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Nintendo announce price cut for 3DS console

Nintendo have this morning announced that the price of their handheld 3DS console will be reduced by 'around a third'

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The Nintendo 3DS
The Nintendo 3DS puts 3D gaming in the palm of your hand without the need for special glasses

The price cut will come into effect from 12th August of this year. While no specific figures were mentioned, the 3DS currently retails in the UK for around £230, however, many retailers have already cut the price to £180 in order to stimulate sales.

In a statement made this morning, the video games giant said "Nintendo of Europe will be reducing the European trade price of Nintendo 3DS to retailers by around a third from 12th August 2011, as part of a global trade price reduction initiative. The ultimate price to consumers is, of course, determined by retailers, however we look forward to consumers benefiting from much lower retail prices very soon."

The announcement follows the publication of Nintendo's Q1 2011 financial results, which saw the Kyoto based company post a net loss of 25.5bn yen (£200m). Nintendo attributed the loss of development costs for their new home console Wii U, still on course to be released next year, and advertising costs for the 3DS.

During the April-June period, however, the 3DS only sold 710,000 units worldwide. With this global price cut, Nintendo are looking to address these sluggish sales and 'build momentum' for the console. Similar price cuts have already been announced in other territories. In Japan the 3DS will be reduced from 25,000 yen (£196) to 15,000 yen (£118), in the US the console will be reduced from $250 (£153) to $170 (£104) and in Australia it will fall from AU$350 (£236) to AU$250 (£169).

As a gesture of goodwill to early adopters of the 3DS console, Nintendo will be offering an "Ambassador Programme" to consumers who purchased the 3DS before 12 August. "The programme will enable these Nintendo 3DS owners to download 10 NES games and 10 Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games for free," said Nintendo.

"To be registered for this programme, the Nintendo 3DS owners simply need to connect to the Nintendo eShop before the 12th of August. The free software will then be made available at a later stage. More details on the programme will be announced on the Nintendo of Europe website shortly."

In addition to the price cut announcement, Nintendo also confirmed that Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 will be launched for 3DS in November and December this year respectively.