3DS has seen some of the most fevered price-cutting of any hardware launch as retailers from almost all spheres compete for a slice of what's sure to be an enormous gaming pie.
From its original cost of around £230, the console's price has slowly dipped over the weeks, with Amazon selling 3DS for £187 the lowest price. Until now.
Retail behemoth Tesco is offering the machine for just £175 from midnight, according to MCV. With each console costing retailers £173, plus VAT at 20%, this means Tesco will actually lose a staggering £32.60 on each console sold.
Will we see other retailers move to match this price, or is this as cheaply as the console will go? With the console launching in just over 12 hours, we won't have to wait long to find out.
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[source mcvuk.com]
Comments 39
Wow... First it went from around £230 and now it's just £175 in nearly a month. I might just be able to afford one now!
Amazon actually have a "Pre-order Price Guarantee", which I guess means they'll be matching Tesco's price if you tell em!
James+Newton wrote:
Amazing reference, James !
Isn't the cost to stores of £173 just speculation?
I want to trade or sell my XL but dont want to lose my DSiWare games how do i go about transferring them across to a 3DS? only then can i go and get a 3DS.
You can't transfer them until May when the eShop is added via a system update.
I'm going to wait a few months and get one in the summer. Can't afford much of anything these days. When I do come to buy one, £175 should be the standard price for them or it would be very easy to find one at that price if its not.
Oh Well, have to wait then.
Once again...UK...
YAY! I might actually be more inclined to buy one now!
Lucky Europeans...
Registered to leave this comment:
http://www.google.com/search?q=175+gbp+in+usd
175 British pounds = 283.99 U.S. dollars
Indeed, lucky bastards, that's only $283. If only you could get a 3DS for that price in America
EDIT: Someone beat me to it, haha.
Don't think this price is sticking around! It'll be £200 minimum after the initial pre-orders. We're not that lucky here!
@2 Amazon's pre-order price guarentee doesn't cover matching costs of other retailers, it only means that If you pre-order something when it costs £200, but between you ordering and release date the price decreases ro £150, you pay the lowest price of £150! Even if the price went down to £150 then back up before release, you would still only pay the lowest price of £150.
To be honest I can't see Amazon matching Tesco's price as most of their 3DS systems that were pre-ordered are shipping now(mine included!) but you never know!
Actually if taxes are included in the price, that is actually cheaper than what I'm paying in NA, because I have to pay 15% tax, so C$287.49, which is 181.87 pounds.
Wow that's just crazy.
Yeah, with tax it's about the same as here now. I wish I had the patience to wait. I'll bet there'll be a price drop and a re-design, really fast; a year if not sooner, I say. I can live with trading it in at a small loss though, but a better battery will be too good to pass up on the next version.
Flippin' heck, that saves some quid. I may be buying it sooner than I thought.
Cheap Cheap indeed!
it just 10 dollers more then the DSi
Apparently the unit cost is around the £170 mark — it may be £173, it may be less, not really sure to be honest. Either way, if other retailers are doing it at £220 and Tesco's is only £175, I know where I'd buy mine from
You should probably clarify that this offer applies to those who buy the 3DS along with a 3DS game, so you can't get the console alone for £175 (ergo, you'll still be forking over less cash by buying the system alone from Amazon or another retailer)
MCV wrote:
Just got an email from amazon.de they sell the 3ds for only 222€ yay now am getting the 3ds for 222 euro + sims 3 for free^^
if only it was the price of the dsi or lower ($150 anyone) why is it so expensive anyway?
Tesco.com still showing the 3DS at £197 and not £175.
Think this may be some miss information.
Glad I didn't pre order now . At that price the 3DS seems a lot more tempting now. Trouble is the launch games are leaving me cold. I would have really loved a big adventure game (even Oot would have sufficed). The only one I'm tempted by is Pro Evo ,but after just sinking an unhealthy amount of time on Fifa 10 (360) I'm a bit burned out on football games.
Think I'll wait just a bit longer!
I'm really glad I ordered one now. (Mine's coming from Morrisons for £187, which isn't bad, either.) When the price was first released I was so bummed out and thought it would be a long time before I would pay that much for a 'toy'. But now the price is coming down and much happier with my decision to pre-order. I'm so psyched to get my hands on this puppy tomorrow!
Dang, thats a real difference!
175.00 GBP ---> 284.52 USD
Still more expensive than what we have to pay for it pre-tax,
but that's a heck of a lot better deal than 230 GBP
230.00 GBP ---> 373.94 USD
If it were my choice, then my friends across the pond would pay the same amount that I do, not a Pound, Euro, or Dollar more
Wish I'd known about this, I paid £199.99 for mine from shopto.net.
On the plus side though, it was delivered to my house earlier today at 1pm! I've been playing Super Street Fighter 4, Pilotwings Resort and the Augmented Reality games for the last few hours now
Although that is considered a good price, for a handheld it feels expensive still...I know it maybe due to the features it has but it is still a handheld which provides cheaper games and parts overall.
If $175 requires also buying a game then the upcoming sales at Best Buy - $10 off a 3DS game - and ToysRUs B1G1 50% off 3DS games - here in the states could be comparable. I think Amazon may have a deal as well. Check CAG.
I have just bought my Aqua Blue 3DS from Tesco, in-store at Bidston Moss just outside Birkenhead, and I can confirm that this offer is 100% correct. A Tesco 3DS costs £175, but you have to buy a £34.90 game with the offer.
Therefore, the total Tesco price for a 3DS with a game is £209.90.
For example I bought:
A complete and utter bargain! Thanks lots for this news Nlife and cheers @James Newton!
@JamieO - Not a bad deal bricks and mortar buying at all.
I ordered mine thru Tescos website for £197, but you could add any game for £10 so it's cost me £207. Still for the convenience of buying in store I'd be happy to pay a couple more quid. Bargain!
@Dazza I am chuffed mate, when pre-orders first came out in HMV/ Game/ Gamestation etc I honestly thought that I would have to pay £230 just for the 3DS. I got the 3DS and two games for just £245! Result!
@Laxeybobby
The title is misleading. It's £175 PLUS 20% VAT. So it's £197 in total.
Thanks for being misleading Nintendolife. <_<
The price of £175 is including the 20% VAT. Almost always when you read the price of something in the UK the VAT is included.
@RadioShadow and @Laxeybobby: It does not cost £197, I just bought one this morning and whilst it says £197 on the receipt they take £22 off straight away (included as 'Additional Savings' on my receipt).
I bought a 3DS from Tesco today and it definitely only cost me £175.
This is similar to the Tesco website deal last week, which was buy a 3DS for £197 and get any game for £10. I ordered Pilotwings and the black machine, it came to £207 and I then got another £20 off with staff discount. It came Thursday afternoon which was another nice bonus!
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