In response to rising concerns to investors on both coasts following the price announcement of Nintendo’s upcoming 3DS portable, company President Satoru Iwata has shed some light on how they arrived at such a cost. The system (currently priced at 25,000 yen) was announced at this year’s E3, and received such praise from consumers and reporters alike, that the company felt its price listing justified.
“Portable video game machines integrate both a gaming device and a screen. You do not need any other hardware devices to be connected in order for you to play with it,” he said.
“We do not think, ‘the price relationship between portable devices and home consoles must stay intact simply because it used to be that way.'” He continued, “While it is always better for the price to be as accessible as possible, in terms of its cost, and in order to make a healthy and sustainable business for both the hardware and the software, and given the positive reactions since E3, which give us the indication on how the public are likely to appreciate the value of Nintendo 3DS if they can have hands-on experiences and, above all, by taking other factors into careful consideration, we have concluded that we should propose this price point to our consumers.”
Nintendo, I will pay no more than $250 when it comes out, and you better not put out a slightly better model out until 2 years after the initial launch, or better yet, just not upgrade it unless the system has a critical flaw (the only ones I see is short battery life and that the system needs more viewing angles for 3D). Ideally I would only like to pay $200, but I will part with no more than $250 plus tax (or without and just buy it online).
Well, if we are talking about Nintendo, we will probably get a new version of the 3DS sometime before 2 years.
Yeah, probably 18 months after the initial launch.