Used 3DS Sales Doubled Following Price Drop Announcement

3DS hardware sales fell to roughly half their previous week's total the week Nintendo announced the system's 10,000 yen price cut. But sales weren't so sluggish everywhere. Media Create reports that used 3DS hardware sales saw the opposite effect, doubling their previous week's sales total.

Media Create cites a couple of possible reasons for the surge in used interest. As we reported earlier, used shops cut their prices almost immediately after Nintendo's announcement on the 28th. Media Create says that the system's used price is ¥4,000 less now. The examples that Nikkei cited in its own report last week suggested drops of over ¥9,000 at some shops.

The other reason Media Create cites as a possibility for the sudden used system interest is that buyers may be trying to get in on Nintendo's free Virtual Console game offer. Nintendo will be giving early adopters 20 free Virtual Console games, some of which aren't scheduled to see general release.

Media Create also provided a breakdown of 3DS hardware sales the week of the price drop announcement. Over the week of July 25 through July 31, 3DS sold 16,415 units. From the 25th through the 28th, the day of the announcement, the system sold 14,000 units. From the 29th through the 31st, the system sold just 3,000 units.

While the split sales figures don't add up to 16,415 (Media Create did not provide an explanation for this), the 85:15 difference does indicate that word of the price drop announcement spread quickly.