Nintendo cuts 3DS price

40 per cent has been knocked off the price of the Nintendo 3DS just five months after its launch – and similar cuts are on the way for Europe and the US.

Nintendo, speaking in its quarterly financials today, said it was dropping the price after lower-than-expected sales of the device.

3DS launched in March, but didn’t hit ambitious pre-order expectations. It was, however, one of Nintendo’s strongest hardware launches, although software support has since slowed in line with an overall market slowdown on new releases.

In Japan 3DS will cost 15,000 YEN (118), down from 20,000 YEN (160) starting August 11th. The firm said that it would make similar cuts in Europe and the US to spur demand, although "ranges and the timings of the markdown will be different from that of Japan".

3DS has already been the target of intense price cuts in the UK – smart shoppers are able to buy it over here for much lower than its 219.99 expected price.

The firm said in a statement: "So that we will be able to create momentum for Nintendo 3DS and accelerate its market penetration toward the year-end sales season, when the lineup for the applicable software shall be enriched, the Company has decided to make this markdown."

Nintendo is also hoping two major software releases – Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart, out in November and December respectively – will help drive demand as well.

Overall, Nintendo cut its profit forecast by 82 per cent as part of its Q1 financials.