Nintendo loves us too much.
At least according to Wedbush Securities’ Michael Pachter and M2 Research’s Billy Pidgeon, who both said the $250 3DS price is unnecessarily low.
“I’m impressed that they had the confidence to charge $249,” Pachter said. “I think that they’re going to regret it. It’s going to sell out and they’re leaving money on the table. I’m impressed that they’re this consumer friendly – that really matters. So it’s not shareholder friendly, but consumers are going to love the $249 price point.”
Pidgeon echoed Pachter’s predictions, but questioned the impact of competition from phone games, Sony’s unannounced handheld project and the cost of software for the 3DS.
“To me, what remains to be seen is software pricing,” Pachter said. “So far, it’s a little higher in Japan and they haven’t mentioned what they’ll be here.”
Pachter said the 3DS’ biggest problem will be physical availability.
“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,” Pachter said. “I think the biggest problem they’ll have is that you’ll never see one in stores in 2011. It’ll be sold out forever. We’ll get like a million or 1.25 million, and so will Europe, and those will be gone in weeks.”
Do you think $250 is too much of a screaming deal for the 3DS? Are you planning on buying one when it drops March 27?
I’ve just ordered mine, but i’m in the UK and it’s £229 here thats well over $300 so i don’t know why it’s so cheap for you guys in the US. I’m happy to pay it tho!
Oh dear. I personally think $250 is far too much, let alone the £229 ($364) being quoted by stores in the UK. However, if supply is going to be as tight as Mr Pachter says I’m sure the hardcore Nintendo fans will soon buy up every unit.
However, in the long term I’m not sure the casual consumer who’s got a DS will necessarily want to upgrade. Also, besides all the competition from phones the likes of Apple are already copyrighting competitors to the 3DS’s screen and I say good luck to them! Competition can only be good for the consumer and the Big N hasn’t had enough of that recently. Roll on a portable war!
I like the pricepoint of $250 and I am sure most gamers do, though I am not buying it (day one at least). I do think that Nintendo is missing out on money, but this will mostly because of day one gamer buyers. If the price were any higher I don’t know if the ‘moms’ will understand why ‘that Nintendo DS’ is so overpriced.
So this guy think they should charge more cause they can?So annalist’s cant tell the difference between a company and profiteering?Link not working for me so i cant read the whole article.His argument Wasn’t even about the hard ware cost or any thing.It about trying to convince people to pay more.It rather insulting to consumer’s really.Like we are to stupid to understand manufacturing cost to know when we getting fucked.I figure out this was the price tag way back.So I’m not to upset about it.Not buying it till it come down though.
“See what the experts have to say about the latest piece of handheld hardware from Nintendo.”
This line suckered me into reading this news.. and indeed I’d love to hear from the experts, but all I read is the usual Pachter babble ôO
you know what? fuck pachter. he’s siding with the enemy and he shall be drawn and quartered just about kotick.
I want to if any bundles come out and about the stock limits. Also the game prices could make a difference. SO far the only launch title I want is Street Fighter. We will have to see. I think Pachter is crazy but fun to listen too.
This kind of consumer friendly pricing structure needs to be encouraged… ahem… Activision.
I wander what that price announcement has done to Nintendo share price if it’s not a shareholder friendly price.
An if the 3D turns out to be a bit iffy then that $250 price tag is gonna start looking pretty steep, mind you us brits are getting screwed either way.
@Ashman and @FmF
People need to understand that Pachter is a business analyst. His evaluates actions of companies and tries to predict what that will do to a companies share price. He basically makes calls and advises companies on how to perform better i.e make more money!
Unlike the visitors to this site and the Axe lords, who voice their concerns about our favorite industry, in order to try and improve it for the gamers and consumers overall.
Pachter is saying charge 300, create a shortage and you will have another money printer on your hands. We are saying charge less because if the consumer can buy a product for cheaper its better.
Remember that Pachter is on the other side of the industry, but that doesn’t make what he is saying any less valid.
I will not be picking up a 3DS at all, not because of price, it is just my gaming preference (I have a PSP and I very rarely use it, if I’m at home I play on consoles, and I drive everywhere so I don’t have any public transport usage).
As someone who has no degree in economics nor the inclination to pursue one, here’s my two-cents: Nintendo is brilliant. Noting their history of supporting new hardware launches with a modest offering of first-party software the price point is likely to inspire consumers to start their game collections strong. Regardless of the adoption rate of the system, Nintendo’s profits are likely to see a massive boost for the rest of the year as well as further demonstrate why they are not only the past but the future and present of gaming.
thats fine Mr.Pachter however the uk are still getting a very raw deal i mean £229 (270euro, $364) is a fair bit more than what you’d pay for the new xbox here in Ireland…
and while i know he is not refering to the uk price in the above quotes i will be interested in what he has to say about it in the future.
I would say I agree. Personally: $250 for a hand held is out of the question. I havn’t owned a hand held since the GBA (and never played it), but Nintendo may have me as a customer again if that 3DS gets below $200. The tech is cool, and from what I hear the hardware is quite robust in there.
Business wise, I totally agree with Pach. Nintendo is trying to make a product like that more available to that huge casual market. If they charged what they could get for it competition-wise, let’s say somewhere between $300-$350 USD, then they’d loose a very large audience of moms (and so their kids) and casual players who are put off by the price point.
I think Nintendo is trying to make the 3DS more available to everyone, in order to sell more in the long run. Totally legit business plan I think. And as for the UK prices, sorry ladies and gents… you guys get screwed on prices so often!
Seeing as here in the UK that £249 pricetag is equivelant to just under $400, i think not.