Andre Yoskowitz
29 Jul 2011 16:21
Yesterday, we reported that Nintendo had announced a price drop for the 3DS handheld, following lackluster sales.
Starting August 12th, the console will cost just $170, down from $250.
Blaming himself for the poor sales performance of the device, president Satoru Iwata cut his salary in half, an almost unprecedented move for an exec.
Research firm IHS iSuppli recently did a component teardown of the console and found that the cost of parts was $100.71. Manufacturing costs turned the bill into $103.25. An old adage is that companies wholesale the items at half the retail price (unless you are Apple), so it can be implied that Nintendo is wholesaling the 3DS at $85 per unit, which would leave them with a glaring loss per sale.
This is of course speculation, however, as it is unclear what price Nintendo is and will sell their console for to retailers.