Topic: Should Nintendo lower 3DS prices because of the Vita?

[Drizzt]

Just want to now what you guys think about this. I think they should but knowing Nintendo it's unlikely.

[ShyGuy]

Unless they have a breakout 3DS hit in the next few months, they will be forced by the market to either drop the price or increase the value for Holiday 2011.

[NWR_insanolord]

I'd be surprised if they lower the price before the end of the year.

[Adrock]

No.

Sony still has to prove that they can beat Nintendo in the handheld market and having more powerful hardware isn't going to do that.

I plan on buying both eventually, but not until they're under $200. I'd prefer to pay $150 though I'll probably fold at $180. 3DS is far more likely to hit that sooner so I'll probably end up buying it first.

[Shaymin]

Unless they have a breakout 3DS hit in the next few months, they will be forced by the market to either drop the price or increase the value for Holiday 2011.

So in other words, Mario Kart means nothing will change?

[Flames_of_chaos]

No, Nintendo has a great lineup of games coming which can tower over Sony's potential Vita launch. If Nintendo feels threatened, they will probably bundle a game with the system or do some kind of other added value bundle with some eShop game(s) pre-installed in the system.

[nickmitch]

The 3DS's lineup is still paltry at best. Nintendo just needs to have a stellar lineup for the end of the year. Sony is gonna try to have all of their big guns ready at the Vita launch, and Nintendo can have a serious mismatch on their hands. For the same price, I can have the system that a couple people have but they don't play because there's no games for it, or this brand new system with the big releases on it. Nintendo will definitely counter the Vita launch with actual titles. A price drop would only make the system and the company look weak to investors.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Should Nintendo lower the price of the 3DS? Yes.
Should they do it because of the PS Vita? No.

Will they lower the price this year? Absolutely not.

As has already been said, Nintendo will not lower the price this year, but may opt for a Value Added Bundle instead. I think the earliest we will see a price drop of any kind will be around Xmas 2012. But that depends on current sales, software, and/or if there is a revision being planned.

I would love a 3DSXL with a 7" top screen(3DS screen x4 the surface space) and a 6.2" touch screen on the bottom(same screen used for the uMote).
But that's probably an idea for a different topic.

[Adrock]

I don't know. A 7" screen seems way too big, even for an XL. 3DS is still a handheld and I can't imagine that set-up working. It'd be like holding 2 WiiU's tablet controllers and I imagine that being rather unwieldy. Also, I don't think the bottom screen can use the same screen as the tablet controller. The bottom screen on 3DS is 4:3 while the tablet controller's screen is 16:9.

[Oblivion]

I wouldn't mind the touch screen to be the slightly larger size of the DSi screen, but with the boosted resolution.
 
And I'd like a slightly larger top screen for a better movie viewer experience.

[ymeegod]

Kept the price and release a better bundle with a bigger battery.  Nintendo went really cheap with the 3DS's battery 1300 mah's.  There's 2200's mah same size already that you can buy as replacements but it would be better if nintendo packaged it. 

[Razorkid]

I don't think so. The only thing the 3DS lacks right now is a large library of must-have games. The latter half of this year is going to rectify that. The 3DS is not as overpriced as say, the PS3 was when it launched at $599. So to think that Nintendo will drop the price after only being on the market for a few months without a slew of their heavy hitters released yet is silly. If 3DS sales have not increased significantly by holiday 2012, then you will see the possibility of a value add bundle.

[oohhboy]

Price parity and a game would do wonders in non-American territories. With the American dollar tanking for years, most of the prices set don't match local reality. NZ retail is still effectively priced as it was still 1NZD to 0.5USD even as we approach parity or in europe 1 USD= 1 euro which has never been true and it's worse for pounds.

Basically America isn't the only english speaking country out there or the only market besides Japan. This kind of market discrimination only hurts under-developed markets. For this year they should look outside America which will continue to be soft.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I don't think so. The 3DS is not as overpriced as say, the PS3 was when it launched at $599.

So to think that Nintendo will drop the price after only being on the market for a few months without a slew of their heavy hitters released yet is silly. If 3DS sales have not increased significantly by holiday 2012, then you will see the possibility of a value add bundle.

3DS and PS3 are two very different over pricings.

3DS is actually over priced. They over estimated it's demand and overcharged for the tech. The profit margin on 3DS is enormous and Nintendo could have easily added little things in to help justify the cost. A larger battery, 3D interior cameras, dual analog & more internal memory to just name a few.

