3DS MSRP Drop to $169.99 On 08/12/11, already at Target, WM, Amazon

C

Celsius

CAGiversary!
Pre-order at the lower price at Amazon
iconwalmart_r3.gif
Nintendo 3DS Price Drop Hits on August 9th at Walmart


Quick Details:

Connect to the Nintendo eShop at least once before 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Aug. 11 to qualify for the below free games:

NES Virtual Console games:
Super Mario Bros.
Donkey Kong JR.
Balloon Fight
Ice Climbers
The Legend of Zelda
+ 5 more

Gameboy Advance Virtual Console games (exclusive to this program)
Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island
Mario Kart Advance
Metroid Fusion
Wario ware
Mario vs. Donkey Kong
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
+ 3 more


US Press Release
REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Nintendo of America today announced plans to drop the suggested retail price of its portable Nintendo 3DS™system to $169.99 in the United States, as new games based on some of the world’s most beloved video game franchises head to the system. The new price, down from the suggested launch price of $249.99 and effective Aug. 12, makes an outstanding value even better and sets up a strong holiday season for the system.

“For anyone who was on the fence about buying a Nintendo 3DS, this is a huge motivation to buy now,” said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “We are giving shoppers every incentive to pick up a Nintendo 3DS, from an amazing new price to a rapid-fire succession of great games.”

Nintendo 3DS has the strongest software lineup of any video game system this holiday season and the new price now opens up the glasses-free 3D experience to many more consumers. Building on the popularity of The Legend of Zelda™: Ocarina of Time™ 3D, which launched June 19, the upcoming game calendar is a Who’s Who of iconic video game franchises. Star Fox 64™ 3D arrives on Sept. 9, followed by Super Mario™ 3D Land in November, Mario Kart™ 7 in December and Kid Icarus™: Uprising during the holiday season. In addition to great games, Nintendo 3DS has a host of attractive features* that make it the must-have video game system this season:

The new Nintendo Video™ service automatically delivers short 3D videos from the worlds of music, comedy, animation and Hollywood.A free application allows Netflix members with unlimited streaming plans to instantly watch TV episodes and movies streaming from Netflix.

The Nintendo eShop is a digital store for Nintendo 3DS owners that provides access to a wide variety of downloadable content, such as original 3D software, classic games that have been re-mastered in 3D called 3D Classics, Game Boy™ and Game Boy Color “Virtual Console” games in their original 2D glory, and more than 350 Nintendo DSiWare™ games. Visitors can also view video game trailers, screen shots and product information for games, including those available at retail locations.

Since Nintendo 3DS launched in the United States on March 27, more than 830,000 people in the U.S. alone have purchased one to enjoy 3D visuals without the need for special glasses. These Nintendo 3DS owners represent some of Nintendo’s most loyal customers, and Nintendo is rewarding them for getting in on the action early with 20 free downloadable games from the Nintendo eShop.

These free games are available to anyone who owns a Nintendo 3DS system and uses a wireless broadband Internet signal to connect to the Nintendo eShop at least once before 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Aug. 11. These users will automatically be registered in the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program. The program contains two elements:

Starting Sept. 1, Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors will be able to download 10 NES™ Virtual Console™ games at no charge and before they are available in the Nintendo eShop to the general public. These games, including Super Mario Bros.™, Donkey Kong Jr.™, Balloon Fight™, Ice Climber™ and The Legend of Zelda™, are slated to become paid downloadable games, but Ambassadors get them early for free. Once the paid versions of the games are posted to the Nintendo eShop later in the year, the updated versions will be available to Ambassadors for download at no cost. By the end of 2011, Nintendo will provide Ambassadors with 10 Game Boy Advance Virtual Console games. These include games like Yoshi’s Island™: Super Mario™ Advance 3, Mario Kart™: Super Circuit, Metroid™ Fusion, WarioWare™, Inc.: Mega Microgame$ and Mario vs. Donkey Kong™. These games will be available exclusively to Ambassadors, and Nintendo currently has no plans to make these 10 games available to the general public on the Nintendo 3DS in the future.

More details about this program will be announced in the future.

Japan details
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2011/110728_3e.pdf

For Japan, if you buy before august 12, 2011 -- the day of the price drop you get 10 free VC NES games and 10 free VC GB advance games. the VC gba games will only be made available for early adopters -- and never for those who buy on the price drop date.

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/info110728/index.html

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/info110728/detail.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Upvote 0 Downvote
this news couldn't have come at a better time
I just received back 180$ I was scammed out of for a 3ds i tried to buy on ebay after several long weeks of waiting.

Not only is the price down, but it's also 10$ cheaper than I was willing to pay for? Schweet
 
[quote name='Salamando3000']Nah, it seemed pretty clear they don't intend to, at least not currently..."Nintendo currently has no plans to make these 10 games available to the general public on the Nintendo 3DS in the future."[/QUOTE]

It's just Public Relations speak.

