Unless youāre reading this from the accounts section of Nintendo, we may never know. But experts in the field can estimate, and they estimate that the 3DS costs Nintendo $101 to manufacture.
If thatās correct ā and even if itās not, itās likely to be damn close ā thereās a big gap between the handheldās $101 parts bill and its $249 retail price in the United States.
Which is your cue for INDIGNATION and OUTRAGE, yes? Perhaps, but remember, thatās just an estimated cost for the āraw materialsā needed to manufacture a 3DS. Itās not including research & development costs, shipping costs, advertising costs, the cuts retailers may take, etc.
Nor is it including the fact that Nintendo refuses to sell its hardware at a loss, so thereās pure profit to be had in the $148 price gap, too.
How much pure profit? Who knows. But hey, if you donāt like it, you could always not buy it!
Why the Nintendo 3DS costs Ā£230 [Eurogamer]
