Wal-Mart cuts 3DS price early, gives players best of both worlds [Updated]

Update: According to the Wal-Mart website, both the Aqua Blue and Black Nintendo 3DS systems have had their prices cut to $169.96 (exactly) early. However, we would strongly recommend purchasing them in stores, as your online orders will not ship until Aug. 12--just past the cut-off date for those 20 free games as part of the Nintendo's Ambassadors Program.

Nintendo 3DS price cutI bet Nintendo President Satoru Iwata and Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke are having a just lovely phone call right now. Cheap Ass Gamer reports that Wal-Mart will cut the price of the 3DS system in its stores to $169.99 on Aug. 9, citing "a trusted source." That's three days earlier than when Nintendo announced the price drop would take effect.

More importantly, if this turns out to be true, then gamers could buy their new 3DS system on the cheap and log into the Nintendo eShop before Aug. 12 to redeem the 20 free games promised by Nintendo to early adopters. Though, something tells us that, with all the media attention this rumor is getting, Nintendo is already on the horn with Wal-Mart. (Sorry, folks--just doing our job.)

Nintendo execs are already taking cuts to their salaries over the debacle (including a whopping 50 percent slash for Iwata). So we imagine that, once it finds out about this little undercutting scheme, the Mario maker will do everything in it's power to stop it. As for us, we'll meet you at Wal-Mart at 12 a.m. on Aug. 9--we're going camping!

Nintendo's Wii U is for 'a different consumer,' as in a wealthier one?

Aside from what the thing looks like (and a teeny bit of what it plays like), Nintendo's Wii U is shrouded in mystery. We know that the console will embrace social features, will have HD graphics and will cost a helluva lot of money--wait, what? There has been much speculation on the upcoming console's pricing. But Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime alluded to Time what type of crowd the company expects to draw with the Wii U, at least at launch.

"The consumer buying Wii hardware today is going to be a different consumer than the one who will be buying Wii U in the future," Fils-Aime told Time. "This is the first holiday that the Wii is available at $149.99 or below, so its an expanded demographic we're reaching. These are consumers who have heard about Wii for the past couple years, but at $199 or $249 it was economically out of their reach."

Based on earlier comments made by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and now these words, it would be fair to guess that the Wii U is going to cost more than $250 in the US at launch. That figure was the launch price for the original Wii way back in 2006, and still that was cheaper than both Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 at launch. Nintendo's bread and butter has been the casual audience, which one could argue includes those that wouldn't exactly leap at a $300 or $400 video game box.

Fils-Aime went on the reiterate that the Wii and Wii U will coexist for some (as he told us recently), but said, "you can definitely expect that pricing is going to be different and that the games are going to be different." In this case, "different" sounds like "more expensive" to us, and we can't help but wonder whether Nintendo's most lucrative audience will bite.

[Via IndustryGamers]

Would you consider purchasing the Wii U if it were more expensive than $250 at launch? What would be your breaking point: $300, $400? Sound off in the comments.

A Nintendo 3DS revamp is in the works with ... less 3D? [Rumor]

First, Nintendo cuts the price of its new handheld nearly in half. Now, the company is reportedly looking to cut the thing that makes its 3DS unique ... the 3D. French gaming news website 01Net reports, citing insider sources, that the Big N is working on an overhaul to the 3DS that "radically tones down" the system's 3D capabilities, according to Eurogamer. Like all reports citing anonymous sources, this news deserves a certain amount of skepticism, though Eurogamer points out 01Net's track record.

According to Eurogamer, 01Net broke the news of Nintendo's Wii U and Sony's PS Vita hardware specifications before either console was even announced. The French website also reports that the company is regretful that it never added a second analog joystick to the 3DS, and that it will soon release a detachable one for about $10. Furthermore, Nintendo has reportedly asked a number of developers to work on games to make use of the upcoming peripheral.

The 01Net report goes on to say that this new version of the 3DS will release sometime in 2012, and could dramatically rebrand the handheld console entirely. According to the report, the recent $80 price cut made by Nintendo was not only in response to poor sales, but to clear stock of the original 3DS to make way for this new model.

However, we're not 100 percent sure 3D is what held the Nintendo 3DS back from being the absolute hit its predecessor was. For one, the system launched with little support from Nintendo staples like Mario and Link much less other games. Second, Nintendo has yet to introduce an online gaming network as robust as those you'll find even in modern day smartphones.

The price drop might turn out to be a brilliant move for Nintendo moving forward, but a complete rebranding sounds too rash of a decision for a company like Nintendo. We've contacted Nintendo for comment.

Do you believe that Nintendo could be working to rebrand the 3DS entirely? Do you think this would be a smart move for the company to make? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment