PS Vita > 3DS, Nintendo Feeling The Heat – Analyst

PS Vita isn’t even on the market just yet, but already Nintendo’s feeling the heat from Sony’s latest handheld, and because of it, according to some analysts, the firm’s opted to slash the price of 3DS.

It was David Cole of DFC Intelligence who made the claim while speaking to IndustryGamers, saying Nintendo was ready to take the hit to keep 3DS momentum going.

“I just looked at their revised financial forecasts and they are ready to take a hit,” he said. “They are really being aggressive. It is very unlike Nintendo to be willing to take such a loss. I think what it says is that they really feel the heat from the Sony Vita. I see it as a move to protect their market share and position in handhelds. I would not call it desperation but more a very aggressive defensive action by the market leader to hold on to market position.”

“Sony I think can possibly play this to their advantage, although the price difference is tough. Sony is going up against a very aggressive leader in Nintendo. I think we can say that competition in the portable space should really heat up. That could be good for consumers that can take advantage of these deals.”

RW Baird analyst Colin Sebastian also chimed in, saying if Nintendo had released the console with sufficient content, there would be no need to slash its price now.

“It was clear that Nintendo had a problem on its hands with the 3DS, and I think they are acting aggressively to try and save the platform. For that matter, any new platform has to be very considerate of the initial price point, but that is art as well as science, so I am not sure whether Sony will find it necessary to lower the Vita price.

In fact, the two handhelds are quite different. Content is always a crucial variable that is easy to forget – if game publishers had been able to make really compelling content for the 3DS with appeal to millions of gamers, then the story might have played out differently.”