Lite Price Speculation

A couple of days ago, Nintendo issued a press release announcing the DS Lite’s launch in the United States.

The price? US$129.99, or a rough S$215 after conversion. It’s currently selling in Japan for 16,800 yen, or S$240.

A quote I’ve received from a game shop in Singapore was S$329. That’s expensive, but altogether reasonable considering how high the DS Lite’s demand is. Factor in markups by middlemen here and there, and by the game shop itself, and S$329 is actually considered quite reasonable by Singapore standards.

But hey, I’m the silly one who rushed out to get a normal DS after hearing rumours that the local distributor could price it as high as S$400. After hearing about the US release price though, I highly doubt so.

Then again, it was supposed to be launched in mid-April, and it’s already May.

My take on the DS Lite’s price in Singapore? Up to S$299, to be launched in mid to late June. That’s from the distributor’s track record, a quick analysis of international launch dates, and throwing in a bit of price differentiation into the factor. People do need to clear out their normal DS’es, you know.

For those of you looking to jump into the fray now and get a DS, I’ll say hold your horses unless you really, really have to play a game. Or you could consider one of the many normal DS’es available on the second-hand market for as low as S$100.