an early price drop and not providing any evidence to support it. instead when i ask for some i get 'it's just bad business sense to do that'.

if it is, lets have examples to the contrary of my iPhone example. the fact that my iPhone example has instead been called false (when it plainly isn't) makes me wonder if these people have any examples.

what i really think is happening here, is that people who don't want to pay more than $250 are letting that colour their opinions on what is a purely business based proposition. they don't want it to be more than $250 so they try and argue that it can't be, it won't be, it wouldn't make sense, no one would buy, etc etc.

and it's the same shit i read when the Wii was priced, and when Kinect was priced.

Really, you can pick any of a number of systems that failed to see growth despite sending their consoles into price reductions. The Dreamcast is the most recent example, followed by the Saturn, 3DO, Game Gear--all were reduced aggressively and failed to gain any traction despite short-term gains. Eventually, the systems just went into free fall. Nintendo is THE premium brand in handhelds--Sony has shown an inability to challenge Nintendo on that front--and Nintendo maintains that despite marked up hardware. Nintendo will set a price, and stick to it for at least a year.

For the record, I wouldn't buy one for $200, much less $250 or $300. It's not a personal bias, so much as personal experience with brand management and how Nintendo operates.

And yes, I do believe the XL is less desirable than others in the line, but I don't have the unit sales to validate the before and after. I am confident it is the least popular in the DS family at this stage in its life.

 

[plagiarize]

Really, you can pick any of a number of systems that failed to see growth despite sending their consoles into price reductions. The Dreamcast is the most recent example, followed by the Saturn, 3DO, Game Gear--all were reduced aggressively and failed to gain any traction despite short-term gains. Eventually, the systems just went into free fall. Nintendo is THE premium brand in handhelds--Sony has shown an inability to challenge Nintendo on that front--and Nintendo maintains that despite marked up hardware. Nintendo will set a price, and stick to it for at least a year.

For the record, I wouldn't buy one for $200, much less $250 or $300. It's not a personal bias, so much as personal experience with brand management and how Nintendo operates.

and the DSi XL doesn't count for some magical reason.

and you hit the nail on the head. *despite* sending their consoles into price reductions.

you're arguing that Nintendo would suffer lack of growth or indeed, declines *as a direct result of price* reductions.

are you arguing that the Dreamcast/Saturn/3DO etc failed BECAUSE they dropped their prices?

 

[Boney]

I agree that there would be plenty of cash left at the table, but I'm not sure if in a long term strategy, it would be a good idea. $300 at launch may bear to be too big of a starting point, and may put off costumers, creating bad word of mouth. Consoles really are made from pre release hype and first months sales. It's the most important thing for it to establish itself. Only real exception is the DS, but that had the luxury of being priced less than half the price of a 3DS.

I believe it's in their best interest, to have a strong launch, and be able to sell plenty of software, especially 3rd party, so the system can establish itself as the hot item to get. If priced to high, it's also facing competition from PS3, 360, Wii and even DS.

 

[Syckx]

and the DSi XL doesn't count for some magical reason.

and you hit the nail on the head. *despite* sending their consoles into price reductions.

you're arguing that Nintendo would suffer lack of growth or indeed, declines *as a direct result of price* reductions.

Answered above. Unless you have sales numbers I don't, I would venture to say it is the least popular in the DS family at this stage in its life. Meaning, that it has sold the fewest units of any individual iteration this far into its shelf life. But at the same time, this is a hardware revision, not a new product like the 3DS is.

 

[Syckx]

and the DSi XL doesn't count for some magical reason.

and you hit the nail on the head. *despite* sending their consoles into price reductions.

you're arguing that Nintendo would suffer lack of growth or indeed, declines *as a direct result of price* reductions.

are you arguing that the Dreamcast/Saturn/3DO etc failed BECAUSE they dropped their prices?

I'm saying it failed to be a valid longterm strategy. Nintendo will hold the line on price, add value, and support it with software. That is what Nintendo does, and they are the most consistently successful.

EDIT: I'm saying it devalues the brand. I would say that some of SEGA overall operational missteps were in mismanaging their brand. Nobody bought a "SEGA," but people still buy Nintendo.

