Nintendo drop DSi prices, 3DS sales to feel the pain?

Mike Bantick
Thursday, 23 June 2011 14:40

Your IT - Entertainment

Nintendo has announced drastic cuts to the price of both the DSi and DSi XL hand-held gaming devices.  Yet the 3DS remains at a price that leaves it vulnerable to competitor attacks.

Today Nintendo has announced a dropped the price on the popular DSi hand-held and it's larger cousin the DXi XL.

In Australia this means that from 30 June 2011, Nintendo DSi will be available for only SRP AU $199.95 and Nintendo DSi XL for SRP AU $249.95. Previously Nintendo DSi was SRP AU $249.95 and Nintendo DSi XL was SRP AU $299.95.

According to Nintendo Australia the popular handheld consoles have sold more than 3.1 million units (includes Nintendo DS and Nintendo DS Lite) since the original Nintendo DS launch in 2005. Nintendo DS has sold the highest number of all video game consoles in Australia for six consecutive years.

Nintendo DSi launched in 2009 and was an upgrade to the Nintendo DS Lite. Nintendo DSi's features include: the Nintendo DSi Camera, two cameras with 11 different lenses; Nintendo DSi Sound - you can store, play and manipulate your music; SD memory card slot for additional storage space, ideal for your photos and music. Nintendo DSi is also a slimmer unit than the previous model, with increased sound quality, larger LCD screens and the Nintendo DSi Shop.

Nintendo DSi XL launched in 2010 and contains all the features of Nintendo DSi, but the screens are 93 per cent bigger than the Nintendo DS Lite screen. The wide-angle visibility of the larger screens makes Nintendo DSi XL perfect for sharing. Nintendo DSi XL also comes with preinstalled software, including: Nintendo DSi Browser - so you can browse the internet; Clubhouse Gamesâ„¢ - play classic card games such as Blackjack and Five Card Draw; A Little Bit of... Dr. Kawashima's Brain Trainingâ„¢: Arts Edition - a fun brain training game that you can play for just a few minutes every day; Photo Clock - turns your Nintendo DSi XL into a photo frame with a clock and alarm function, choose from a range of clock styles and alarms; and Flipnote Studioâ„¢ - an application that can be used as a notepad to create animated sequences with the stylus. No matter what your artistic experience, it's easy to create, upload, and share your own animations with friends and family members.

Meanwhile the latest console in the DS range, the impressive 3DS remains at a RRP of AU$350.  Today's announcement puts a whopping $100 gap between the DSi XL and the 3DS who is somewhat suffering from unusually low (for DS hardware at least) sales.

Though it is true that most DS launches has met with a slow build-up of sales, the 3DS and its amazing glasses free 3D screen, accelerometer, control nub, Street Pass a web browser and more is going to be further undermined by these cuts.

Whilst there are a number of gee-whiz 3DS exclusive games arriving for the platform (including the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time), the fact is that the capable DSi's are now even more attractive as a purchase for potential Nintendo hand-held owners in the market.

 

Then there is the increased competition from the likes of the smartphone brigade, and later in the year, the next generation Sony hand held, the PlayStation Vita.   Life from an economic stand point will be tough for the 3DS.