Latest Pre-E3 Price-Cutting Move Sees DS Lite Price Lowered By $30
Nintendo of America is slashing the price of its DS Lite by $30 to $99.99 in the U.S., effective Sunday, in the latest pre-E3 price-cutting move by a videogame hardware manufacturer. NOA didn’t give a reason for the timing of the move, saying only the system “has never had a price drop” since shipping in June 2006. It had slashed the price of the Wii console by $50 to $149.99 as part of the introduction of a new hardware SKU it shipped May 15 (CED May 5 p12). Earlier this year, Sony Computer Entertainment America cut the price of the standard version of the PSP handheld system by $40 to $129.99 (CED Feb 28 p5).
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Hardware price cuts on the PS3 and Xbox 360 may be announced at E3 in Los Angeles next week, but Sony and Microsoft have been mum on their plans. The console makers typically announce hardware price cuts at or just before E3, or in the fall for the holiday season. U.S. retail stores have already effectively reduced the price of the PS3 and 360 consoles by throwing in free $50 gift cards. In Best Buy’s Sunday circular, it advertised that customers could get a free $50 store gift card if they bought the 250-GB 360 at $299.99. The front page of RadioShack’s Sunday circular featured a deal for a free $50 gift card when buying the 160-GB PS3 at $299.99. Toys “R” Us featured a deal in its circular offering a free $50 gift card with the purchase of the 4-GB 360 at $199.99 or 320-GB PS3 with PlayStation Move bundle at $399.99. Target advertised in its circular that customers could get a free $50 gift card when buying the 4-GB 360 at $199.99.
The overall DS line “has become the best-selling video game system in history,” NOA said Tuesday. More than 48.9 million DS systems were sold in the U.S. alone, it said.
NOA also said six Mario DS games will receive new red packaging starting next month that will make it easier for consumers to identify those titles in stores. The games are New Super Mario Bros., which sold more than 9.25 million copies in the U.S. as of April 30, according to NPD; Mario Kart DS, more than 7.4 million; Super Mario 64 DS, more than 4.34 million; Mario Party DS, more than 3.27 million; Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, more than 1.98 million; and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!, more than 1.01 million. Thirty-one Mario games have sold more than 1 million copies since 1995, “more than any other franchise,” it said. Through March, more than 262 million games in the core Super Mario series were sold globally, it said.