Nintendo’s new initiative to sell more 3DS handhelds by slashing the price is working. Â The price cut which has been in effect for nearly a week has shown a positive effect at retail. Â Reports coming out of Japan as well as non-official statements from North American retailers are showing that the sales have spiked.
The price which was recently slashed some forty percent, has market research professionals estimating that the 3DS hasn’t seen higher sales numbers since its launch back in February. Â North American retailers are being more coy about the subject. Â Industry Gamers recently asked retailers like GameStop and Best Buy about the recent sales for the handheld and weren’t issued any concrete evidence (official statement).
Though a spokesperson for Target did tell the outlet that:
“We’re pleased with the increased sales results from the 3DS price-cut.”
It may be too late to see a significant increase reflected in these retailer quarterly numbers, going forward though, if the cuts had the same effect as in Japan we could see a major jump in the North American 3DS sales as well. Â It would be a huge momentum boost for the handheld which has failed to gain steam since its launch. Â Though its hard to count out a Nintendo system that hasn’t even seen a holiday release. Â The true telling of the 3DS’s fate will likely be reports of how the console fared in this year’s holiday season.
