The system will launch in March for US/Europe at an estimated pricepoint of $249.99. The US price has not been confirmed but Nintendo of America should be able to provide details on that shortly. Considering the price of the original DS was $149.99, it's almost $100 more expensive. PSP originally sold for $249.99 but most can agree that the tech that powered the PSP was well ahead of its time.
The question is whether 3DS is worth the early adopter fee?
System Internals (based on leaked specs)
CPU - Dual 266 MHz ARM11 processors
GPU - 113 MHz
SRAM - 64 MB
VRAM - 4 MB
At first glance of these specs, they are a bit underwhelming. The 3DS is not a graphics powerhouse and that is probably the intent of Nintendo to keep manufacturing costs down. Similar to the Wii, Nintendo built a relatively cheap (albeit reliable) product and sold it marked up. Bottom line, the intent is to profit from day one. Take a look at a quote from Reggie Fils-Aime back in 2006 to Reuters.
"We will make a profit on the entire Wii proposition out of the box--hardware and software," Fils-Aime told Reuters. "That really is a very different philosophy versus our competitors. We are a company that competes only in the interactive entertainment space, so we have to make a profit on everything we do." This philosophy will not change with the 3DS. If it's not broke, why fix it? This was a very successful formula for the Wii and Nintendo has no intention of fixing it.
That's the hardware but what about the software? A system won't sell without good software. The quality of the software thus far has been hot and cold. Strangely, its not Nintendo software that is shining at first appearance. The NDS did not have this type of support out of the gate like the 3DS seems to be having. 3rd party relationships seems to be a focus but that message had been conveyed with the Wii before it's launch. Software and innovation helped to sell the original DS. Time will tell for 3DS.
Features of 3DS:
- 3D parallax view
- Touch screen
- Wii-like graphics on the handheld
- 2 GB SD cards for games
- Backwards compatible with DS games
- Transfer DSiware games to 3DS
Biohazard Relevations (Resident Evil) - credit GamesWatch via NeoGAF forums
Super Street Fighter IV
3DS Game Line-up
