The Nintendo 3DS is set to receive yet another price cut, with Tesco offering the handheld from tomorrow for just £115 – a full 50% cheaper than when it launched in March this year. The price drop comes just as Nintendo announce the new red model of the handheld, to be released September 9th.
The price-cut comes after a drop off in sales for Nintendo at home and abroad, with the company blaming the lack of big name titles available for the 3DS after launch for the slump in sales. In Japan, the 3DS has already been discounted from £200 down to around £120, with Nintendo saying the price cut is part of a strategy to “create momentum for the Nintendo 3DS and accelerate its market penetration toward the year-end sales season” – or get it out there for Christmas, in other words.
With Tesco undercutting the next lowest 3DS price by a good £20, other retailers will doubtlessly follow with their own discounts on the Nintendo handheld. For the moment, however, prices online hovering around the £140-£160 mark.
This latest price drop for the 3DS comes just a week after a similar cut for Sony’s Xperia Play, which had its asking price slashed by several online retailers to just £299 – down three hundred squids from it’s original £599 price tag. But are these sales slumps and price cuts really down to shoddy launch titles, or are Nintendo and Sony just learning the hard way that the future of mobile gaming lies with apps the purebred smartphones? Let us know your thoughts on our Facebook page or the Recombu Twitter feed.
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