Analyst: Nintendo will 'regret' $249 3DS pricing
A Wedbush analyst believes the handheld's price tag will look like a bargain to consumers, who will scoop them up and create severe supply shortages.
Consumers may be happy to see the Nintendo 3DS selling for $249 when it launches March 27, but at least one analyst thinks its price tag will cause severe supply shortages and hurt the company.
In an IndustryGamers interview published yesterday, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said he believes Nintendo is "going to regret" pricing the 3DS so low.
"It's going to sell out and they're leaving money on the table," Pachter told IndustryGamers. "It's not shareholder friendly, but consumers are going to love the $249 price point."
Pachter added that "most consumers" would expect the device, which allows users to play 3D video games without wearing glasses, to be priced at "$300 or more." The 3DS will look like a "bargain," he said. As a result, consumers will scoop them all up.
In fact, Pachter asserts that consumers will "never see one in stores in 2011" and that the lucky few who get the device will put it "on eBay for $500 immediately."
Supply shortages are nothing new for Nintendo. When the company launched its Wii console back in 2006, it experienced shortages for years. Consoles were sold by owners online for much more than their sticker price.
Leaving money on the table, however, is not necessarily something that Nintendo wants right now. During the six-month period that ended September 30, the company posted a $24.6 million loss on lower DS and Wii sales. The company also saw its hardware sales decline in 2010, led by the Wii, which hit just 7 million unit sales. In 2008, Nintendo sold over 10 million Wii units, and hit nearly 10 million unit sales in 2009.