3DS price drop?

[DarthDelgado]

The 3DS is very expensive for a handheld console. Do you think it would sell better if the price dropped?

[Guest Mr. Nintendo]

It would depend on how much the price drop was. If it was $200, I would imagine a little bit of a boost of hardware sold. Besides, I think you usually wait a month or 5 to see the price drop.

[Deploy]

Very expensive for a handheld console? It is actually quite average for a brand new handheld. (In general, not just from Nintendo).

I don't think the price will drop for about a year at least.

[LoneWolf]

The raw materials to make a 3DS only cost $150, so a price drop is inevitable.

[Thu'um]

yes, but profit could decrease as well

["User"]

The raw materials to make a 3DS only cost $150, so a price drop is inevitable.

I lol'd @ raw materials. That includes labour right?

[Thu'um]

I lol'd @ raw materials. That includes labour right?

ya, labor by japaneese odomated factories

[LoneWolf]

That includes labour right?

In China, paid labor there is not.

[CrypticQuery]

Before saying the 3DS is expensive again, I want to see the price of the NGP, and I also hope that Sony doesn't put forth another infamous price tag. (599US DOLLARS!)

Though a price drop for the 3DS will happen eventually, with the inevitable upgrades that Nintendo always seems to put out. :lol:

[Fluxy]

Yeah, it's kinda like...

: "We'll drop the price... $50-$100!!!!!!!"

Crowd: "YAY!!!!! I can afford it now!"

: *Makes 3DS XL* "Problem?"

But in all seriousness, it will go down, like all things do, other than gas, but a new upgrade will come out when they have to sell for less, to try and get people to still spend the most money as possible.

[Deploy]

LOLOLOLOLOL

Scary number post. :shock:

[Redeemer]

Well I want it to go down soon, because then I CAN BUY ONE. Seriously. Some of my friends have one and it makes me rageface.

[DarthDelgado]

Yeah, the price will eventually drop, I was wondering if it would drop before then in hopes of selling better.

[Deploy]

Yeah, the price will eventually drop, I was wondering if it would drop before then in hopes of selling better.

It's actually selling quite well, but I agree that a price drop would help.

[Ghieri]

I hope there's a price drop before SF64 3D is released, because so far it's too expensive, especially when considering I would be buying it just for that game. :?

[DarthDelgado]

I hope there's a price drop before SF64 3D is released, because so far it's too expensive, especially when considering I would be buying it just for that game.

Yeah, I wouldn't even suggest doing that.

[DZComposer]

Raw Materials DOES NOT INCLUDE LABOR. (I am Business Major)

Raw Materials is exactly what it sounds like, the materials (IE parts, plastic, etc) that go into the product.

Raw Materials is one of two main types of variable costs, the other one being Direct Labor.

It may cost Nitnendo $150 in materials, by I would wager Direct Labor to be at least $25, add on static costs and cost recovery for R&D and Software Development, and the current price makes a lot of sense as total costs are easily at least $200.

[DarthDelgado]

Yeah, but $250 for a handheld?

[DZComposer]

$500+ for an iPad that can't replace your computer, phone, or e-reader?

That aside, they have to reach a certain economy of scale before a price drop is feasible. Remember: Nintendo is not as diversified as Sony and Microsoft. Loss-Leads are much more risky for Nintendo than MS or Sony.

Materials will likely need to to significantly under $100 to get a sub-$200 price point.

[DarthDelgado]

$500+ for an iPad that can't replace your computer, phone, or e-reader?

That aside, they have to reach a certain economy of scale before a price drop is feasible. Remember: Nintendo is not as diversified as Sony and Microsoft. Loss-Leads are much more risky for Nintendo than MS or Sony.

Materials will likely need to to significantly under $100 to get a sub-$200 price point.

Yeah, its true that Nintendo doesn't have much to fall back on if something they put out fails, or doesn't sell well.

So they sell enough, and then the price drops?

[DZComposer]

Pretty much.

Don't expect it soon. These between system transition periods are often financially stressful for game companies due to the Osbourne Effect.

The Osbourne Effect is when you have a drop in sales of a product caused by the announcement off a new one. Bad announcement timing can result in overstock of the current system. This means that production will have to cut back or cease, or in worst case scenario, the excess stock having to be sold at cost or, worse, a loss.

DSi sales have undoubtedly taken a hit since the 3DS was announced, and now that Cafe has been confirmed, Wii sales are likely to plummet.

[Star Fox Runner]

I don't think a price drop will happen anytime soon, think about it. The 3DS was only released last month, if they dropped the price now or anytime in the near future, that would make a lot of customers very angry because they already bought the expensive one.

Angry customers means a loss in customers.

[DarthDelgado]

Pretty much.

Don't expect it soon. These between system transition periods are often financially stressful for game companies due to the Osbourne Effect.

The Osbourne Effect is when you have a drop in sales of a product caused by the announcement off a new one. Bad announcement timing can result in overstock of the current system. This means that production will have to cut back or cease, or in worst case scenario, the excess stock having to be sold at cost or, worse, a loss.

DSi sales have undoubtedly taken a hit since the 3DS was announced, and now that Cafe has been confirmed, Wii sales are likely to plummet.

You know, your pretty smart.

So Nintendo will drop the price when it sells enough.

What about if there's competition?

[DZComposer]

I wouldn't say it is intellect. I am a business major (BBA in Computer Information Systems, specifically), and I had to take classes about this stuff. Management, Marketing, Accounting, Business Finance, etc.

Competition itself won't change anything. What can is the decision made to combat said competition. If the threat is significant, and there is some room in the profit margin, a small price cut could be feasible, but it may not be. If the profit margin is tiny already, then there isn't much they can do, pricing wise, that wouldn't involve taking a loss lead. As I said earlier, loss leads are especially risky for Nintendo sine they don't have other business sectors to prop-up a loss leader.

It completely depends on how aggressive they want to be. Other options they have are on the production side. They can scale-back production if they expect sales to fall, and still turn a profit, for example.

[Steve]

The system has poor battery life, and buying attachments to increase it kinda makes the device a little bit too bulky. So I can pretty much bet that the 3DS-lite will be around within the next 2 years. Nintendo has a big tendency on releasing slimer version of its portable devices, with some extras (this time, I would expect more battery life, of course, as a must at least),and cheaper than the original, so this can't be an exception.

Funny enough, this tactic works, most people that bought the original bulky DS went for the slimmer version when it came out, and even some of them went for the DSi. It simply attracts customers that were originally put off by the original device, and encourages those more dedicated gamers to buy yet another thing that does basically the same as the original one. Heck, just releasing the device on pink attracted a lot of girls.

Not to say, when it comes to videogames, software counts a lot, not only the systems. After all, some of the costs of the 3DS come from the integrated software itself.