3DS could cost more than $250 - Analyst

  • By Eddie Makuch, GameSpot
  • Posted Jul 26, 2010 3:25 pm PT

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter says Nintendo can sell "millions" at projected mark; software price average to climb as well.

Nintendo's glasses-free three-dimensional portable, the 3DS, walked away with the Best of Show accolade following the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo. In fact, anticipation for the handheld is so pronounced that industry analyst Michael Pachter thinks Nintendo can charge more than it ever has before for a piece of hardware and remain financially viable.

Nintendo raising the stakes with its new system?

According to the Wedbush analyst, the 3DS and its games are "revolutionary" enough to warrant elevated price tags at retail.

"We view the 3DS as a revolutionary device, and expect its launch to spur hardware and software sales," Pachter told video game Web site ComputerAndVideoGames. "Due to the unique 3DS experience previewed by Nintendo at E3 this year, we believe Nintendo will be able to sell millions of units even at a price of upwards of $250."

In addition to the system, Pachter believes the system's software lineup will increase average software prices over its predecessor.

"From a software perspective, we believe Nintendo will be able to increase DS software prices, from a blended average of around $25 today to over $29 next year," he added.

The 3DS is currently scheduled to be released in early 2011. If the 3DS launches at $250, it will debut at $100 more than the original DS did in 2004.

597 Comments

  • shadow-xz

    Posted Aug 24, 2010 5:54 pm PT

    WTFOMG
    EGGPLANT!!!!!

  • mortal1012002

    Posted Aug 23, 2010 9:38 pm PT

    Still beats the price of what PS3's were charged for upon release. Besides there are plenty of games on this system I am interested in, like the new Animal Crossing and Paper Mario games, and no doubt there will be a new Dragon Quest, and I'm always up for that. In other words. I'm buying this handheld device, no matter the price.

  • Lawsow

    Posted Aug 23, 2010 6:20 pm PT

    maybe it will come out on black friday, that would be devious. But it could be when thier launch titles are finished.

  • LgacyX6

    Posted Aug 23, 2010 3:01 pm PT

    It's like getting a Nintendo Wii at that amount. I'm gonna wait till either the price decreases or if there is any game that interests me for the handheld of course.

  • hansumguy

    Posted Aug 13, 2010 11:52 pm PT

    if they stick with around a 200$ pricing they will sell a LOT more than they would at 250$ thus on the long run it would be more profitable for nintendo+ currently the dsi xl costs 170-180$ at amazon.com but at amazon.co.uk its 160 pounds around 240$ and nintendo said its going to have a sub 200 pound pricing so i think it will be definitely less than 250$

  • Pipluplikeslink

    Posted Aug 13, 2010 1:01 pm PT

    Does Nintendo know that the United States and Japan's economy sucks right now!! 250$ I will wait for a price drop.....

  • Adidam

    Posted Aug 7, 2010 9:11 am PT

    @iilsSueZ

    You're right!! :-)

  • chimpmeister posted Aug 5, 2010 6:35 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    chimpmeister

    Posted Aug 5, 2010 6:35 pm PT (hide)

    @Da_Bee

    Whether you like it or not, it will be a fake 3D effect, once again provided by another Nintendo gimmick. While I'm sure hordes of Nintendo sheeple and idiot casual gamers will buy this, just as they have all the other ridiculous DS consoles, that doesn't change the fact that this is just one more cheesy design by Nintendo, masters at pushing useless gimmicks on their willing victims. I can't wait until this company finally fails and folds, it won't be soon enough. RIP Nintendo, soon we hope!

  • iiIsSueZ

    Posted Aug 5, 2010 6:20 pm PT

    @Adidam

    You're a prick

  • Adidam

    Posted Aug 5, 2010 5:36 pm PT

    Only people who don't have a lot of money complain about the price!! :-)

  • Felkin_

    Posted Aug 5, 2010 1:11 pm PT

    Hokay, so adjust from Yank money to good ol' British pounds... add VAT... add the usual "It's Europe, lets double the price" mentality of US and Japanese firms, and... uh-oh. *gulp* Uh, are the banks lending money again? Because I think I'm gonna need to take out a loan...

  • bal15r24

    Posted Aug 5, 2010 1:08 pm PT

    Input/Output:
    A port that accepts both Nintendo 3DS game cards and game cards for the Nintendo DS™ family of systems

    That tells alot (source: http://e3.nintendo.com/3ds/ )

  • Da_Bee

    Posted Aug 5, 2010 12:31 pm PT

    @chimpmeister:

    Who the hell keeps calling this fake 3D?? Fake 3D is where you put on glasses and no matter how far you move your head you are still given the same perspective rendered by the camera control in the game. Real 3D is where no matter where you move your head, the perspective changes with your eyesight. As such the Nintendo 3DS offers infinitely more "real" 3D compared with your 3D tv.

  • Coolyfett

    Posted Aug 5, 2010 11:48 am PT

    Coolyfett really hopes that Sony does not play into the 3D gimic! The PSP 4G just needs great HD visuals and many great games like the current PSP has. The PSP is the most amazing handheld ever created. Being that Coolyfett is such an awesome and unstoppable gamer, thats most likely the reason he chooses the PSP over the rest.

