Used 3DS sales rocket in Japan
Second hand retailers see sales double since price drop announcement
Tumbling sales of the Nintendo 3DS in Japan have been shadowed by a surge in demand on the second hand market.
Andriasang reports that used sales of the device have doubled since the announcement of the price drop, which comes into effect this Friday.
According to Media Crate, Japanese retailers reacted quickly to the news, lowering the average price of ¥23,000 (£179/$295) by an average of ¥4,000 (£31/$51). Nikkei cited one retailer, Book Off, as selling the device at ¥14,000 (£109/$179), just under the new price of ¥15,000 (£117/$192) set by Nintendo.
Media Create posits that the surge in demand was partially caused by the Ambassador Programme, which rewards all 3DS owners with 20 free Virtual Console games.
During the week of July 25 to July 31, the 3DS sold 16,415 units at normal retail - half of the previous week's total - with 85 percent of those sales occurring before the price-drop announcement.
The new retail price for the 3DS will be $179.99 in the US. So far, no official price has been set for the UK and Europe.