Possibly the biggest turn off for consumers considering a purchase of Nintendo's latest handheld is the price. The 3DS unit itself costs $249.99, plus tax. Let's face it, you're definitely not walking out of the store without a game to play and if you're buying for a child you have to get a carrying case. With 3DS games priced at $39.99, you'll be lucky if you escape without spending more than $300.
In this industry, that's a lot of dough. You could buy quite a few games or a brand new home console like the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, or even Nintendo's own Wii. It begs the question "How much is the 3DS really worth?"
Research Firm iSuppli tore apart the 3DS and measured the cost of each component in the 3DS. In total, the hardware costs $100.71. But what about manufacturing? Putting all the hardware together in the far east saves a pretty penny and totals only $2.54.
At $33.80, the main 3D as well as the secondary display – also from Sharp – together with the touch screen, represent the most expensive group of component costs in the 3DS, accounting for roughly 24 percent of the total cost of materials.
The 3DS cost assessment presented in this release is preliminary in nature, accounting only for hardware expenditures, and does not take into consideration other expenses such as software, licensing and royalties.
Honestly, it's not the worst we've seen. The original iPhone was $600 and amounted to an actual cost of something like $200. I guess when you've taken such a beating like I have before, the 3DS doesn't sound so bad. I'll bet I'm in the minority though.