 

[plagiarize]

I agree that there would be plenty of cash left at the table, but I'm not sure if in a long term strategy, it would be a good idea. $300 at launch may bear to be too big of a starting point, and may put off costumers, creating bad word of mouth. Consoles really are made from pre release hype and first months sales. It's the most important thing for it to establish itself. Only real exception is the DS, but that had the luxury of being priced less than half the price of a 3DS.

I believe it's in their best interest, to have a strong launch, and be able to sell plenty of software, especially 3rd party, so the system can establish itself as the hot item to get. If priced to high, it's also facing competition from PS3, 360, Wii and even DS.

the DS was more expensive than their home console at the time. it was the most expensive portable, at the time. it didn't have any perceptive luxury and it wasn't priced less than half a 3DS unless you think the 3DS is going to launch at more than $300. it debuted at $150.

i don't see how a high launch price puts consumers off down the line. so, you're saying that if you were prepared to pay $250 for the system at launch, that you wouldn't be prepared to pay it six months later when more software was out for it just because it was launched higher?

i don't believe consumers work that way. if they did price drops would not have helped the PS3 increase its sales. and if you want to argue that only the hardware revision really had an impact... do you really think nintendo won't be debuting a hardware revision for christmas 2012?

 

[Dreamwriter]

the DSi XL had it's price dropped in less than half a year. does anyone honestly believe that makes it less desirable or obviously crap or any of that junk?

The DSi XL wasn't a completely new game system. It's something few people really paid attention to after Nintendo announced it, even though it sold like hotcakes after the price drop. Everyone is going to be paying close attention to the 3DS.

And no, Apple's image wasn't harmed too much by the super quick price drop, but only because of two things: most of the early adopters were HUGE Apple fans, and Apple went to a lot of effort to try and make those early adopters happy. Things like refunding $100 on every iPhone sold to date (cost Apple a LOT of money), emailing that linked letter from Steve Jobs to every purchaser, holding press conferences about it explaining their reasoning behind the price drop, etc.. And it still pissed off a lot of early adopters.

Regardless, the Wii launched at $250, Nintendo didn't lower the price for 3 years. That is a likely scenario this time - unless some unknown major competition with a 3D screen suddenly shows up, Nintendo has no need to drop the price from whatever it launches at, as the 3DS will be the *only* way to play console-quality games in 3D without glasses (or a $1000+ TV with $150+ glasses).

 

[Boney]

If strong sales aren't there, support will drop. Naturally, this won't happen in the first 6 months. High price stigma will always be present as well, similarily to the PS3, even though that had direct competition with the 360.

What I'm saying is that it's much riskier to launch at $300 and drop the price in 6 months, rather than just launching at $250 and holding on to that price for a much longer time. Similar to Wii and evergreen software.

 

[plagiarize]

I'm saying it failed to be a valid longterm strategy. Nintendo will hold the line on price, add value, and support it with software. That is what Nintendo does, and they are the most consistently successful.

EDIT: I'm saying it devalues the brand. I would say that some of SEGA overall operational missteps were in mismanaging their brand. Nobody bought a "SEGA," but people still buy Nintendo.

it's what they do when they can.

they only do it except for when they don't.

the fact they did it on the DSi XL proves that they are prepared to price drop a piece of hardware within six months if it makes sense to do so.

they will WANT to keep selling the system at the price they debut it at, but that in no way shape or form means that they won't price drop in six months if they think it best to based on 3DS sales and how the PSP2 is looking.

the 3DS launches into a market that can't be predicted accurately past the first six months, so why price it based on how it might be selling after them? that is all i am saying here. not that they would plan to drop in six months, but that i see no reason why they would drop the price at launch if they foresee a more competitive market six months later.

 

[plagiarize]

The DSi XL wasn't a completely new game system. It's something few people really paid attention to after Nintendo announced it, even though it sold like hotcakes after the price drop. Everyone is going to be paying close attention to the 3DS.

but it shouldn't have started selling more apparently because it should have been devalued by receiving such an early price drop, revision or not. unless the idea that something is devalued by an early price drop only applies to initial models (unless it's the iPhone of course), but again i'd love to see any rational for believing that before i entertain the notion.

