Despite all of the excitement over the 3DS and its games, there are still several unknowns about them, including the price and release date. Today, one of those things (the price) may have been made clearer. According to Computer and Video Games, “The Nintendo 3DS could see higher game prices than its predecessor, reckons industry analyst Michael Pachter.”
Pachter goes on to state that the 3DS has revolutionary enough technology to justify a price hike and have the system and games still sell well. He believes that the E3 unveiling of the 3DS will aid Nintendo in selling the system. It received almost universally positive reviews during E3.
The fact that it is a revolutionary system could justify a price tag of $250 or slightly more. CVG says, “Speaking to CVG last month, the analyst predicted that Nintendo would quickly sell ten million 3DS consoles at "any price below $300," suggesting that it"s certainly not under pressure to put an attractive RRP on the device.”
While this price may seem extreme, if Nintendo markets it appropriately, the price could very well end up being an afterthought for a lot of gamers. This could be true especially during the 2011 holiday season when impulse buys are commonplace. When it comes to the games, with the DS, the prices currently range from $25 - $40 at the most. The exact price range for 3DS games is not yet known. However, based on Pachter’s statements, a price above $40 wouldn’t be surprising.