| DitchPlaya said: Hmm wonder how Nintendo will react, im guessing with the recent downward spiral of Wii and DS sales, the 3DS was priced as high to prove that they are still the champ in the handheld arena. |
Looking at the 3DS, I think Nintendo is doing two things:
1. Offer a unique value that smartphones and other mobile computers can't offer. That means 3D, which apparently doesn't work very well with touchscreens.
2. Focus on your core competency. Don't get too distracted by mobile communications and media, just make better games than the phone developers.
The practical result is that Nintendo is moving upmarket right now, serving the customers who want really high quality mobile games. I think the big price tag on the 3DS is there to pay for all the tech they've added to serve those customers, plus a little hedge against underpricing the 3DS at launch. Nintendo probably could have sold the Wii for $299 for two years after launch without seriously impacting sales, but you can't jack up the price on a consumer device after you find out it's a hit.
Nintendo can live quite comfortably in the upmarket, perhaps waiting for a chance to disrupt again.
"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event." — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
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