If you asked nintendo about a price drop a week ago they'd say "Nintendo currently has no plans to drop the price of the Nintendo 3DS which provides a great value etc etc"
 
[quote name='Mad D']I'd rather have a voucher for a full retail 3DS game-- or about $100 back.[/QUOTE]

By Nintendo values, early adopters are getting like...$130-$150 back, depending on how they price GBA games in the future.
 
Not worth the $90 premium (nothing would be) but i've had a lot of fun with my 3DS.

It actually makes an awesome netflix watching portable device because it props up on its own for watching on a table or desk or bed. And the speakers are a lot better than my phone's ones.
 
[quote name='docvinh']I'm curious to see if this drives up sales. If people really don't want or enjoy 3d, it doesn't matter how much they'll drop the price.[/QUOTE]

everything you can do with it works just fine in 2D.

Actually, better - a lot of games look better or run smoother in 2D.
 
Also, this basically confirms Nintendo was selling the system at an INSANE profit margin. There is no way otherwise they would have done a drop this drastic.
 
[quote name='jer7583']It's just Public Relations speak.

If you asked nintendo about a price drop a week ago they'd say "Nintendo currently has no plans to drop the price of the Nintendo 3DS which provides a great value etc etc"[/QUOTE]

You're likely right, but I still don't like that they left open the possibility for not giving general pop those games.
 
I'm really curious about the price adjustment thing. My wife's been on the edge about getting a 3DS and if we can buy one now, connect to the eShop, then price adjust, but still get the free games... whew... that might be good enough to do it.
 
Not only was it a waste of money, it isn't even a quality product. Now I can play all the games I use to love on gba on my 3ds with its pathetic dpad, crap hinge, and screen scratching closure.
 
[quote name='crazydom2']Also, this basically confirms Nintendo was selling the system at an INSANE profit margin. There is no way otherwise they would have done a drop this drastic.[/QUOTE]

Well it worked for the wii. They just stick two gamecubes together and boom, huge profit
 
You know...with all those free games that I'll be getting, I don't even mind the price drop being an early adopter, and honestly the numbers posted for how many sold didn't even look that bad, looks like Nintendo really wants to get competitive with the competition.
 
I had fun with it too, but still, rather have $90 in my pocket. Just 4 months out is what burns. If it was start of next year. I'd be fine. Oh well.[quote name='crazydom2']Also, this basically confirms Nintendo was selling the system at an INSANE profit margin. There is no way otherwise they would have done a drop this drastic.[/QUOTE]Yeah, they had to be making a bundle.
 
This is pretty surprising, though it makes total sense. I'll have enough Amazon credit saved up by then, but I doubt I'll pull the trigger since OoT is the best game on 3DS. That alone says a lot about its library and overall support.
 
It's kind of funny in a way to think of Nintendo's strategy as Pricing close to what they expected Vita to cost Sony to manufacture and then drop price drastically before holiday/vita's release.

Will hopefully leave Sony in the lurch - launching an expensive tech item that's priced at what they thought was a huge value but is now almost $100 more than the competition and also at a very slim profit margin for them.

Meanwhile nintendo suffers a few months of bad PR and gets HUGE profit margins from its most die-hard fans, and reasonably large profit margins from the legions of Mario Kart holiday buyers.

Cold blooded! But smart, I guess.
 
[quote name='crazydom2']Also, this basically confirms Nintendo was selling the system at an INSANE profit margin. There is no way otherwise they would have done a drop this drastic.[/QUOTE]

Uh... That's what Nintendo has been doing for ages. People are idiots and just keep falling for it.
 
[quote name='Mad D']I'd rather have a voucher for a full retail 3DS game-- or about $100 back.[/QUOTE]

I think that this is fair for both ends. Naturally if we got a free game it would be a classic port... like Starfox which is nice, but 20 games > Starfox. In fact LoZ + Mario would be more than enough.

Considering I paid less for my used one + got most of my coins + the other early free stuff + am getting more... well how can I not be happy =D
 
[quote name='KingBroly']10 Free NES games, 10 free GBA games. fuck yes.[/QUOTE]

This certainly helps the burn for early adopters. I'm not sure if I would have bought any of those free games, but they're all great games I look forward to messing with again or for the first time.

Considering how soon the promotions expire, I wonder if we can expect a big drop to the eShop update today? Perhaps the NES games, at least?
 
[quote name='jer7583']It's kind of funny in a way to think of Nintendo's strategy as Pricing close to what they expected Vita to cost Sony to manufacture and then drop price drastically before holiday/vita's release.

Will hopefully leave Sony in the lurch - launching an expensive tech item that's priced at what they thought was a huge value but is now almost $100 more than the competition and also at a very slim profit margin for them.

Meanwhile nintendo suffers a few months of bad PR and gets HUGE profit margins from its most die-hard fans.

Cold blooded! But smart, I guess.[/QUOTE]

But We dont know how much profit Sony is making on the vita. It might not be much at the start or it could be more than you think. The parts to make a vita are not really expensive. Besides, the vita's features are worth 100 dollars more then the 3ds anyway imo
 
If you buy at best buy before the price drops, you can take advantage of the early adopters program, then go in with your receipt for a refund of the price difference?
 
