Nintendo Hits The Big Red Button, 3DS Discussed

The Nintendo 3DS has just had an unprecedented price cut.  It hasn’t sold nearly as well as Nintendo wanted, and to combat this they’ve dropped the price by roughly a third – worldwide – and introduced a whole slew of free games to appease anyone that spent their hard earned cash on it when it released.

That includes me, and several other members of the team here. £200’s a fair chunk of money (even that was heavily discounted) and although naturally I’ve not got any less out of it than I would if the price had been lower on day one, you can’t help wonder whether we’ve all been guilty of just rushing into yet another piece of new hardware.

For some of us (myself and Dan mostly) we’re big Nintendo fans, but even us two can’t argue that the 3DS launched without key games and – in some cases like the Browser and eShop – features.

[drop2]Nintendo’s press release is buoyant, though. It promises AAA games (Star Fox 64 3D, Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7 and Kid Icarus: Uprising) for the near future (although that’s likely to be Dec 2011 onwards for the latter three) and, as you’d expect, talks up the price drop rather than making it sound negative.

“For anyone who was on the fence about buying a Nintendo 3DS, this is a huge motivation to buy now,” said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “We are giving shoppers every incentive to pick up a Nintendo 3DS, from an amazing new price to a rapid-fire succession of great games.”

Those games might end up being great (and I’m a huge Mario Kart fan) but the simple fact is that until Zelda came out, most of the games were middling at best, with Ubisoft’s Ghost Recon the surprise at launch.  The rest of the first party line-up, including Steel Diver and Pilotwings, just didn’t resonate with the public enough. Games like Dead or Alive and Street Fighter were great, though, but who’s going to buy a system just for them?

And then there’s the eShop, which only today is starting to kick off with original, made for 3DS content that’s not a port or a Pokemon-em-up – and even that’s the much released Let’s Golf, which has been on plenty of formats already. Nintendo should have had top tier games out for day one, they should have had the browser ready, and they should have filled up that eShop.

For the early adopters, a peace offering. Ten NES games from the beginning of September (presumably one a week, or something) and another ten Game Boy Advance titles later in the year. These are most welcome, and it looks from the range (Ice Climber, Mario Bros, Zelda, WarioWare, Metroid Fusion) that Nintendo aren’t scrimping on big hitters. If this is carried over to Europe wholesale then I’ll be chuffed.

But what about the rest of the team here?

“I’m not overly surprised by the announcement of a 3DS price cut,” said Dan. “How Nintendo expected the console to sell at a premium price point without the backup of a strong software line-up confuses me. We are being constantly told that good games are coming (and they are), but what about now? Hopefully this cut will entice more gamers to consider what is a very good console, in my opinion at least.”

“The few cancelled or delayed projects, the single save issue and the high price of software in this market all make for a beleaguered start for the device,” added Peter. “The good thing is, the 3DS is solid tech. Sold on a gimmick for sure but a powerful little thing with plenty of capability. A price drop, especially such a substantial one, might just kick start the market enough to encourage those delayed or cancelled projects back on track. And with the software comes the sales.”

“I didn’t think the 3DS was over-priced at launch,” said Greg. “I think the problem was it looked too much like the cheaper DSi for consumers to appreciate the differences and recognise the 3DS’ value.  The price drop is an incredibly aggressive move by Nintendo in a very uncertain economic period.”

[drop]”Not only should it significantly boost sales, in conjunction with the forthcoming games line-up, but it should help silence some of the vocal critics of the 3DS’ original price who were oblivious to how much the 3DS brought to the table and that there is such a thing as inflation.  Though they will now just say “told you so”.”

“Assuming we see a similar price drop that should put us at around £110-140 by my quick back of the envelope calculations,” added Kris. “For me that seems exceptionally cheap, but I’m still not sure the games are there yet for me to justify it. When we get around to the releases Nintendo outlined at E3 I’ll probably consider it, but I don’t know that I play on my original DS enough to really make me feel it’s a worthwhile purchase. Even so, it’s all about the games. No point laying out £100+ if there’s nothing to play.”

“I’m pleased by the free games and not that fussed about the price drop,” said Jen. “I was a launch day owner for the 3DS. Yes the launch line up wasn’t brilliant but I still chose to buy it knowing that the system would be cheaper sooner or later. It’s just how things work when it comes to technology and cars too. Price drop is good for everyone. Should mean more owners and more attention paid to a potentially great system.”

“Plus I get free games which is fine by me! I’ve seen an odd backlash on the idea which seems bizarre to me. Not like Nintendo had to offer anything.”

“One thing does bother me though,” concludes Dan, “with the final price ultimately being decided by the retailer, will gamers want to part with their cash or once again wait for a couple of months for another price war?”

Home page image: Reuters.