In a recent interview with GamesBeat, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata mentioned that while he couldn’t divulge pricing at this time, the Nintendo 3DS would not be sold at a loss to Nintendo.
From the interview:
SI: I have to refrain from talking specifically about the price point. What I can confirm is that, in terms of the production costs, it will cost more than the costs for the Nintendo DS today. Having said that, we believe we will produce enough value worthy of the production cost. We do not think we have to sell the products below cost.
This mirrors Nintendo’s pricing with the Wii, which launched as the only home console at the time to turn profit on hardware sales.
What this means for the consumer price for the 3DS is anybody’s guess, but Iwata did give some clues ”“ the production costs are higher than the Nintendo DS today ”“ which translates to a higher price for the consumer. Iwata didn’t say if the cost was higher than the regular DS or the DSi, but at best that puts the 3DS cost above $129 if you use the stock unit, or $169 for the DSi. If we’re playing on the safe side, we’ll use the DSi as our meter, which suggests the price could break the $200 barrier.
When asked in a completely unscientific and completely casual poll at E3, we found that most gamers felt that $199 would be an ideal price for the unit ”“ but could such a price be possible? We can assume a $200 price point without much concern ”“ most would agree that it would be a fair. The next most recent, and expensive handheld to hit the market was the PSPgo, which retailed new for $249 ”“ and was considered to be overpriced due to theorized lower production costs over the previous model. In contrast the 3DS contains new technology, increased processing power, three cameras, and an touch screen in addition to a widescreen 3D Parallax Barrier LCD, and it may not be unreasonable to suspect a higher price-point.
There are other concerns as well ”“ consumers may not want to pay more for a portable ”“ even a 3D portable ”“ then they would for Nintendo’s home console, giving the 3DS a maximum price cap of $199. If Nintendo breaks this taboo, they won’t want to reach far, and would be well advised to stay below the Wii’s launch price of $249. So let’s just say a price between $199 and $249 is reasonable, with upward possibilities of $299, just to cover our bases.
Our most reasonable prediction? $229, tops. Hopefully Nintendo will clarify this conjecture soon by announcing a price and release date.
What do you think the 3DS should sell for? Should it be packaged with any bonus items? Leave a comment and let us know!
If the 3DS has strong support from Hollywood studios, and is a viable alternative as a 3-D movie player, I would be OK with paying $300. If the movie line up is weak, I don't want to pay more than $229.
i would agree with Bbelt, $229 price isn't insane though i'd suspect that with the economy nintendo would have to package at least one title due to the fact that for some families it might be hard to buy the system and a game. it doesn't have to be anything big, if they were going to it would have to be something to showcase the 3d the best, as that is the perfect way to introduce the consumer to the whole 3d idea, that's where some of the ds launch titles failed
$229.99 would seem right for me (lower would be even better, of course!).
But anything above that would be getting into console price territory, and that would make me hesitate, as much as I had never wanted a handheld as much as this one…
What bbelt said
$200.00 with 3DS Play packed in.
As I wrote on Gamasutra. I think it fits with what they've said relative to current DS pricing vs costs, market expectations and Nintendo's expectations:
Total guestimation out my butt (guided a bit by isuppli teardowns of mobiles), but here goes:
Motherboard: $5
Wifi Tranceiver: $5
Arial: $1
Controller Chip: $3
Ram: $5
NAND flash: $5
CPU: $10
GPU x2: $20
Speakers and microphone: $3
IR port: $2
Accelerometer: $3
Gyro: $4
Battery: $4
Transformer: $4
Power Circuit: $1
VGA Camera x3: $15
Casing: $5
DSP: $2
Mechanisms: $1
Buttons and controls: $4
Large asymetric pixel screen: $16
Fixed Parallax Overlay: $6
Secondary Screen: $10
Resistive Touch overlay: $10
Hardware Codec: $3
Assembly: $6
Lisencing: $4
Packaging: $4
Shipping: $10
Retail take: $10
Total: $181
I'm probably out on a bunch of parts, and missing others, but I'd like to think the errors average out: Either way, it's easy to see how Nintendo could probably reasonably price at $200, cover all the costs, and still pull a decent margin. $250 maybe for mega profits, but talk of $300 is extreme I reckon. I know they'd rather price it profitable but affordable than uber-profitable and exclusive.
@elmer
I think you forgot to add in (2) $15 cameras, bumping it up t0 $211.
I hope your right though. If this is the case, they could still sell it for $230 – $250 and make a profit.
