3DS Will Be Sold at a Profit from Day One

In spite of the potentially pricey glasses-free 3D screen from which Nintendo‘s 3DS takes its name, Nintendo’s president and CEO, Satoru Iwata, recently revealed that the company expects to sell the handheld console at a profit from Day One.

While Iwata wouldn’t give a specific price in at interview with VentureBeat, he did say that the 3DS would cost more to produce than the original DS, but that Nintendo “[does] not think we have to sell the products below cost.”

That doesn’t really reveal a price, but there are a few clues inherent in it: For one thing, the 3DS’ price will almost surely be greater than the DSI XL’s recommended price of $189.99. But Nintendo doesn’t historically like to price its consoles too far towards the high end; consider the Wii, which, with a launch price of $250.00, was profitable from the start, but also cheaper than the other consoles of its generation at launch.

Market research company Lazard Capital Markets has pegged the 3DS’ launch price at between $249.99 and $299.99, which sounds about right. While that puts it on the high end of current handhelds, a) there aren’t all that many current handhelds (Sony just cut the price of the PSP to $199 from $249) and b) the 3DS is arguably the first of the next generation anyway, especially given its 3D media consumption and photo capabilities.

The DS is rumored to be hitting the American market in March of 2011.

(VentureBeat via GamesIndustry.biz)