After the egotisitcal announcement by the one and only big N we finally have all the details of the long awaited 3BS price and launch date. For some its exciting to have something to look forward to and save up for. However the rest of us feel a little underwelmed at the spec sheet, lunch date, and more importantly price. First the specs and launch date. The hardware is adequate for whats needed to run decent games in this new market full of mobile phone software and $1 games. But when compaired side by side with current formats on the psp and iphony its not that impressive. Touch controls are market standards now, and so is motion sensing. The only thing going for it is the 3D and although its nice to watch, it will eventually cause eye strain on a level that makes the gamefoy micro feel like an upgrade. Then youre talking about the date. Most people thought a late 2010 release, but N had other plans. What changed them nobody knows but a late 2010 plan to jump the gun on the market and have a huge lead over sony would be in N's best interest. More on that in a sec.
Now the price. 300USD is not the exact conversion. Expect it to be 250 USD exactly and roughly 200 to 219 Euros (i think). For most people thats a hunk of change for a dedicated handheld machine and not a multimedia smart phone. This plays nicely into the average consumer because with the later date and higher price people will be more hesitant to early adopt save the gamer who will already give a kidney to get it now.
How does Sony play into all this. Think about the later date and price. Will announce something that will shake the industry soon in order to turn heads away from N and put the focus on them. Very few purchase two different handheld within a year so most will go one way or another. Taking the focus off Nintendough and announcing an all-around device for only 279 USD (or no more than 10% over the competition) would greatly favor those on the fence to put off getting a (3)BS device and get a real machine. I still expect an announcement a CES 2011 albeit small to entice the public to take a wait and see approach until the two are full in the open. The ball is now really in Sony's court, lets just hope they dont turn it over (again).
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