3DS Debuts With Considerable International Price Disparity

Nintendo has finally launched its new handheld, the 3DS, after nearly 10 months of anticipation, and as usual, has been coy about some key details. The complete launch lineup is still a mystery, and while they announced a $250 price for the US, the rest of the world has been left out of the loop. However, retailers and rumors are putting international pricing details on the map, and it’s looking a little… lopsided.

UK retailers are offering it online for £219-£229, or around $366 (!) at today’s exchange rates. Japan, meanwhile, the system will be sold at ¥25,000, about $300 in American dollars. In the EU, Euro-Amazon and Gamestop are offering it for €249.99, which translates to around $337. There’s no Australian pricing yet, which historically is absurdly high, nor Canadian, which will likely be a little higher than the US. Remember, also, that the pricing is fluid (Nintendo left it, to some degree, to the discretion of the retailers), and depending on sell rates and supply, the price may go up or down over the next few weeks.

The subtle vagaries of international currency exchange obviously are in play here, and these disparities aren’t as great as they appear due to the various factors that go into valuating currency, but still, it seems that importing might actually be cost-effective for some thrifty non-Americans. That is, if they can get around the region lockdown.

If any of our international readers would like to chime in with their evaluation of the pricing, that’d be great. I’m not local to the UK or EU, so I can’t really speak to whether these prices are out of control or just off-kilter by the usual amount.