Nintendo Slashes 3DS Price Worldwide News

Following confirmation of price drops for the 3DS in Japan and the US, Nintendo has now announced that its new handheld will have its trade prices slashed by a third in Europe from August 12th.

On August 11th, the price of a 3DS will be reduced in Japan from 25,000 yen (£197) to 15,000 yen £118), while the US price will similarly be reduced from $249.99 (£153) to £169.99 (£104) on August 12th.

Although an exact price cut is yet to be announced for Europe by Nintendo, reducing the current price of a 3DS in the UK by a third would effectively bring down retail prices from around £200 to between £130-140.

However, the cost of consumer electronics differs widely from one country/territory to the next and Nintendo has never announced a formal retail price for the 3DS, opting instead to set a trade price for retailers and leave exact pricing up to them. As a result, the 3DS was initially launched at £229.99 in the UK before retailers quickly shifted prices towards the £200 mark.

Such a huge price drop this soon after a console's release is an unprecedented move for Nintendo, which has a tendency to stubbornly defend its prices until a console is in the final stages of its lifecycle (significant price cuts for the Wii were only introduced earlier this year after the console had been on the market for nearly four-and-a-half years).

The reason for such a drastic move with the 3DS is no doubt due to initial sales figures for the handheld that have come in way below expectations. After missing initial sales projections in its first month on the market, the 3DS has only managed 0.7 million unit sales worldwide between April and June of this year.

Nintendo has unveiled an 'Ambassadors Programme' in an attempt to allay the frustrations of fans who have already purchased a 3DS within its initial price range. As long as current 3DS owners register their interest in the programme on the Nintendo eShop by August 12th, then they'll receive 20 free Virtual Console games (10 NES titles and 10 Game Boy Advance titles) between September 1st and the end of this year.

While the NES games will be released to 'Ambassadors' before anyone else, Nintendo currently has no plans to release the Game Boy Advance games beyond this programme, meaning that 'Ambassadors' will effectively receive them exclusively.

Is this Nintendo's biggest disaster with a new console since the Virtual Boy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments...

Thanks, Eurogamer.