Nintendo last week surprised many of us with a sudden and significant price drop on the new 3DS handheld, which only launched in late March of this year. The $80 price drop followed a terrible quarter for Nintendo, which also slashed its annual profit estimate by more than 80%. Nintendo's stock has since fallen to its lowest in six years and President Satoru Iwata took a 50% pay cut. More recently, Iwata also issued an apology letter to existing 3DS owners.
"There is nothing we can do to completely make up for the feeling that you are being punished for buying the system early."
While early adopters of the 3DS are getting 20 free games through the Ambassadors program, the fact that they could have simply waited a few months and spent far less on the hardware no doubt irks many 3DS owners. Iwata addressed these existing owners on the Nintendo website in Japan and the folks at Giant Bomb have put together an English translation.
"In the past, there have been price drops for video game systems some time after their release in order to broaden the user base further. However, never before has Nintendo chosen to issue such a dramatic price drop less than 6 months after a system release," Iwata wrote. "We are all too keenly aware that those of you who supported us by purchasing the 3DS in the beginning may feel betrayed and criticize this decision."
"This unprecedented timing for a price cut is because the situation has changed greatly since we originally launched the 3DS. We decided it was necessary to take this drastic step in order to ensure that large numbers of users will continue to enjoy the 3DS in the future," Iwata continued. "If the software creators and those on the retail side are not confident that the Nintendo 3DS is a worthy successor to the DS and will achieve a similarly broad (user) base, it will be impossible for the 3DS to gain popularity, acquire a wide range of software, and eventually create the product cycle necessary for everyone to be satisfied with the system."
Iwata reiterated that the initial 3DS customers "are extremely important" and Nintendo knows "that there is nothing we can do to completely make up for the feeling that you are being punished for buying the system early." With that in mind, Iwata went on to describe the Ambassadors program and reminded everyone that exciting software like Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 is still coming this holiday.