  • anthonycg

    Posted Aug 5, 2010 7:04 am PT

    3d is nice and all but certainly not $250 nice... You can buy 3d monitors for your freakin pc for only a bit more if you're into that. But mostly I'm not going to pay more for my handheld than I would pay for an entire console. Just doesn't seem right y'know...

  • gohtingqi1997

    Posted Aug 5, 2010 6:05 am PT

    time to have a good laugh at people with 3 d goggles when they are on the bus!

  • maitkarro

    Posted Aug 5, 2010 4:07 am PT

    @chimpmeister
    dude a slight upgrade from ds, I just lol at you it should be as powerful or more than a psp, especially if it's going to release Super Street Figher IV on it. It has almost the same graphics and just has more aliasing and a small resolution. Nevermind about SSFIV, if it can handle this Icarus game that well, then how can think it's only little superior to DS. DS couldn't get anything close to this 3DS power.

  • Richardthe3rd

    Posted Aug 4, 2010 10:44 pm PT

    All I have to add is that Michael Pachter is supposedly making these statements, which means one of two things:

    1. He's completely, hopelessly wrong, and this article is full of non-information and fail.

    2. There is a credible, obvious source of this information elsewhere.

    In the apparent absence of any contrary information, I'm going to go ahead and trust my gut and say that Pachter is once again completely full of failure. I don't see Nintendo releasing this for $250.

  • PS3callofduty

    Posted Aug 4, 2010 8:28 pm PT

    I dont think Nintendo would price it that high.
    Just look at the PSP Go, and it didnt sell much..
    Its not even being released near christmas, so it would be hard to sell.

  • Tullerman

    Posted Aug 4, 2010 1:30 pm PT

    what are some of you people saying? that 3ds is just a upgrade of ds, well it's not! Sure the name sucks and it tricks everyone and fool them to think that it's just another version but the hardware is almost or better then the PSP.

    I gonna buy one sense I don't have a DS and I want my Kingdom Hearts + it will be fun to see how good the 3d is

  • chimpmeister posted Aug 4, 2010 1:25 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    chimpmeister

    Posted Aug 4, 2010 1:25 pm PT (hide)

    @Gipshaw:

    No, I do understand . . . they may be trying to sell the 3DS as a "sequel" to the DS, but in reality it it nothing more than a slightly upgraded DS. It still plays DS games, still has the dual screens (a useless feature), still has almost an identical layout to the DS. There's nothing new or amazing here, just the added gimmick that it can play fake "3D" games (besides regular DS games). I don't buy this as a sequel at all, its nothing more than one more in an endless line of ripoff revisions to the original ripoff hardware (remember the original DS had a crappy dim screen too, until tey released the "DS Lite" with the brighter screen?), and I have no doubt the diehard Nintendo sheeple and casual gamers (their main market now) will buy it it.

  • jeffv547 posted Aug 4, 2010 1:13 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    jeffv547

    Posted Aug 4, 2010 1:13 pm PT (hide)

    You should all shut up

  • Gipshaw

    Posted Aug 4, 2010 12:09 pm PT

    @chimpmeister
    You don't seem to understand. The 3DS is a SEQUEL to the DS, not a new revision.

  • chimpmeister posted Aug 4, 2010 8:47 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    chimpmeister

    Posted Aug 4, 2010 8:47 am PT (hide)

    *YAWN* Yet another version of the gimmicky Nintendo DS, which has had more revisions than any handheld ever. Another revision for sheeple and casual gamers to waste their money on. The design of the DS itself is ridiculous, with a 2nd useless screen, so I passed on all the versions (including the pixellated and ugly DSI XL) . . . and of course will pass on this new "3DS" gimmick as well. I can already foresee that this is going to be yet another waste of money, with few good "3D" games and nothing really exciting. Then there's the issue of, will this system cause headaches like the doomed Virtual Boy did.

    Amazing that Nintendo can revise systems year after year, rehash the same old junk, and still sell to its flock of lemmings. At least it looks like the gravy train may be ending for them, since their last financial results were pretty bad. What a shame . . . NOT!

  • onthe_dl

    Posted Aug 4, 2010 6:02 am PT

    i really hope it's not $250.

    And remember what the first ds looked like? I think I'll wait till the 3dsi XL comes out for atleast 80 bucks cheaper 3 years from now.

  • ASnogarD

    Posted Aug 4, 2010 4:15 am PT

    I wont bother with it , not for a few months after release and a few price drops... hell most likely pick up a 2nd hand one from those who rush to grab it.

    Why ?

    Simple, first it will not have much of a library of titles to play then theres the issue of the programmers learning the ropes on the hardware and finally the inevitable 'slim' or 'lite' version of the unit.

    Wait a bit, price drops and theres more titles to choose from and probably more worthwhile bundles to choose from, plus the likelyhood of some tech geek getting bored of the handheld and sellingit cheap.

