Bic Camera Co., a Tokyo-based operator of electronics store, sold all of its 3DS stock in one day when the handheld became available for pre-order on Jan. 20, said Kohei Ueda, a spokesman, without elaborating. Culture Convenience Club Co., which operates Tsutaya stores, also sold out on pre-order, spokeswoman Mari Oshiro said. Nintendo reiterated its September plan to ship 4 million 3DS units in its first month to prevent shortages.
Taking a trip down memory lane with Nintendo's previous handhelds we see one basic trend. If we throw out the outlier that is the Virtual Boy, Nintendo largely stuck to sub-$100 price points until the Nintendo DS was released. At that point the company moved up to the $150 and $170 ranges, with the DSi XL at $190. The Game Boy Micro was an update to the Game Boy Advance, hence its lower price point.
"I'm impressed that they had the confidence to charge $249; I think that they're going to regret it. It's going to sell out and they're leaving money on the table."
If you explain the feature set to most consumers, they would say $300 or more. So $249 is a bargain, and I think this thing is going to be on eBay for $500 immediately."
It'll be interesting to see how well it'll do compared with the DS at launch considering the $250 price tag. It's also nice to see that we've finally got the 3DS as a platform listing.
Any chance we can get the year updated to include 2011 for articles?
That’s the date its eagerly awaited 3DS portable gaming system will go on sale in North America. The device will be the first mass market consumer device to offer stereoscopic 3D images without the need for special glasses – something analysts see as critical to the success of 3D in the market.
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