PS3 was actually over spec'd. They packed in too much expensive tech and took a huge loss on it even at $599. It cost too much to both Sony & the consumer. They had an ulterior motive to push and they paid the price. Can't be sure if it was worth it, but Bluray is the standard HD disc format now, so we'll see how that works out for them. Still waiting for that Cell connected living though (where every appliance helps compute) :

[Razorkid]

I don't think so. The 3DS is not as overpriced as say, the PS3 was when it launched at $599.

So to think that Nintendo will drop the price after only being on the market for a few months without a slew of their heavy hitters released yet is silly. If 3DS sales have not increased significantly by holiday 2012, then you will see the possibility of a value add bundle.

3DS and PS3 are two very different over pricings.

3DS is actually over priced. They over estimated it's demand and overcharged for the tech. The profit margin on 3DS is enormous and Nintendo could have easily added little things in to help justify the cost. A larger battery, 3D interior cameras, dual analog & more internal memory to just name a few.

PS3 was actually over spec'd. They packed in too much expensive tech and took a huge loss on it even at $599. It cost too much to both Sony & the consumer. They had an ulterior motive to push and they paid the price. Can't be sure if it was worth it, but Bluray is the standard HD disc format now, so we'll see how that works out for them. Still waiting for that Cell connected living though (where every appliance helps compute) : :

I agree that the 3DS is over priced, just not as over priced as the PS3 at launch.  Your points are valid, but what I meant was the 3DS is not priced into the stratosphere as some would like to make it out to be. If it dropped to $199, no one would even cough about the price...and that's only a $50 difference. I feel people at this point are holding out from dropping the extra fifty bucks on principle alone because the games are certainly there between what's been released now and what's been announced to be coming between now and the end of the year.  For some, $50 is $50 and they wont't be convinced to dive in until the library is stacked with more excellent games than they can play, and that's cool.  For me, the system justified the price.


In comparison, when the PS3 launched, there was no way in hell anyone (outside a select group of people who had a significant amount of recreational money and an hd tv) was gonna buy that system at that price at launch.  Regardless of why it was priced that way, it truly was in the stratosphere!

[Ceric]

I don't think so. The 3DS is not as overpriced as say, the PS3 was when it launched at $599.

So to think that Nintendo will drop the price after only being on the market for a few months without a slew of their heavy hitters released yet is silly. If 3DS sales have not increased significantly by holiday 2012, then you will see the possibility of a value add bundle.

3DS and PS3 are two very different over pricings.

3DS is actually over priced. They over estimated it's demand and overcharged for the tech. The profit margin on 3DS is enormous and Nintendo could have easily added little things in to help justify the cost. A larger battery, 3D interior cameras, dual analog & more internal memory to just name a few.

PS3 was actually over spec'd. They packed in too much expensive tech and took a huge loss on it even at $599. It cost too much to both Sony & the consumer. They had an ulterior motive to push and they paid the price. Can't be sure if it was worth it, but Bluray is the standard HD disc format now, so we'll see how that works out for them. Still waiting for that Cell connected living though (where every appliance helps compute) : : :

I agree that the 3DS is over priced, just not as over priced as the PS3 at launch.  Your points are valid, but what I meant was the 3DS is not priced into the stratosphere as some would like to make it out to be. If it dropped to $199, no one would even cough about the price...and that's only a $50 difference. I feel people at this point are holding out from dropping the extra fifty bucks on principle alone because the games are certainly there between what's been released now and what's been announced to be coming between now and the end of the year.  For some, $50 is $50 and they wont't be convinced to dive in until the library is stacked with more excellent games than they can play, and that's cool.  For me, the system justified the price.


In comparison, when the PS3 launched, there was no way in hell anyone (outside a select group of people who had a significant amount of recreational money and an hd tv) was gonna buy that system at that price at launch.  Regardless of why it was priced that way, it truly was in the stratosphere!

I held out till they announced that the PS3 was losing BC with the PS2 at that point.  Since it was important to me, my PS2 had died, I decided to jump in with the first revision.  I have to say once everything was tallied it was a better investment than my Wii.  Even though I have enjoyed and own more Wii Games.
 
I'm hoping that the 3DS will also end up being one of those investments that at the time seems very expensive but, in the long run will really pay off.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I know what you meant, but those are still two very different kinds of "overpriced".

PS3 was worth the money depending on what you were using it for. Actually depending on what you were using it for, you were actually getting a pretty good deal for the tech... even @ $599.
It was cheaper than putting together a similar machine capable of the same processing abilities.