Nice would be great to see a sale around Black Friday/Holidays for $100 3DS or close to that. I too am surprised at how big of a drop, but I do agree that the PS Vita has something to do with it.
 
to some people they might be.

I personally don't care about Uncharted Portable and.... what else?

I don't know what the vita costs to make but 5 inch OLED screens are not cheap. Neither will the storage for console-type downloadable games be cheap.
 
[quote name='fartman']this might just be the cheap ass gamer in me, but i sure do hope amazon still throws you 25$ with a purchase of a 3ds :bouncy:[/QUOTE]

I was thinking the same thing lol. 50% off any 3ds game (basicly zelda) with a 3ds purchase would be move too
 
[quote name='jer7583']to some people they might be.

I personally don't care about Uncharted Portable and.... what else?

I don't know what the vita costs to make but 5 inch OLED screens are not cheap. Neither will the storage for console-type downloadable games be cheap.[/QUOTE]

Uncharted golden abyss is going to rock ! However because you dont want it i highly recomend you look up gravity daze, reality fighters and little deveants. Plus little big planet vita is going to be a launch game.
 
As a day one purchaser, I have no problem with this. I've been losing interest in Nintendo in recent years like most people, but I decided to pick up a 3DS at launch and I really like it. I've been enjoying the system since March and now we're getting 20 free classic games. Hopefully now, more people will buy these things so I can finally get a hit on Street Pass to get a new puzzle to work on.
 
screw all these freebies, I would rather have something new than these old games. I won't be an early adopter of nintendo anymore, that's for sure. I hope the Wii U fails!! Which it will.
 
Wow this is pretty huge. I've never seen a system drop that much in less then a year. I just hope this doesn't mean Nintendo is giving up on the system after a year or two on the market. I would like to think at $150 or close to $150 the system is going to start selling really well once Mario Kart, Star Fox and the other Mario games hit the system.
 
[quote name='saiyajinsc']screw all these freebies, I would rather have something new than these old games. I won't be an early adopter of nintendo anymore, that's for sure. I hope the Wii U fails!! Which it will.[/QUOTE]

Why would you want a console to fail ? The more sucessfull consoles on the market there are the healthier the industry is
 
It has some games Im definitely interested in. Again, I hope Black Friday has a nice bundle or something to grab.
 
Definitely gotta keep the eye out for a early drop to $170 to score all those freebies...

Anyone sees it drop prior to that date better post the deal asap lol
 
just picked up a new pspgo for $100, but thinking about returning and saving for this.

I've wondered if the $250 was a price simply to get what early adopters are willing to pay. You know how insane the wii market was while it was selling out. I wonder if they expected the 3ds market to be similar so they thought they would cash in on that and it backfired.
 
I knew this was coming eventually. Have to compete with Vita anyways. I wish they would have launched at $199.99 as this is a better price. I got one launch day and I am not too upset at all seeing I am going to be getting 20 free games which is absolutely crazy. The list of free games looks great as well. :applause:
 
[quote name='sevast']just picked up a new pspgo for $100, but thinking about returning and saving for this.

I've wondered if the $250 was a price simply to get what early adopters are willing to pay. You know how insane the wii market was while it was selling out. I wonder if they expected the 3ds market to be similar so they thought they would cash in on that and it backfired.[/QUOTE]

Returning the pspgo sounds like a great idea right about now. the psp go is a great design though, but i think that thing is dead in the water.
 
I think this is a good move. Like others I picked my 3DS up at launch for a variety of reasons but mainly because I never owned a DS and haven't had a nintendo product since the SNES. This meant I could catch up on older Mario and Zelda titles and be one of the first to have a 3DS.

I really like the technology. I think that most that are complaining about it or bitching about the battery life don't own one. The games out now aren't great but I've had a lot of fun with SSF, Zelda OOT, RE, Monkey Ball and now like netflix. I'd much rather watch netflix on this then my tablet or netbook because the speakers are better and the device is self supporting (I don't have to hold the screen up).

I'm also looking forward to the 10 free games so as much as I'd like to get a ~ $90 kick back (the approx. amount of the price drop) I'll settle for those as I know I"ve gotten close to a $100 of enjoyment out of this.


I'll still purchase a Vita but I wouldn't go as far as to say once those launch the 3DS is dead in the water. Many parents aren't willing to shell out $250 for their kids and $169.99 (possibly bundled with a game) will start looking really good around the holidays.
 
[quote name='trent82']As a day one purchaser, I have no problem with this. I've been losing interest in Nintendo in recent years like most people, but I decided to pick up a 3DS at launch and I really like it. I've been enjoying the system since March and now we're getting 20 free classic games. Hopefully now, more people will buy these things so I can finally get a hit on Street Pass to get a new puzzle to work on.[/QUOTE]

Agreed with this. (Then again, i used left over financial aid to pay for mine :p)

Getting a ton of free games (And exclusive GBA games) is quite an awesome move by Nintendo. (As compared to Sony screwing over early adopters constantly)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top