The 3DS will be available tomorow, August 12, at its newly reduced price of $169.99 in the United States. Walmart and Target may have jumped the gun in offering the deal early, but now you don’t have to worry about going to any specific store in order to get the cheaper price.
The reasoning behind the price cut is simple: the system wasn’t selling as well as Nintendo hoped, and it needs to drive demand in order to ensure there is a sufficiently install base for Nintendo and third-party publishers to sell their games to. Everyone has their theory on why 3DS hasn’t sold especially well — people don’t care about 3D, smartphones have eaten away at the handheld gaming market, the price was too high, there wasn’t enough good software. Publicly, Nintendo blames the lack of hit games. In reality, it was likely a combination of all of the above, but times are changing; not every 3DS game will necessarily take advantage of 3D, there are games worth owning on the way, and the price is now lower.
With that all in mind, there are a great deal of people now in the market for a 3DS who had little to no interest in it previously. Here’s a look at everything you need to know about the system right now, whether you’ve just picked up a 3DS recently or intend to pick one up at the new, lower price.