If you were looking for the most capable Bluray player around(at the time), well.... for an extra $100-$200 you could get a PS3 and have the ability to also play games. It's still the best overall Bluray player you can buy, but you still need to drop an extra $100-$175 for it.

But if you were just wanting to play games.... then it was WAAAAAAY too expensive and definitely overpriced.

3DS is just overpriced. it's all profit and they could have done more with the inflated cost to justify the price through the hardware. They just simply charged more than the sum of the parts are worth, especially when it obvious that they cut corners to save on cost(battery & inward 3D cameras) to maximize profit (~$100 per unit profit and increasing).

edit:
If Nintendo thought that they could pull a Wii and sell this thing at a maximum profit price for 3 years, then I think they might be a little disappointed. If they though they could charge $250 because the PSVita was surely gonna come in at $399 or more, then they must be shocked.

All I know is that at $250, the 3DS does NOT have my attention... certainly not with it's current line-up... certainly not at it's current price.

[Louieturkey]

I agree with BnM.  Nintendo should be just dropping the price period. They should not be dropping the price in response to the Vita. That tells people they are scared of the Vita and Nintendo never wants to act scared.

[GoldenPhoenix]

I wish people would be a bit more honest about things, we do not know how much profit margin is built in the 3DS, we lots of unconfirmed "insider" information, not to mention anyone with any business know would know profit margin is dictated by much more then just the raw parts, it is being short sighted, and honestly a bit disingenuous to state otherwise. I really doubt Nintendo is make 100+ dollars in profit on 3DS, that seems extremely outrageous and exagerrated. 3DS's lineup is no worse then DS's was a couple months after launch. Also should Nintendo lower the price? Not until they see what PS Vita does, because price drops are a double edged sword, the perceived value of the product can take a hit.

Anyone with an iota of knowledge of the business world will know a products cost/profit margin, especially for electronics, is based upon included software, R&D, advertising, packaging along with retail product margin. So please let's cut the crap about "Profit" being just the hardware, it is dishonest.

[BlackNMild2k1]

The total bill of parts & manufacturing for 3DS was "totalled" at about $100 (source).
Assembly per unit is dirt cheap and so is packaging.

Nintendo has been making a killing on DS/i for years. I think the DSL cost Nintendo under $50 for years and they just dropped the price to $99

This means Nintendo has ~$150 PER UNIT to put towards R&D, Advertising, Storage, Shipping, etc etc.. So estimating out a generous $50 per unit for that, means that Nintendo has about a ~$100 profit margin to split amongst itself and retailers.

You're telling me that Nintendo couldn't have spent a little more on a battery, an extra inward camera to make it 3D inward too or an actual game to include and still made a nice profit? Or maybe you just never saw the iSupply breakdown?
Either way, the 3DS is overpriced and needs more value added to justify the cost to me.
and obviously I'm not alone in this if you look at the 3DS' current sales.

Code: [Select]

3DS                      vs                     DSi
$3.50 Includes                  $1.70 Includes
Battery - Li-ion, 3.7V, 1300mAh Battery - Li-ion, 3.7V, 840mNintendo couldn't spend an extra $1.50 on the battery?

[GoldenPhoenix]

The total bill of parts & manufacturing for 3DS was "totalled" at about $100 (source).
Assembly per unit is dirt cheap and so is packaging.

Nintendo has been making a killing on DS/i for years. I think the DSL cost Nintendo under $50 for years and they just dropped the price to $99

This means Nintendo has ~$150 PER UNIT to put towards R&D, Advertising, Storage, Shipping, etc etc.. So estimating out a generous $50 per unit for that, means that Nintendo has about a ~$100 profit margin to split amongst itself and retailers.

You're telling me that Nintendo couldn't have spent a little more on a battery, an extra inward camera to make it 3D inward too or an actual game to include and still made a nice profit? Or maybe you just never saw the iSupply breakdown?
Either way, the 3DS is overpriced and needs more value added to justify the cost to me.
and obviously I'm not alone in this if you look at the 3DS' current sales.

Code: [Select]

3DS                      vs                     DSi
$3.50 Includes                  $1.70 Includes
Battery - Li-ion, 3.7V, 1300mAh Battery - Li-ion, 3.7V, 840mNintendo couldn't spend an extra $1.50 on the battery?

