Nintendo slashes the price of its 3DS console

JAPANESE GAMING LEGEND Nintendo has announced a price cut to its 3DS handheld console that has had disappointing sales.

The company has confirmed that the glasses-free 3D console will be marked down by a massive 40 per cent next month. This applies to the Japanese market only, with only a rough estimate of July to September for similar discounts 'overseas' and the remark that the markdown will be different.

Nintendo said, "So that the Company will be able to create momentum for the 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."

The 3DS was launched in the UK back in March and was the first device to bring glasses free 3D to the UK. The launch price was around the £200 mark and the console has gone through some rough patches in its infancy.

Problems have ranged from the device suffering from crashes to gamers complaining about violent bouts of sickness due to the console's 3D screen. Some current prices for the 3DS include £169 from Amazon.co.uk whilst other retailers are much higher at £195 from Tesco.com, for example.

We can only speculate as to how much the price cut will be in the UK but think that it won't be as high as 40 per cent. However by the time Christmas comes around, retailers might be practically throwing the console at consumers.

Nintendo has also revealed its other DS consoles have sold better than its 3D model. During the second quarter, the firm sold 0.71 million units of the 3DS worldwide, perhaps partly due to a lack of hit titles other than The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.

Nintendo's DSi and DSi XL consoles combined sold over twice as many units during the same period, totaling 1.44 million units. This is partly due to the fact those consoles are a fair bit cheaper at around £109. µ