    (I learnt my lesson from buying the DS at launch, only had Ridge Racer and the Metroid hunters demo...rest of the time it played only GBA titles, I flogged it and picked up a PS 2 instead... and bought the DS Lite later)

  • ceaseless

    Posted Aug 3, 2010 10:19 pm PT

    Never listen to Pachter. No one can stand this guy, not even the users on Gametrailers.com. He's the other side of the industry you don't want.

  • Adidam

    Posted Aug 3, 2010 10:05 pm PT

    (3DS) three dee es, will be a success, could we ask for anything less? I won't second guess, the loneliness of success, being on top, staying on top, three dee es (3DS) will never be second best!!!!!
    peace................

  • KillerWabbit23

    Posted Aug 3, 2010 7:21 pm PT

    When was the last time this guy was right on the money? Anyone? Yeah. Thought so.

  • ashokmeena

    Posted Aug 3, 2010 6:38 pm PT

    I hope the price is not that high.. but will buy it anyways.. hope it launches soon (will be my first DS)

  • fantasyfacade

    Posted Aug 3, 2010 2:50 pm PT

    I love my DS and I'd love to have the 3DS but for that price I think I would do without it. Rather have a few more games.

  • Gantua

    Posted Aug 3, 2010 1:06 pm PT

    Buying it period. Don't care what the cost is.

  • e1shw

    Posted Aug 3, 2010 11:45 am PT

    I really don't care what the price will be, I will pay it. Plain and simple, this system will be epic and set major landmarks for the industry. Really IMO the handheld market needed a new push to move things along to the "next-gen" level.

  • HisuroKun

    Posted Aug 3, 2010 7:39 am PT

    "sell millions of units even at a price of upwards of $250."

    LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

    Stupid analyst is stupid. If there's one thing that Nintendo has always had over Sony and Microsoft, it's their lower system pricetags. Like AnelZukic said, Nintendo won't sell the system for a price that is lower then the production cost of a unit, and I highly, HIGHLY doubt it costs over $175 to make a 3DS system. Even though he makes a good point that with this new technology being pioneered, it can still sell a lot, but let's not forget why the PS3/PSX failed financially. The analyst can go die, I'd sooner wait for this year's TGS to get a good fix on the price.

  • 02050muh

    Posted Aug 3, 2010 7:28 am PT

    i can get the best h**kr with that much...which is more satisfying

  • DrEvilKoala

    Posted Aug 3, 2010 7:20 am PT

    Analysts say analysts could be wrong.

  • geomyr

    Posted Aug 3, 2010 6:50 am PT

    gonna have to save more money to this one 3d is cool to play on a handled

  • Talk2Luke

    Posted Aug 3, 2010 3:47 am PT

    I think where Nintendo falls down is their marketing for this product. The only announcements I've heard are on places like this and the layman would not have any reason to buy this product over the DSi.

  • Dan21278

    Posted Aug 2, 2010 5:52 pm PT

    When I saw the price I LOLED. I wouldn't pay more than 200(tax included) for a hand-held.

  • TdWp808

    Posted Aug 2, 2010 3:56 pm PT

    250$ is the analyst's estimate. i dont think nintendo has released a price for this yet, but i hope it is decent because ive been looking to get a DS.

  • SolidTy

    Posted Aug 2, 2010 3:21 pm PT


    $250...I don't think that's a good price for a handheld...but it is a cool handheld. I don't want to go past $200, and I pray for less. The cheaper it is, the more I can buy for my family. Otherwise, I may just buy one only for myself until the price goes down for more 3DS's.

  • diggyman

    Posted Aug 2, 2010 9:54 am PT

    I'm buying it. High price could hurt sales though.

  • lanmanna posted Aug 2, 2010 9:12 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    lanmanna

    Posted Aug 2, 2010 9:12 am PT (hide)

    DS Phat- 2004
    DS Lite- 2006
    DSi- 2009
    DSiXL- 2010

    New DS systems don't come out every year. Sony has actually released new PSP revisions quicker than Nintendo's DS.

  • rocano

    Posted Aug 2, 2010 8:42 am PT

    *i do not think it will be movie quality

  • rocano posted Aug 2, 2010 8:40 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    rocano

    Posted Aug 2, 2010 8:40 am PT (hide)

    ppl do we even know how good the 3d is wat if its chessey or if it sux or the grafix are so bad that even good 3d looks bad i mean the 3ds is cool but its not magic i do think the 3d will be movie quality

  • drumma1

    Posted Aug 2, 2010 8:40 am PT

    I doubt I'll buy this the day its released. Knowing Nintendo and how they release mulitiple versions of the same thing, I'll just wait till they come out with a 3DSi.

  • magusat999

    Posted Aug 2, 2010 7:49 am PT

    $250.00 for a handheld - I don't care if it cooks breakfast for you, it's not going to do well. One of the reasons the Nintendo handhelds have been selling so well is that the price was reasonable (although I really think that over $50.00 for a handheld game machine is insanity anyway - you DO have to buy games too, ya know). I think Nintendo has forgotten that and is letting their pride get too big! take away the price and it's going to see just how low the sales can get...

  • hide-san posted Aug 2, 2010 12:51 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    hide-san

    Posted Aug 2, 2010 12:51 am PT (hide)

    Buying it. No questions asked.

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