It was reported yesterday that Nintendo stocks fell around 19.9% in the wake of the steep 3DS price cut to USD $169.99. The cut was made all the way down to a loss-producing level in an attempt to drive up sales for the console (which has unfortunately struggled since its release).
In an even more drastic move that is somewhat more commonplace in Japanese culture, Nintendo President Iwata Satoru publicly took blame for the failing console and slashed his salary by 50%. Iwata also commented at a shareholders meeting, “For cuts in fixed salaries, I’m taking a fifty percent cut, other representative directors are taking a 30 percent cut, and other execs are taking a 20 percent cut.”
As Arse-bot reported earlier this week, there are a lot of quality titles coming out for the 3DS this year, so hopefully Nintendo will recover quickly from their losses. They do need to be somewhat cautious, however, with the launch of the Wii U coming up next Spring. The recent news in Game Informer that the Wii U may not support DVD, Blu Ray or backwards compatibility with Gamecube titles has not really been helping to boost public opinion for the new console, so perhaps some re-designs will be considered before the launch next Spring (or the launch price may be lower than anticipated).
Either way, it is a great time to go buy a 3DS right now, so go get one if you’ve been waiting for the price to be right!
