Nintendo confirms European 3DS price cut

NewsPublish Date 28/07/2011 - 9:10am GMT+1

Price to be cut by around a third and offers 20 free NES, GBA games for early adopters.

Nintendo of Europe will be reducing the European trade price of the Nintendo 3DS to retailers by around a third from August 12, 2011, as part of a global trade price reduction initiative.

"The ultimate price to consumers is, of course, determined by retailers, however we look forward to consumers benefiting from much lower retail prices very soon," reads a statement from Nintendo.

The 3DS currently retails for around £219, so a price reduction of around a 33 per cent would put the hardware in the £150 price bracket. Of course, retailers have already been offering the 3DS for well below the £219 mark so we could see stores cutting under £150 once the price reduction is made.

Nintendo of Europe also announced plans to offer an exclusive Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Programme to consumers who have purchased the Nintendo 3DS at the original launch price. The programme will enable these Nintendo 3DS owners to download 10 NES games and 10 Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games for free.

To register for the Ambassador Programme, early Nintendo 3DS adopters simply need to connect to the Nintendo eShop before August 12. The free software will then be made available at a later stage. More details on the programme will be announced on the Nintendo of Europe website shortly.

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CheekyLee @ Karlius

I don't think it's the 3D that has harmed it. At least not anywhere near as much as the lack of games available has done. I have Zelda, Ridge Racer, and Resi Mercs. I'd like Ghost Recon, Street Fighter, and .... maybe Pilotwings ... possibly Monkey Ball .... beyond that I really am struggling to think of anything to get. Which isn't a particularly bad state of play this early in any consoles life, but is when you consider just how many DSs are out there already.

Posted 08:58 on 29 July 2011

Karlius

i'm quite amazed by the comments if I'm honest. Everyone I ever speak to about the screen feels exactly the same as me. So to hear a different point of view is amazing.

As everybody knows 3D is dying and is only being pushed by Hollywood and cinemas to stop filming of screens. Opening week of Harry potter saw a 26% figure of 3D viewers. With the looming release of large AMOLED screens at reasonable prices this will give manufacturers something new to push again.

I'm getting rather off topic now and will bring it back by saying the 3DS was overpriced and the only reason why it's flopped was the lack of interest in the 3D element and for people like myself unimpressed with the offerings. Played 3 games maybe not the best ones but all are better with 3D off in my opinion.

Posted 07:28 on 29 July 2011

CheekyLee

Karlius, I used to have my doubts about 3D on ANY screen. But now, I will say this. It is impossible to overstate that initial WOW moment when you see the 3D effect in person for the first time. What 3D brings to the games? Debatable. But what it does for videos, particularly trailers, is to make them all the more impressive. When playing through Zelda, I imagine that everyone pushes the slider down for most of the game, but guarantee that they turn it right back up the second they are in any kind of cut-scene. It really does make a difference, and works so much better than at least I expected.

Posted 01:58 on 29 July 2011

pblive

Really depends what you want 3D to do. I'm not keen on having games follow those dodgy 3D movies where people deliberately point sticks out of the screen. I'd rather it was used subtly in the game. It certainly makes Zelda look even better with more depth to the game area.

And it does appear to come out of the screen when done right. If you've collected any of the puzzles on puzzle quest then you can see this.

Posted 20:37 on 28 July 2011

Karlius @ Woffls

Works perfectly well in both the 14" and 19" monitors i've seen.

Posted 19:46 on 28 July 2011

Woffls @ Karlius

I'm just going to bypass the conversions and make an educated guess of £149.99, maybe bundled with Pilot Wings.

"Fake inverted 3D crap" is the best we're going to get from glasses-free 3D for quite some time. Especially in a consumer electronics device. also, depth is relative so it doesn't really matter which way it goes.

Posted 17:24 on 28 July 2011

Karlius @ pblive

Who you kidding it's a glorified hologram.

Posted 16:21 on 28 July 2011

pblive @ Karlius

Works fine for me and is sometimes far more impressive that the 3D at the cinema, depending on how it's used.

Posted 16:15 on 28 July 2011

Karlius

At the mo the Unit costs around $250 in US and their cut is to be to $!70.

We pay our tax up front but at a higher rate but avg tax rate is around 6% which brings the console in at $265 and $180 respectively.

$265 / 1.6 (Exchange Rate) = £165.63 Which isn't too far away from our current pricing of £169.

So if we use the above calculation to base the new price we end up with.

$170 / 1.6 (Exchange Rate) = £106.25 add on a little extra as before and it would come to £112 so maybe £115 to £120

£120 is not a bad price in my eyes even though i'd turn off the fake inverted 3D crap that doesn't work on this small a screen.

My guess for uk is £129.99 though as we almost always get screwed.

Posted 16:14 on 28 July 2011