Reggie wanted Nintendo 3DS to be launched at $ 200

One of the consoles with more dispersed comments for _ Nintendo _ was the 3DS, which at its launch had a cost of USD $ 250, a price that was subject to controversy in that year 2011 . One of the people who was against the decision, was the president of the American Division, _reggie Fils-Aimé _ , suggesting that at least $ 50 USD be reduced.

In the former president's book, _ Disrupting The Game, _ It is claimed that the businessman was pressing the highest controls to have a price of $ 200 closed, requests that _ satoru iwata _ constantly rejected. Aimé was even asked if they seemed good about $ 220 or $ 230, but he remained firm in saying that the proposed figure at the beginning was correct.

As a result, the initial failure of the console was had, thus having to lower it $ 80 USD later. That would later help the company stay stable during the active life of _ wii u _ . Device that was even worse than _ 3ds _ in his first steps.

Here the statement of _ reggie _ in his book:

Hardware retail margins are usually reduced: around 4 percent. So, even if we suggested $ 219 or $ 229, they are likely to set a price of $ 249 on their own and get a higher margin. This would create a lost opportunity to maximize our profitability and possible future problems, since stores would never want to visit a 4 percent margin in next -generation hardware.

All experience reinforced for me the need to act with decision on a problem or an opportunity. With 3DS, we do not allow low sales yield to persist. We moved quickly to create a plan and implement it with excellence.

The episode also reinforced fully considering the needs of its oldest clients. When implementing the ambassadors program, we kept our most committed fans, even when the price was drastically reduced. They remained defenders of the system and used social networks to publish positive comments on the digital games that we provide as a reward.

Editor's note : Something that cannot be denied at all, is that the 3DS was successful according to their possibilities, but if they had listened to Reggie from the beginning, it is likely that success would have been even greater. It is definitely a console that we are going to miss when their digital stores close, as well as its online multiplayer.