South Africans have become accustomed to paying a premium for technology devices. However, things seem to be improving somewhat, and we are beginning to see local pricing on hardware fall in line with UK pricing. One of our most prominent distributors, Core Group, has in the past been accused of grossly inflating prices on Apple and Nintendo products. However, this trend seems to be reversing, as illustrated by the recently announced local iPad price.
In January, UK retailers began listing the Nintendo 3DS for £229.99(R2570). South Africa imports games and hardware from the UK or Europe, so the UK price usually forms the basis for our own pricing. With our history of inflated local pricing, we predicted a local 3DS price point of between R3,000 and R3,500. We were pleasantly surprised when Core announced that the 3DS will carry a local recommended retail price of R2,799, putting it at around R300 more expensive than the UK price.
It still feels like a lot to pay for a handheld console, but at least we can’t blame local distributors this time. The 3DS will be far cheaper in the US, where it will carry a recommended retail price of $249.99 (±R1750), but since South Africa is a PAL region, our price is based on the UK price.
It’s worth mentioning that for an extra R200 you can buy a PS3, so it remains to be seen just how the local market responds to the 3DS.
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