Excitement blamed for high 3DS RRP

Speaking to analysts yesterday, Nintendo president Saturo Iwata admitted one curious reason for the comparatively high price of the Nintendo DS handheld – the enthusiasm with which it was greeted

Andriasang says Iwata told the audience that the price was set by considering a number of factors, including reactions to the system’s E3 reveal”.

The machine has only been dated in Japan so far, though its 25,000 RRP points to a minimum UK price of 200.

What will be more worrying for Nintendo, though, is the fact that following yesterday’s announcements the company’s share price dipped by ten per cent.

The dip comes not only as a result of the February Japanese launch for 3DS – the company had previously hinted at a Q4 2010 arrival in Japan – but also as Nintendo cuts its financial forecasts for the current fiscal year by half.

Sales predictions for the DS have been dropped from 30m to 23.5m while sales expectations for Wii have dropped from 18m to 17.5m.

Iwata also admitted that the company had drawn up its original figures on the presumption that it would get 3DS to market this year.