3DS costs about $100 to make

[TanisHalfElven]

One of the comments puts it perfectly

Posted: Mar 24th 2011 10:09PM Poor Tom said

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The real question to anyone who complains: "Can you build it yourself for $101?"

No, no you can't.

 

[AstroManLuca]

One of the comments puts it perfectly

Posted: Mar 24th 2011 10:09PM Poor Tom said

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The real question to anyone who complains: "Can you build it yourself for $101?"

No, no you can't.

yeah if you have a problem with Nintendo games why don't you just develop your own games?

if you're so unhappy about the health care system why not just start your own country with its own health care system?

that argument does not and has never made sense

 

[Monster_Munch]

I think the point is there are alternatives. If you think the 3DS is a rip off you can buy a PSP or an iPhone instead, or none of the above. Vote with your wallet.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I agree with that but that wasn't the argument. The argument was that if you disagree with the price, you should design and make your own handheld gaming system and try to make it cost less than the $101 it costs Nintendo to make (or at least less than the $250 they're selling it for). Which is obviously completely impossible.

But yes, I do agree that if you don't like the price you should just get a cheaper DSi or DS Lite, or a PSP, or some other system that doesn't cost as much. There are alternatives.

 

[Beev]

,... the PS3 sold out? When did this happen? The Playstation went from the #1 spot to 3rd place. And price was the main reason. Yes, Sony did sell it at a loss, but people wheren't clawing over each other to get a PS3.

The PS3 proved that the majority of the console gamers are not willing to pay $600 for a system.

The PS3, at launch, sold out. It's been a long time since a system hasn't. So yes, people will pay $600 for a system.

$250 is pretty cheap by today's standards. I paid probably double that for an N64 at launch and that was in the 90s, adjusting for inflation would be around $700 in today's money.

You paid $500 for an N64 that launched at $199? Did you import it from Jupiter and pay $300 shipping?

 

[purbeast0]

The PS3, at launch, sold out. It's been a long time since a system hasn't. So yes, people will pay $600 for a system.



You paid $500 for an N64 that launched at $199? Did you import it from Jupiter and pay $300 shipping?

a LOT more people paid the $250 for a Wii at launch than the people who paid $600/500 for a ps3 at launch. ther eare plenty of numbers to back this up.

the ps3 launch they were very scarce on PS3's. I waited at a Target to get one and they only had 10 for sale.

at gamestop i waited in line for 1 hour for a wii and i was number like 76 and my friend was 77 and there were still like 50 left to sell after we had ours.

the supply of PS3's vs the supply of Wii at launch isn't even comparable.

and on top of that, TONS of the people who bought PS3 weren't going to keep it, they bought it simply to try and resell it after seeing how much money was made on 360's. the software sales at PS3 launch showed that not as much software sold as they would have expected for the amount of consoles that sold.

and the ps3's on ebay did not sell for nearly as much profit as the xbox360 did at launch, because there was such a huge supply of people trying to sell them for ridiculous prices. i remember i even returned my ps3 because i couldn't even sell it for $700.

 

[gorcorps]

Nintendo NEVER (afaik) sells hardware at a loss, which is absolutely ridiculous. Both Sony and Microsoft did it with the current gen, yet Nintendo (who makes more money than both of them) can't do it? Fuck you, Nintendo. Thanks for giving me a fantastic childhood and all, but I'm done with your shenanigans.

What? The Wii was the first Nintendo console that DIDN'T sell for a loss. The Gamecube started at a very small loss from what I read, but still. I'm not sure how their handhelds all stack up, but their consoles making money is quite new. It's for this reason that Nintendo still makes more money. More money with less selection of good games IMO.

 

[TanisHalfElven]

I agree with that but that wasn't the argument. The argument was that if you disagree with the price, you should design and make your own handheld gaming system and try to make it cost less than the $101 it costs Nintendo to make (or at least less than the $250 they're selling it for). Which is obviously completely impossible.

But yes, I do agree that if you don't like the price you should just get a cheaper DSi or DS Lite, or a PSP, or some other system that doesn't cost as much. There are alternatives.

No the point of that argument was it takes more than 100 of raw materials to make a console. It takes knowledge, skill and whole lot of risk. You can't quantify that but the engineer who spend years in school to make a small part of that console deserves his cut.

 

[Monster_Munch]

You paid $500 for an N64 that launched at $199? Did you import it from Jupiter and pay $300 shipping?

Launch price here in the UK was £250, plus £60 for Mario 64.

So I paid £310 at launch for an N64 with 1 game, compared to £209 for the 3DS I just got with ridge racer.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Wow, Nintendo really hates Europe.

I do remember games were extremely expensive for the N64 and would fluctuate. Cartridges were subject to price spikes and dips. Weren't games often $70+ back then?

 

[bl4ckfl4g]

Nintendo NEVER (afaik) sells hardware at a loss, which is absolutely ridiculous. Both Sony and Microsoft did it with the current gen, yet Nintendo (who makes more money than both of them) can't do it? Fuck you, Nintendo. Thanks for giving me a fantastic childhood and all, but I'm done with your shenanigans.

LOL you are mad because they won't sell it at a loss? They are a business, not a charity.

The only reason the 360 and PS3 were being sold for a loss is because they COULDN'T sell it for a profit. Nintendo can.

 

[bl4ckfl4g]

Also, I'm pretty sure PS3 didn't sell out at launch. Didn't Kaz make a bet and lost?

 

[AstroManLuca]

No the point of that argument was it takes more than 100 of raw materials to make a console. It takes knowledge, skill and whole lot of risk. You can't quantify that but the engineer who spend years in school to make a small part of that console deserves his cut.

