Pachter Speaks on the Future Release of the 3DS

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter predicts a later date and a lower price for the 3DS outside of Japan.

In a recent interview with Joystiq, analyst Michael Pachter made a number of predictions concerning the new Nintendo handheld.

Although the 3DS will cost 25,000 yen ($299) in Japan, he believes that the price will drop by $49 in the U.S. He also said that it will be £200 in the U.K. and €250 in Europe. According to Pachter, the fairly high price is a good move considering the fact that no one could get a Wii for two years.

"What was the point? They should have sold it for $300 at launch, and made another $50 for every Wii sold during that period."

As for the release date outside of Japan, Pachter doesn't think there's any chance that the 3DS will make it to the U.S. or Europe before April.

"Looking at how Nintendo does things, if you're launching February 26 in Japan, and their earnings reports say before the end of the fiscal year in U.S. and Europe -- is there any prayer, even a 1 percent chance that they'll launch a week later in the U.S., March 5?"

Lastly, Pachter thinks that a software price increase is likely due to the fact that more expensive hardware usually means more expensive software. He predicts that Nintendo will seek a standard software price of $34.99, up from $29.99.

Joystiq is awaiting Nintendo's response to Pachter's comments.