In a bid to invigorate sales, Nintendo will release a new-color version of its 3DS handheld on September 9.
The new flame red model will launch at the $170 price point as opposed to the $250 that the system was originally sold for earlier this year.
Because of sluggish sales, Nintendo had to slash the price on its glasses-free 3D gaming system and is playing damage control as gamers still struggle to see value in the system.
Nintendo has a very solid track record of being able to keep its console prices solid for a long time after being released, but the 3DS is a very different story.
In addition to being the most expensive system Nintendo has ever released, it launched without any good games, and heavyweight franchises like Mario still aren’t available.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata admitted there were many faults with the release of the 3DS. In addition to the lack of launch titles, the company missed its target of a holiday 2010 release, which could have spurred significantly more sales and given it much more traction out of the gate.
As it stands, though, a lot of things are starting to crumble at Nintendo, leading to massive cuts in stock prices and significant salary reductions for some of the company’s top executives, including Iwata’s.
The flame red 3DS is slated to launch alongside Star Fox 64 3D, a 3D remake of the classic Nintendo 64 title that could also help bring more Nintendo fans to the 3DS club.
