![image](https://i0.wp.com/cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/galleries/display/67/67793.jpg?resize=350%2C289)
The 3DS costs Ā„25,000 – and it’s your fault for getting excited about it at E3.
At a press conference yesterday morning, Nintendo revealed that its highly-anticipated 3D handheld would come with a Ā„25,000 price tag. Thanks to an incredibly strong yen that is trading against the dollar at levels not seen in 15 years, this directly translates to a slightly-uncomfortable Western price tag of $298.
According to Bloomberg Japan (and translated by Andriasang), Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata spoke with analysts following the announcement and discussed the handheld’s price. When someone suggested that the Ā„25,000 price might be near the upward bound of what consumers were willing to play, Iwata said that Nintendo had based the price on a number of factors – including the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the system upon its debut at E3.
Granted, it’s clear that this was only one of the contributing factors in the case – and Nintendo likely had to consider other things like how much it costs to make the damn thing – but is that really the sort of thing you admit out loud? “Yeah, we saw that people liked it a lot, so we thought we’d make it a bit pricier.” Iwata seems a bit more business-savvy than that.
All in all, though, I’m still not convinced it’ll be that bad. Nintendo has yet to announce a North American or European price for the handheld, and it seems extremely unlikely that the hardware giant would go for a direct yen/dollar conversion here. Both the Wii and the original PSP also launched at Ā„25,000 in Japan, and they were $249 and $199 when they made it over here to the West, respectively.
Personally, I think we’ll end up seeing the system with a western price tag somewhere between $229 and $249, which would be much easier to swallow, no? I mean, I’m still going to buy it even at $300, but the lower price means I get more games to go with it.
Just remember, the next time somebody reveals cool new technology, act disappointed.
(via Eurogamer)
Published: Sep 30, 2010 02:39 pm