3DS sales need to have games available factored in. The fact is that Zelda: OOT is the biggest game released for it so far, and that is a remake. Nintendo has other things they can do before they should even consider lowering the price, perceived value of the product. Handheld systems always tend to be slow starts, DS was slow as well, not as slow but still it was quite slow. Not to mention there have been various other factors out of NIntendo's control such as the earthquake which affected a major marketplace. I'm sorry but calling for price drop before other issues, like, I don't know, GAMES are addressed is short sighted and a poor business move.

[oohhboy]

The earthquake is generally a non-factor outside of Japan due to slow sales, it doesn't matter that the factories are running 70 - 80 or 10% if no one is buying. There is nearly a whole planet they could be selling to that isn't "America and Japan". Their continued price discrimination destroys any chance that happening.

Factor in the fact everybody and their mother feel it is over priced, and it doesn't matter whether it is(which it is), it's the perception that it is, even it's traditional markets are going to be sluggish. If there was a Wii like feeding frenzy then even I would argue that they don't need to lower the price, but this isn't the case. Demand is flat, with alternative market prices going down instead of Wii's up.

The price will come down whether one way or another. How they do it is another matter. Whether it will be bundles or rebates or an actual cut remains to be seen, but it has to fall.

[BlackNMild2k1]

@GP
I think you are addressing the wrong person if you think I'm actually calling for a price drop*.
I know a price drop isn't gonna happen and I know the reasons why.

My point is that Nintendo shouldn't have charged that much to begin with, and if they were (which they did), then they could have done more to make it seem worth it. I'm sure that is a major reason lots of people are holding out for a revision. As is, the value @ $250 is not there. The games aren't here yet and too many corners were cut for the hardware to be at that price.

The minimal cost that a 2300mAh battery, an inward facing 3D camera and 4-8GB of internal flash would have had on their profit margin would've go a loooong way towards making the $250 price tag seem worthwhile.
Some must have software before the holiday season would also be nice, but by the time that happens now, Vita will be the new hotness on the block and the 3DS still hasn't gotten both of it's feet on the ground running.

3DS' real problem is that they launched half cocked. Software wasn't ready, online wasn't ready, Nintendo just wasn't ready. They rushed it to be part of that last FY and now they are fighting to bring it all together. Now that online is here (Netflix is coming but 3D movies are still nowhere to be found) and must have software is around the corner (software bundles could definitely add value), 3DS has a second chance to make a first impression. But with PSVita coming in at the same price.... it's sorta a wasted head start if Nintendo don't make some big waves just before the holidays.

*and because I know it's gonna get brought up, I want to revise my previous post.

Should Nintendo have launched the 3DS at a lower price? Yes.
Should they lower the price now because of the PS Vita? No.

that is what was meant when I originally replied.

[Drizzt]

One thing that hasn't been brought up yet is how bad the economy is right now. Alot of people are unemployed, and the ones that aren't have to pay their bills before they can justify buying a game system for their kids. With inflation some people just can't afford it.

[Ceric]

Hold on their Bisquick.

Where are the numbers that prove that the 3DS is doing worse then the DS at launch?  The Software is stronger.  The Number out their is Larger, I'll take the numbers that refute these.  Anyone who says the 3DS launch window is weaker or slower then the DS is looking back with rose color glasses.  I'll accept Similar. 

On your Point BnM.  Those numbers you gave in your post my quick Math said that Nintendo did indeed spend $1.80 more on a battery.  The 3DS life span is rarely a problem and the recent patch it has gotten better from my own experience.  I would argue the cost of any amount of internal Flash is more then the part.  We are talking a small form factor device.  Where are you going to find the raw real estate for an additional flash chip?  Maybe including a bigger SD would have been Nice but its just like a computer and its harddrive.  You can always upgrade it relatively simply but its simpler on the 3DS because you don't have to reconfigure.  They could have gone with Micro-SD but that wouldn't honestly fit with the markets their trying to appeal to.  I like Micro-SD but its to small and easy to lose to be super practical outside of adapters.  Not to mention breakable.

I agree with Drizzt.  With the economy how it is now in the markets that have normally had more discretionary income many people just can't afford it who could have dropped that type of cash like buying a dinner 2 years ago.  I would also argue that for the DS line as well.  Unfortunately Inflation marches on at a rapid pace.  I'm still trying to figure out how Deflation would be so terrible right now.  Wages have not kept with inflation so its becoming harder and harder to get goods to consumers at profitable prices.  Nintendo wasn't as sensitive as they should have been to these pressures though how they price in the off markets have shown they never have been.