And no, Apple's image wasn't harmed too much by the super quick price drop, but only because of two things: most of the early adopters were HUGE Apple fans, and Apple went to a lot of effort to try and make those early adopters happy. Things like refunding $100 on every iPhone sold to date (cost Apple a LOT of money), emailing that linked letter from Steve Jobs to every purchaser, holding press conferences about it explaining their reasoning behind the price drop, etc.. And it still pissed off a lot of early adopters.

who do you think is buying the 3DS at launch? and anyways, i don't remotely question that an early price drop upsets early adopters, but that wasn't the contention. the contention was that it would make people decide not to buy the system, not upset people that already did.

Regardless, the Wii launched at $250, Nintendo didn't lower the price for 3 years That is a likely scenario this time .

that is only likely if Nintendo are A: making a decent profit selling the 3DS at $250 and B: if the PSP2 isn't competitive to it. the Wii didn't have any direct competition show up after it launched. the PSP2 may not be 3D, but it will absolutely appeal to more of the same people that the 3DS appeals to than anything competiting with the Wii appealed to its audience.

we don't know A and we don't know B, so how can we say with any certainty at all that Nintendo won't price at $300 and risk needing to drop price in six months or so?

 

[plagiarize]

and for the record i am not saying Nintendo won't price the thing at $250. i am just questioning the rationale for ruling out a launch at $300 (or $250 or any amount) based on 'they wouldn't risk dropping the price in the first year'.

 

[Dreamwriter]

but it shouldn't have started selling more apparently because it should have been devalued by receiving such an early price drop, revision or not. unless the idea that something is devalued by an early price drop only applies to initial models (unless it's the iPhone of course), but again i'd love to see any rational for believing that before i entertain the notion.

That's exactly what I was saying - the DSi XL price drop had no chance of devaluing the DS brand, the DS had been around for years, and the DSi XL was marketed to a niche audience. But the 3DS is a brand new brand being marketed to everyone (not just Nintendo fans or hardcore gamers), and it's already hurting because of the name - there are still a lot of people who think it's just a DS with 3D. If it either launches at too low a price, or the price drops too quickly, a lot of those people will think they were correct - the device obviously isn't a next-generation handheld, it's just a DS with a gimmick. "I already have my DSi, I'm not gonna pay $180 just for fake 3D" (with 3D devices currently costing hundreds of dollars more than 2D devices, too low a price will make people doubt the 3D quality).

 

[plagiarize]

That's exactly what I was saying - the DSi XL price drop had no chance of devaluing the DS brand, the DS had been around for years, and the DSi XL was marketed to a niche audience. But the 3DS is a brand new brand being marketed to everyone (not just Nintendo fans or hardcore gamers), and it's already hurting because of the name - there are still a lot of people who think it's just a DS with 3D. If it either launches at too low a price, or the price drops too quickly, a lot of those people will think they were correct - the device obviously isn't a next-generation handheld, it's just a DS with a gimmick. "I already have my DSi, I'm not gonna pay $180 just for fake 3D" (with 3D devices currently costing hundreds of dollars more than 2D devices, too low a price will make people doubt the 3D quality).

marketing will easily establish that it isn't just a DS with 3D. this is Nintendo we're talking about. any 3DS price drop can (and almost certainly will) be accompanied by a DS price drop.

i'm really not too sure what point you're trying to make anymore.

why didn't the DSi XL price drop devalue the DSi XL? because of the strong DS brand? why didn't the strong DS brand help it sell in the first place? but the 3DS will be harmed by the strong DS brand? but only if it's too cheap or drops price too quickly?

you think people won't buy a 3DS if it's priced *cheaply*? i don't think that any evidence supports that notion.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

so this thread is no longer about reserves lol

 

[Lkr]

so this thread is no longer about reserves lol

reserve talk ended on the 26th:lol

 

[plagiarize]

reserve talk ended on the 26th:lol

well no, this whole nonsense started because someone thought it was hilarious that we pre-ordered despite not knowing the final price of the system.

it's not of course, loaning gamestop $50 to guarantee a launch 3DS if the launch price is acceptable to you is something many of us can afford to do, and want to do.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

I don't think they will drop the price in America anytime soon as there's pretty much no chance the dollar will get significantly better before 2012.

