When the 3DS launched in March of 2011 here in the U.S. it was priced at $249.99. At the time, it was regarded as a massive mistake. Months later, Nintendo would cut the price to $169.99 and offer a litany of free games to the fans who purchased at launch and headlines and critics alike hailed the move as "the death of Nintendo handhelds".
The 3DS was not the death of Nintendo. The handheld would go on to pick up popularity among a massive audience and now sells the New 3DS XL bundles for the same price they were peddling at launch...and people are buying it.
So was the original price justified after all? Clearly, something changed, but what? The truth of the matter is the public just needed convincing, and once they got in, they realized the 3DS was a great handheld after all. Weirdly enough prices seemed to soar when a certain popular Nintendo franchise was re-released on the console...oh yeah Zelda. Now they're paying top dollar for a 6-year-old handheld and shaking a fist at the Switch screaming "NO!" and I have to ask why?
$499 for the first PS3 was too much...hell $499 for the PS4 PRO is wayyyy too damn much for a console that presents 4K on the box and nowhere else.
So when I hear someone say "the price is too high" for the essential successor to the handheld, I just have to shake my head. Putting the specs side by side of each console and you're essentially making the jump from cross breed between N64 to GameCube era to current gen...and that's not worth the price of admission? Give me a break.
If you have an obsession with the fact that Nintendo released an underpowered console in a new era...where have you been the past two decades? This isn't news, and it shouldn't surprise you. Instead, the conversation should be that Nintendo made a real viable jump in a hybrid console/handheld that doesn't break the bank and still offers current gen graphics.
