3Ds to be extortionately more expensive in the UK
Looks like the first batch of RRPs (recommended retail price) from UK retailers have started to roll in, and it doesn’t look pretty. £229.99, that’ll be your price for entering the next generation of handheld gaming, that is until the PSP2 rolls around which will likely have an even more absurd price. Just to put all that into perspective, the original DS launch price? £99.99. Also note you could easily afford the latest versions of the PS3 or the Xbox 360 for the same amount.
What makes this all the worse is that our friends across the pond will be paying far more reasonable $249.99, roughly £156; that’s over £70 difference. Even if you factor in the UKs extremely high VAT (now 20%) it only brings the price up to around £190. In a recent press conference, Nintendo representatives refused to publicly announce the UK price alongside it’s US counterpart, instead stating “it would be determined by the retailers” which makes no sense whatsoever. You’ll have to decide for yourself which to believe, that all UK retailers are incredibly greedy, or that Nintendo set an RRP so ludicrously high they deferred the blame to save face. Hell, maybe both?
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What makes it worse is how UK games won’t run on UK systems. This is apparantly to avoid piracy, though judging by the price it may be for another reason.
I’ll be waiting a very long time before I get one of my own.