Editorial: 3DS Too Expensive For Kids

Jordan Lund, columnist for GameStooge, states the 3DS will flop because parents won't buy it.

Excerpt: "The original DS wasn’t just cheap, it looked like a tank. It looked like a game system designed under the old Soviet Union. In short, to parents, it looked indestructible. They had no problem throwing $150 at a toy (soon discounted to $130) since for all intents and purposes it looked like their kids couldn’t harm it. It didn’t hurt that GameBoy Advance cartridges were compatible with the device."

[gamerzBEreal17]

it's not the kids who are buying it, it's the parents

[Gue1]

what is the difference?

[qface64]

the parents have money while the kids do not?

[MrMccormo]

It won't flop as the title suggests, but it won't be a smash hit like the DS until the price is below $200. But Nintendo will still be selling and marketing the DSi for many years to come, so it makes no difference to them.

[darthv72]

well for me...I bought the dsi and let the kids play the ds lite. When this comes out they will want to play but I will be one of those parents who tell them to just watch as i play and enjoy the 3ds.

Is that wrong?

Expensive for kids....but not me.

[Imperator]

@darthv

That's kinda cruel man, lol.

[Hideo_Kojima]

Yeah because it would be hard for kids to buy it with their own money...

You know you need to sell a lot of lemonades to save up $300

[sdtarm]

Yeah sure/s

[StanLee]

Yeah but is it really for kids? I don't think it is. The early software lineup is aimed at the core gamer, not kids.

[UnwanteDreamz]

What's core gamer? No true definiton has been agreed apon. Seems reall simplistic. I've seen kids farm for pokemon on multiple DS at once, pretty hardcore to me. I was a "core" gamer as a kid.

[SilentNegotiator]

I still don't see a $300 handheld gaming device selling anywhere near as much as the original DS, because I don't see parents budging as easily to shell out that much.

[n4f]

i think mario kart and paper mario will make the sales sky rocket the rest will fallow

[pain777pas]

Once we know the definitive line up we will determine whether its a must to buy immediately or not. I will be getting the system at some point. If Zelda, RR, SSF4 and the mighty MGS are launch titles....I have no choice but plunk down the cash.

[punkpop101]

Basically it's the kids who are playing it it's their parents.

[poopface1]

1) DS isnt cheap today, even thought its old ass tech.

2) Do we even know the price outside of japan?

3) handhelds don't seem to be for kids in japan. In Japan it seems like Handhelds are the way most people, kids or adults, play over there.

[saint_john_paul_ii]

usually its more expensive when stuff like this sells outside Japan. right now all we know is, that the 3Ds is going to cost 25000 Yen. thats about $300 USD.

[AWBrawler]

Handheld gaming has become huge in Japan, and i think they are trying to do the same over here, by releasing a home console quality handheld system. I myself love handhelds, because i can take them with me. I always seem to clock in more hours on portable games.

Also the 3DS at $300 is not official, it may be $250 or less, so everyone calm down already

[eagle21]

Early adopters vs. late adopters are most always Adults/Teens (early) vs. kids (later with price drops). And some kids (I'm assuming kid means 12 and under) will have this day 1..lol.

This article fails. It's called a 3DS so that the "DS" name (DS lites, DSi, DSi XL's) continue to sell right along with it at whatever your budget allows. And it has BC as well. :)

[Hank Hill]

Did you guys think you would get 3D for cheap?

[n4gn4gn4gn4g]

brats I see running around with iPod Touch's...it should do ok.

Plus...I have 3 kids...I'll just sell one and use the money on the other two.

[rexus12345]

Not a good comparison
To most parents, iPod touch is a music player that has some other functionalities - no harm if kids want it
But a DS is a gaming device that would cause their kid to fail at school - no way even if it is cheaper than iPod touch

[winlonghorn]

Why is it that people always blame video games for the failure of kids?!? If the parents are responsible enough to take the stupid thing away from the kids until they do their school work, we wouldn't have this issue! If I was a parent, and my child was flunking school, they wouldn't see the DS or any other game system for at least a month! Why it is so hard to do that anymore is beyond me! By the way, the DS even does more than just gaming lol. That argument is pointless! :) Playing a video game is not going to change a child's personality. Either they want to do school work, or they don't (Period)! ;)

[Stealth20k]

The price wont be 300 dollars or anything close here.

In japan thats a normal price

[n4f]

i somewhat agree with you until feb the price will change

[wat634]

Too many kids walk with expensive shit all over the place. As someone else said here, the 3ds will sell well, and Im buying.

[winlonghorn]

Yes it will sell well (like hotcakes as they say). :) I am buying it for sure! :)

[CantHaveOpinionsHere]

too retarded for growups to replace their ds

[BillOreilly]

whatever kids have cellphones worth mor that they lose/break. Most kids now have netbooks/laptops. I dont have kids but id buy a 3ds for them for a christmas present. Its more expensive than id like but its powerful and 3d without glasses. Its no more expensive than new ipod touches which every kid has. You need to learn how to shop i got a 360 for 80,wii for 100, itouch for 80, psp modded for 100, ds lite for 50. Dont be an early adopter shop around. I an get 64 gb ipads with 3g 450, half what it sells for.

[xinyuiyin]

Parents would rather get the superior PSP2 once they found out the expensive 3DS offers iphone games like ridge raceeeeeeeeer with crappy fake 3d.

