Note: This is NOT me complaining about Nintendo's stuff being expensive. I just noticed something.
Currently, Nintendo's 3DS and Wii U are well into their lives, being over 50 months old and 30 months old respectively. This is well into the life of both platforms, especially the 3DS. So it's strange that the two platforms have received so few price cuts.
The above is the basic cost of Nintendo's past four main consoles over the course of their lives in North America. As you can see, only the Wii went for a full year without a price cut, while the N64 and GameCube had $50 cuts 6 months after launch. The Wii U had a price cut in 10 months, not that much later, but by this point in fifth and sixth generations, both the N64 and GameCube had two major cuts each. Not only has the Wii U only had the single $50 cut, this is proportionately less than the cost of the N64 and GameCube.
Microsoft and Sony have used similar measures with their consoles. The 360 had many new models even before the Slim, which lowered price while increasing storage. The original top model had 20 GB of capacity at $400, then around 30 months later was replaced by a 60 GB model for $350. The PS3 had a $100 cut within a year while replacing older models with ones with more storage, long before the Slim. And going further back, the original Xbox and PS2 both had a $100 price cut in Spring 2002, despite the youth of the former and success of the latter.
Then we have handhelds. The GBA launched at $100, and got a superior update in the form of the SP for the same price, which would drop even further to $80 and less. This was in an era with minimal competition. The DS launched at $150, but 18 months later, it was replaced by the superior Lite version for $130, which would be $100 by 2011. The DSi was released at $170 in early 2009, but this price fell to $100 within three years.
The 3DS, however, has not had a dramatic price reduction since the $80 drop a few months after launch. Since Summer 2011, the basic hardware has not budged from $170. The four new models that have since been introduced have either been cheaper alternatives, included larger screens, or were improved versions of similar products for the same price.
So why has Nintendo not cut the price of any of their hardware? The Wii U and 3DS are not the Wii, able to keep a single price for years. And Nintendo's pushing of software bundled with hardware suggests that they recognize the need for value. Is the cost of making hardware truly that high? If so, how was Nintendo able to cut these costs more easily in the past?
Love and tolerate.