That makes a lot more sense.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Nintendo NEVER (afaik) sells hardware at a loss, which is absolutely ridiculous. Both Sony and Microsoft did it with the current gen, yet Nintendo (who makes more money than both of them) can't do it? Fuck you, Nintendo. Thanks for giving me a fantastic childhood and all, but I'm done with your shenanigans.

Not going to reiterate what others have said. But you know Microsoft and Sony hemorrhage money on their console divisions for long-term profit. They can take the losses because they both are enormously diversified.

The Xbox isn't really even on the radar when looking at the money MS makes in the server and corporate sales. Even if they were to sell 10 million of the things at $300 a pop, it doesn't even come close to what they have in sales in a month among their other divisions.

Same goes for Sony.

Nintendo doesn't have the other product lines to cover for their losses. They need to be turning a profit from day one. The systems and games are all they do.

 

[sactoking]

iPhone 4: $187.51 to manufacture, >$500 retail at launch
3DS: $100 to manufacture, $250 retail at launch

And NINTENDO is getting called out for being overpriced?!?

 

[purbeast0]

iPhone 4: $187.51 to manufacture, >$500 retail at launch
3DS: $100 to manufacture, $250 retail at launch

And NINTENDO is getting called out for being overpriced?!?

what the hell are you talking about?

go over to the gadgets gear and phones forum ... about every single thread over there has a post where someone is calling apple products overpriced.

last i checked this was the console forum...

 

[smackababy]

iPhone 4: $187.51 to manufacture, >$500 retail at launch
3DS: $100 to manufacture, $250 retail at launch

And NINTENDO is getting called out for being overpriced?!?

iPhone 4: made with magic...

3DS: made with Link and Mario's soul...

 

[Macamus Prime]

The PS3, at launch, sold out. It's been a long time since a system hasn't. So yes, people will pay $600 for a system.

Not the majority. Which is why Sony went from 1st to 3rd place this generation.

Granted, they did not provide it at a profit, but a loss (initially), that just means Sony didn't properly scope their target consumer; did everyone really want a $600 Blu Ray player with video games that are no better than what is on the 360? The answer was no - again, because Sony is in 3rd place.

Also, it is not up to you and you alone to dictate what a company charges. If you don't like it, don't buy it. No one forced people to buy a $600 PS3. And no one is going to force you to buy a $250 3DS. If the masses send a clear message out, then the hardware makers will hear you.

Sony reworked the PS3's insides (dropped backward compatability for PS2 games, etc) and was able to lower the price - because it just wasn't selling like they hoped it would.

And, Nintendo will adjust it's price when people show them they will not spend $250 on a handheld. But, that won't happen. the 3DS will sell millions. Even with all the shitty launch titles, people will buy it.

 

[Monster_Munch]

I actually think the price of the 3DS games is a bigger problem than the price of the console itself. People are getting used to paying $5 or less for games on their iPhones/iPods, will they pay $30+ for a 3DS game?

 

[Anarchist420]

The point is that Nintendo is too damn greedy because they sell piles of shit for way too much. The Gamecube had vastly inferior graphics to all the other systems of its generation (including the Dreamcast which was 2 years older), they made a profit off of it AND charged their third parties more for licensing fees than Sony and Microsoft did and at least twice what Sega charged their 3rd parties.

If there's a company who cares only about their profit margins, it's Nintendo. I'd boycott their shit if they didn't have any 3rd Party support.

The 3DShit should for sell for no more than $179.99 and Nintendo should take an initial loss on it like everyone else does with their hardware.

 

[postaled]

I actually think the price of the 3DS games is a bigger problem than the price of the console itself. People are getting used to paying $5 or less for games on their iPhones/iPods, will they pay $30+ for a 3DS game?

The majority of $5 games that I've played on iphones/ipad have not kept me interested for more than an hour or so. Maybe I am just not playing the right games... but personally I don't see an issue with the $40 games if I enjoy playing them for 15+ hours.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

This doesn't bother me as much as the mediocre ass launch lineup of titles. I'll pay $250 for $100 of quality hardware as long as I can buy 2-3 games at launch that catch my interest.

Having said that, I did pre-order one from Amazon since they had the $25 game credit and free accessory, plus I had about $40 in game credit on their site anyway that I used towards it, so it came out after game credit and accessories to more like $175, and then I used the 425 game credit to order SSF4 3D for $15.

 

[reallyscrued]

The point is that Nintendo is too damn greedy because they sell piles of shit for way too much. The Gamecube had vastly inferior graphics to all the other systems of its generation (including the Dreamcast which was 2 years older), they made a profit off of it AND charged their third parties more for licensing fees than Sony and Microsoft did and at least twice what Sega charged their 3rd parties.


The 3DShit should for sell for no more than $179.99 and Nintendo should take an initial loss on it like everyone else does with their hardware.

Wrong.

Statement 2: Wrong. They are solely in the gaming business and don't have other things to back them up. In case you haven't noticed, Sony and Microsoft have other lines of revenue.


I had to separate this quote for the sheer arrogance:

If there's a company who cares only about their profit margins, it's Nintendo.

First off...please never buy any product from any for-profit organization ever again.

Secondly, yeah...out of the big three, Nintendo is the one that is least concerned with the art of gaming. Where's a facepalm jpg?

 

[hans030390]

The Gamecube had vastly inferior graphics to all the other systems of its generation...

You're funny.

 

[Patmage]

Nintendo's philosophy lately has been to sell cheap hardware with a gimmick. With the Wii and DS though they at least passed some of the savings onto the consumer. So far I'm not impressed with the power of the 3DS for that price range and especially not for the tiny battery life that it has. The Parallax barrier display is nothing revolutionary. Honestly I wonder how they are going to compete with the soon to be released 3d capable phones with cheap $1-5 games.