Well, $199 would be the most Nintendo could charge for the unit before consumers cried foul. Taking that into consideration they could just delay the release until AFTER E3 2011 to show up final games and launch in July-August so the price on the components comes down enough for the $199 price to be possible. Sure, stockholders might not like it but their profits for the 2011 fiscal year will be crazy so that makes up for the delay.
No, $15: 3x $5 apiece. Considering the camera on the iphone 3GS has 9X the resolution, has a bigger surface area, electromechanical autofocus, higher frame rate, and incorporates codecs for less than $10 a year ago, I think $5 each is a fair shake at the end of 2010.
I believe it will retail for $199.99, as to when, I have no idea.
I don't think Nintendo's ever sold anything beyond $249 and I don't think they plan to anytime soon. I think $229 would be a near perfect price.
…$229 plus pre-loaded apps & software or maybe demo cart, movie would be nice…. How about a 3DS 'channel' with downloadable 3D movie trailers??
I hope it's less than $200.
$230 sounds great. true…some families might not like that at first (mine for example) but then again…if things aren't going so well they might pull a price reduction…
In Canada, I have noticed a trend everytime a new DS version is released. Pretty simple really. Every unit gets reduced by $20 and the newest one takes over the top price point.
Keeping with their modus operandi, the pricing structure will be:
3DS – $199
DSiXL – $179
DSi – $159
DS lite – $119
The bottom unit is usually on 'sale' for $99.
Alright, seems everyone is confused about the Nintendo 3DS price point. As to what the 3DS will probably cost when it launches in the US or globally. Let's say US for now. The price point can probably be no higher than $229 only for the mere reason that the system has 3D built into it that can be changed from 3D to not 3D with that little switch on the top right side of the top screen. Then you have the new HOME Button and new features that will be in the portable plus the Analog Slider and online, DS Shop ( if it 's still there ) which would probably run the portable into an area of $249 like how the Wii first started. Sure you might say, that's insane! It's just a freakin' portable for cryin' out loud. But then again, when you think about all the new stuff they're adding to the portable, then why not. I mean, it's gotta be worth it for a price like that if we're getting good games for the portable at the start of it's lifecycle. Originally, I was thinking at the beginning, sure, Nintendo can only charge $199 for the console to launch it globally, but then again, maybe $229 because of all the stuff the portable will be packing when it comes out.
Honestly, I can't really see them selling it for a higher price than their home console. (Have they ever done that? Or anybody else for that matter?) But yeah, I wouldn't be suprised if it was at least $190. The 'special' edition, (Which would probably wind up being a set like the DSi 'Mario game pack' edition.) should have OoT, Starfox, and Metal Gear Solid 3. (It should be shiny midnight blue. :3)
most likely 220-250. will drop in price after 18 months when a 3DS "Lite" model comes out
I would have to say that as much as I want this I would not be willing to spend more than $199. And even this price point puts me on the fence. At $149 (I know it will never happen) I would be a first day buyer and $179 I would be able to justify a purchase, but no way will I spend over $200 for a nintendo handheld. And this is coming from a true nintendo geek/fanboy who owns no other systems, but nintendo.
What did the Virtual Boy retail for (US and Canadian) when it launched? For some reason, I recall the price being higher than $199… mind you, that was in Canadian funds and the US $ could have been valued higher at that time.
I still think the 3DS will retails for $199.99 when it launches… Nintendo will make a small profit on the unit and then make a killing with 1st party software.
Has to be $199. Won't buy until its that price, no matter how cool it looks. Handhelds have a limit, and thats the top for me.
I feel the need to point out that he was talking about production costs– not sale price.
The DS is several years old, I would bet that it is dirt cheap to produce a DS. I believe most people have the price way too high. I'm predicting $150 ($180 if they include a game).
come on, everyone of you is going to buy it even if it is 300$ lol.
this is the best thing ever.
and i hope it would come with nintendogs +cats just like the first nintendo ds!
I think all systems should be bundled with a game, if not just to show off the system capabilities, like what Wii Sports Did for the Wii remote, there should be some sort of interesting 3d game that comes with the 3DS, to show off the system's offerings.
Well considering the DS released with Metroid Prime Hunters Demo… I'd guess something like that could be released for the 3DS… that way they don't need to charge extra but everyone gets a taste.
Another thing would be some 3DS points with systems at launch (like the DSi) and allow you to spend them on some downloadable content. 3DS of the 8-Bit Punch-Out?!? Sign me up!