3DS is Already Selling Out; Word From Worldwide Retailers
Posted on January 22 2011 by Nathanial Rumphol-Janc
Apparently the 3DS made an outstanding impression at last year’s E3 and more recently at the worldwide 3DS preview events, because they’re selling out as fast as the Wii did despite the higher price point. In Japan, there were the familiar long lines at retailers to get pre-orders in, and while most pre-orders in the West will be through online shops, there are already a couple European retailers who have run out of pre-orders for the Super Monkey Ball 3D bundle as well. That’s right – these things sold out in two days, folks! Good luck getting yours!
Now, the real question is, if a hot item like this can sell out even without a lot of “core software” from Nintendo, what kinds of numbers will we be seeing later on down the line – say, when Ocarina of Time or Kid Icarus take the stage? After all, product value comes from the consumers more so than from the actual costs of a device – consumers will only pay what they think something is worth. The 3DS seems to be selling on its unique merits alone at present – pretty impressive for a handheld. Will we be seeing Nintendo’s next Wii in terms of overnight and long-term success? Given how much bigger the handheld market is than the console market, I’m suspecting that we might.
