Rich Fiscus
9 Sep 2011 9:13
Sales of the Nintendo 3DS are up 260% in the US following a mid-August price cut.
This mirrors a similar trend in Japan, where a similar price drop resulted in the second best week ever for 3DS sales.
Unfortunately for Nintendo, sales don't necessarily translate to profits, and it appears the new price means losing money on every 3DS sold. That likely explains the rumored redesign for the handheld next year, which could be announced as soon as next week.
The 3DS was always a risky proposition for Nintendo, who has long ruled the handheld market despite often competing with systems boasting significantly better hardware. The DS platform has historically even been able to successfully compete with standard consoles, including the XBox 360, PS3, and even the wildly successful Wii.
One of the reasons for all that success was a competitive price, an advantage the 3DS didn't share when it launched.
With smartphones and similar devices increasingly looking like serious competitors in the mobile gaming space, it's more important than ever for the Nintendo's handheld to maintain competitive.