[DNAbro]

I hope that's sarcasm or you need to learn how to troll. You don't need to bring back a meme like "ridge raaaacer" especially since sony is the one who created it which embarrassed them.

Besides that, i can't freaking wait for the 3DS!

[N4g_null]

Yeah metal gear on the PS brand was complete trash along with res evil... yeah im gona skip that stuff just cuz you said that...

/s

Oh yeah mindcraft owns you....

Mindcraft.... erv Minecraft

[BYE]

Come on, don't use the kids argument as an excuse for your own cheapness.

Are you some kind of a police that makes sure kids can walk around with the newest technology?

[Shoko]

There's kids that have bought 7 360s (due to them breaking)..........

[dalibor]

I can understand dealing with a system breaking down 3 times, that is my max but after that I say fuck that. Hell even 3 times is to many. So far I'm on my second PS3 60gig for the past 4 years, not to bad.

[Phi39582]

Say it's for my kid so my ogre of a wife won't complain and them secretly be a 3DS closet player/owner.......the kid has a DS beat all to s*** already, he won't be touching it!

[eagle21]

lol :)

[LeonSKennedy4Life]

I can't imagine waiting decades of my life to fall in love with someone...

...just to belittle her on a gaming forum.

*sigh*

[dalibor]

You have to find a way to play games and be with your wife. You can't play games all the time once you get married. Especially when you have kids. You can still game but not as much. But it's better than nothing though.

[winlonghorn]

lol, good one. However, I am not so sure your wife will like that statement too much! lol. :) Here is hoping she don't put you in the doghouse for that.

[GuruStarr78]

Too freakin bad.......save your money!

I can't afford a Lamborghini and you don't hear me whining!!

[R_aVe_N]

.....

[AEtherbane]

Dont buy your kids a console, a controller or games for it, because they are more expensive.

[MGRogue2017]

Indeed.. Nintendo must lower the price.

[-IronMan-]

Wow 300 dollar for that. No thanks. I can get another PS3 for that price.

[n4f]

than go get one

[JewyMcJew]

Nintendo is the one company that does not subsidize the cost of their hardware.

[Vinushka]

How many more of these article do we need? Seriously.

[RyuCloudStrife]

haha that had me lol'd a while....

[Invader_Quirk]

Kids shouldn't be using the 3D anyway. It's not good for their eyes. I'm thinking 3DS is going to be marketed a bit differently from the other DS's.

[jukins]

lol really its too expensive for the same kids i've seen with the original ds the ds lite dsi and the dsxl?

[mshope10]

well i think it will be older core gamers who buy it first cause of it's price and great core 1st and 3rd party games than they will lower the price for kids and causal gamers.they really thought about core gamers and 3rd party devs for 3ds so that meant more and better features and a higher price.but once they move some units and make some profit they will lower it.or it won't sell enough for nintendo's liking and they will add a good game and maybe a 3d movie for a great package,or they will lower the price and make lots of money.i think $300 is way to much i was hoping $200 to $250 but it don't matter as long as they don't go over 300 it's a day one purchase for me. the only system that kinda made me want a system this bad was n64 cause i saw mario in 3d for the first time!

[CaulkSlap]

I'd much rather have a system with good hardware cost $250 at launch then be reduced later. The Wii was frankly a massive rip-off at $250 considering the Gamecube era hardware. I seriously doubt it cost them over $100 to produce it. Only reason it sold was the relatively lower price and Wiimote gimmick. Despite being a terrible value and downright rip-off for system, accessories, and games. 3DS on the other hand seems awesome and well worth the cost.

[AWBrawler]

wow? Really dude? I can tell you don't own a Wii

[mrcash]

Day one for me the price isn't a big concern for me, as long as the games hold up, and from what I've seen they will. Nintendo handhelds always have a vast amount of variety. This is will be my first handheld, simply because it looks to be the best, the psp2 is a bit appealing but given the games that were released on the original theres no incentive for me to pick it up.

[N4OGs]

3ds plus game+ taxes= 300+ for every territory so dont kid yourselfs. What I seeing most kids doing is traadeing in everything and the kitchen sink to gamestop to get within range to buy a 3ds. It seems these kids can go the extra mile for a nintendo console but when it comes to home consoles that are the best they cant seem to pull everything together to get the money. I guess they really like pokemon which pokemon black is going to be comeing out weeks before 3ds most likely so thats more money you will be spending because you dont play a nintendo handheld without pokemon.

heck the 3ds might even be more in europe, australia and canada because you know they awlays pay more. I expect it to be at the least for U.S to be 259.99-300 in the U.S dont get your hopes up and stop spreading bs 250 dollar rumors like all you nuubs were saying it was gonna be less then 200 dollars in the first place. Just keep your mouths shut and stop giving false hope and lies to people.

[tigertron]

Nintendo can put any price tag on it and it will still sell in its droves. *Sighs* I'm just going to wait for a price drop and an inevitable 3DS Lite.

[lizard81288]

DS at launch :
Japan: 15000 yen ($180) / North America: $149

DS Lite at launch:
Japan 16800 yen ($200) / North America: $129

DSi XL at launch:
Japan: 25000 yen ($300) / North America: $190

so i doubt this is going to cost $350 or $300. nintendo has sold their home console for no more than $250, so why would they jack up the price of their handhelds surpassing their home consoles?