Nintendo Drops Portable Price For Holidays

As always, the marketing team over at Nintendo of America (NOA) makes a brilliant move: drop the price of the DSi and DSi XL now in September in order to sell more units for Holiday 2010. What makes this an even smarter move is the timing. Talk of the 3DS from E3 has died down and by putting this price drop in front of kids faces now as school begins, their "pull" strategy begins to manifest. Kids, unaware of the (possibly) 2011 release of the 3DS, will be asking for their DSi upgrade now for holiday 2010. With many parents still in the dark about trends in the video game industry, they will, of course, satisfy the child's demand - unwittingly setting themselves up for another purchase in the next 12-18 months.

What did I tell you? Brilliant. Nintendo reduces the stock of their current system and sets up future sales of the new system. The only bad part of this whole strategy is the sales and marketing people were hamstrung by the greedy people upstairs. $20?!? You cut off only $20 per unit? Either someone made a grave miscalculation or the 3DS isn't going to hit until 2012. I only say this because if the 3DS was to hit Holiday 2011, then you drop the DS Lite to $99.99, the DSi to $129.99 and the XL to $149.99.

The flip side of that idea for the only $20 drop is not greed... but to prepare us for the $200+ price tag on the 3DS.

Aug. 30, 2010 13:30 UTC

Nintendo Dropping Prices of Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL Systems on Sept. 12

Latest Versions of Best-Selling Portable Video Game System in History to Be Priced at $149.99 and $169.99

REDMOND, Wash. -- Nintendo is dropping the suggested retail price of its Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™ video game systems. Effective Sept. 12, the new suggested retail price of the Nintendo DSi system will be $149.99, while the new suggested retail price for the Nintendo DSi XL system will be $169.99. The Nintendo DS™ Lite model will remain at a suggested retail price of $129.99. The Nintendo DS family of video game systems is the best-selling in the history of the U.S. and worldwide. The new prices offer consumers tremendous value for their money while providing access to the best portable video game experiences possible.

“We know shoppers want to get the maximum value out of every dollar they spend,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales&Marketing. “Our new Nintendo DSi prices make it easier than ever for consumers to access the tremendous variety of games, applications and social tools on the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL systems.”

The Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL systems offer consumers access to more than 1,300 packaged games and more than 200 downloadable games. Both systems feature two built-in cameras and photo- and sound-manipulation software that provide for a more social experience. Users can wirelessly upload photos to Facebook with the touch of a button (wireless broadband Internet access required). The Nintendo DSi XL system, which features a screen that is 93 percent larger than that of the Nintendo DS Lite, comes pre-loaded with software like Brain Age™ Express: Math, Brain Age Express: Arts&Letters, Flipnote Studio™, Photo Clock and the Nintendo DSi Browser.

Through the end of July, total Nintendo DS family hardware sales are more than 42.3 million in the United States alone, according to the NPD Group. Recent and upcoming software releases for the Nintendo DS family of systems include DRAGON QUEST® IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies™ (now available), Professor Layton and the Unwound Future™ (Sept. 12), Pokémon™ Ranger: Guardian Signs (Oct. 4), Art Academy™ (Oct. 25), Mario vs. Donkey Kong™: Mini-Land Mayhem! (Nov. 14) and Golden Sun™: Dark Dawn (Nov. 29).

Remember that Nintendo DSi features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendodsi.com.