 

[Grampa Simpson]

I don't think they will drop the price in America anytime soon as there's pretty much no chance the dollar will get significantly better before 2012.

I don't expect the system to do anything but sell out for the first year anyway. A price drop will follow a significant worldwide slowdown in sales that can be attributed to a high price. This thing is going to sell like it's Jesus and Buddha rolled up into one.

 

[Bizzyb]

I don't expect the system to do anything but sell out for the first year anyway. A price drop will follow a significant worldwide slowdown in sales that can be attributed to a high price. This thing is going to sell like it's Jesus and Buddha rolled up into one.

If it's success is anywhere close to the DS' I wouldn't expect a price drop for at least 16 months, i.e. when/if they unveil a redesign

If you guys don't want to be ass-out or have to spend tons of gas and time searching for this thing it's a safe bet to just go ahead and drop a pre-order on it now while you can. Hell, it doesn't even have to be with Gamestop but somewhere, i.e. Toys R US, Best Buy, Amazon.com, somewhere.

If you don't like the price or lineup then cancel the pro-order and get your money back. As it's been said before, it truly is a win-win situation. Don't be stupid.

 

[DSmalls84]

Went to the Gamestop my friend manages and reserved a 3ds today. I wanted to get a reserve early, because I waited until a month before the 360 launched and was told the day before that my order wouldn't be filled until a subsequent shipment. Needless to say I don't want to spend 10 hours camping in a Wal-Mart ever again.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

Wait, people actually believe Nintendo will drop the price of the system in its first year? :lol :lol

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

I think it's only one person.

 

[Frillen]

so this thread is no longer about reserves lol

All 3DS threads ends up with price discussions.

 

[Anasui Kishibe]

All 3DS threads ends up with price discussions.

and they also magically stop being interesting

 

[Boney]

and they also magically stop being interesting

Are they ever interesting?

 

[zigg]

Are they ever interesting?

Not $300 interesting, that's for sure.

Spoiler

*rimshot*

 

[Anasui Kishibe]

Are they ever interesting?

well, no

 

[Boney]

It only works one time mister.

 

[clo1_2000]

Reserved and even got an extra 50% trade-in credit for my DSi

 

[Anasui Kishibe]

;_;

ok. here's some news: someone on GBATemp posted the 3DS will cost 269.99$. He says he met a game developer who told him that

seems accurate but then again., it's all talk and a badge right now

 

[Boney]

Why would a developer know that.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

lol yeah makes no sense for a dev to know information like that.

 

[Dreamwriter]

I'm a game developer. My company is working on 3DS projects (though I personally am not, I program iPhone games, I haven't even seen the device since E3). We know nothing about the final system price or even release date.

 

[Boney]

Strike 2.

 

[wwm0nkey]

$270-$300 are the 2 best bets.

 

[AzureNightmare]

$270-$300 are the 2 best bets.

 

[abstract alien]

All of this...and over 50 bucks :lol

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

All of this...and over 50 bucks :lol

Exactly.

 

[A Link to the Past]

Honestly, I can validate paying $300 for a 3DS, assuming it has a good launch to partake of.

 

[Anasui Kishibe]

Why would a developer know that.

rumours, you know. They're out there to be debunked or confirmed

I still think it won't be more than 279, to be honest, which will translate into 249£ for the civilized english-speaking

 

[friskykillface]

$250- just the system alone

$300 - system with a game, demos, 1000 nintendo points for the vc, free 3D movie


then i'm sure everyone would go "fuck $250, i'm paying $300" :lol



seriously, i am gonna go with $280-$300 as the price , no bundles/free games or nothing
rip to my wallet


seeing that list of games playable for the event on the 9th has me hyped.

vids of star fox 64 3DS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Dreamwriter]

seeing that list of games playable for the event on the 9th has me hyped.

vids of star fox 64 3DS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wasn't that game not on the list?