Analysts sound off on 3DS price and release date announcement

Over the past 24 hours, select members of the gaming industry peanut gallery have sounded off on Nintendo's recently announced launch plans for the 3DS. Many in the investment community balked at the high price and later-than-expected launch window, including Lazard Capital Markets' Colin Sebastian, who worries "shipment quantities to the U.S. next spring might be more constrained than originally anticipated." MF Global FXA Securities' Jay Defibaugh explained that those two qualms, combined with the devices apparent lack of 3G support, made the announcement a "worst-case scenario."

Though many analysts appear to share these concerns, EEDAR, which expects the handheld to come to the US in March 2011 at $249 to $299, disagrees. "The higher price point allows Nintendo to incorporate new features such as 3D movies, camera, and game support," EEDAR noted in a report received by Joystiq yesterday, later adding, "a 2010 Holiday launch would severely impact both the quantity and quality of titles that could be made available by November 2010."

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter predicts that the market will bear the relatively high price of the handheld, though he expects the cost to drop to $250 when it arrives in the U.S.. For more of Pachter's predictions for Nintendo's western 3DS launch plans, check out our interview with the outspoken analyst.