Iwata (Vaguely) Talks About the Price of Nintendo 3DS

Nintendo had quite a showing for themselves at E3. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Metroid: Other M, GoldenEye, and Donkey Kong Country Returns were on display, among others. But the entree of Nintendo’s seven-course E3 feast would have to be the Nintendo 3DS and its herald, Kid Icarus: Uprising.

As their eyes were filled with three-dimensional imagery (without the need for special glasses, of course), many were willing to simply hand their wallets over to Nintendo and tell them “take whatever you need, just please leave the picture of my girlfriend (unless you really like it).” More savvy consumers, however, remained curious as to how much the company would charge for the successor to their ultra-successful Nintendo DS.

And as one might expect, such a topic would find its way into the interviews conducted between members of the press and some of Nintendo’s top staff, including VentureBeat’s discussion with Nintendo Co., Ltd. President Satoru Iwata:

VB: Are you concerned about how much this will cost? There are so many new things in it, I wonder if you will price it above the normal range where you price your handhelds? Your prices are usually below Sony’s.

SI: I have to refrain from talking specifically about the price point. What I can confirm is that, in terms of the production costs, it will cost more than the costs for the Nintendo DS today. Having said that, we believe we will produce enough value worthy of the production cost. We do not think we have to sell the products below cost.

Presently, the current iterations of the handheld are priced at $129.99 (DS Lite), $169.99 (DSi), and $189.99 (DSi XL). Following Nintendo’s presentation at E3, Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian stated that expects the company’s newest beacon to go for as much as $249-$299.

That’s quite a step up from the more humble $149.99 the original Nintendo DS launched at. Based on what we know of the device, the question remains whether consumers will be willing to shell out what some may consider “console money” for the new handheld when it is released.

Source: VentureBeat (via: Destructoid)