Went into GAME today just for a stickybeak and it turns out they have 3DS' on special for 199, it's the cheapest I've found anywhere. Just a note if you haven't noticed already, GAME are going into receivership and as such I can't guarantee this bargain will last.
3DS games are region locked. It might save you money if you imported a US unit so you can buy the games from the US which will be much cheaper than buying them here. Actually the RRP for the 3DS in the US is $160 so you will even save money on the unit itself.
The $199 price itself is nothing special. You can find that already if you look around.
Not sure US version is worth the trouble any more with lots of Euro PAL imports available online and even JB is stocking imports, plus there seems to be sales on games pretty often now days.
Plus I you don't have access to a lot of region locked features like Nintendo Video on a US system in Australia.
Where else besides Amazon, Yes Asia and Play Asia stock US versions of games nowdays?
I actually agree. For the bulk of titles you can probably look at other PAL regions. Where my friends have benefited from having an NTS console wasn't so much for cheaper games but to get access to titles from Japan that weren't released elsewhere. Might be a factor for fans of JRPGs.
"Not sure US version is worth the trouble any more with lots of Euro PAL imports available online and even JB is stocking imports, plus there seems to be sales on games pretty often now days."
Unit is cheaper at RRP, games are cheaper at RRP. Prices are comparable when AU stuff is on "sale" but what about when US stuff go on sale? What's there to lose other than having to wait for shipping.
"Plus I you don't have access to a lot of region locked features like Nintendo Video on a US system in Australia."
What is the relevance of these features? Never heard of Nintendo Video, but the "extras" are never what I buy a Nintendo system for. Outside of the games, they are very far behind on extra features and services. They pride themselves on being a games machine, and not a home entertainment platform, online machine, or machine that does everything (or even some things) outside of gaming.
"Where else besides Amazon, Yes Asia and Play Asia stock US versions of games nowadays?"
cduniverse. I like these guys. Shipping is pretty reasonable and if you spend $125 you get a free upgrade to FedEx super fast shipping (you get your stuff in 3 days, and it continues making its way to you even on weekends).
I don't bother with playasia anymore because they always charge a $5-10 markup over RRP. Amazon is hit and miss. Pricing is good but a lot of stuff they won't send to AU, and if they do it might be $10 "expedited" shipping, which is not very expedited at all.
but how about the games that Australia gets that America doesn't? Wouldn't it bug you to know and see people around you playing the games while you miss out? (Imagine seeing trailers & ads for games that you couldn't buy/play.)
Plus there aren't many 3DS games at all, you'd be buying maybe 1 every 5 months? Not worth the downsides considering how many games you won't be buying.
Wait… what?
Australia get games that America doesn't?…
Name one!
Off the top of my head. Granted those are Wii games (not sure whether you were talking about just 3DS, or console games in general) but there's only about 100 games for the 3DS so it's not much to go by. However looking at Wikipedia, the following 3DS games are released in EU but not in NA (or not yet):
Though I didn't bother looking at games that simply released earlier in EU.
EU and AU are a bit different. EU releases mean they were released outside Australia as well, While semantically your answer is right, that wasn't what I meant when I said name one, I was talking about releases specific to Australia and not being released elsewhere.
Add a week to the EU release. That's the AU release for those games.
Also, your post was in response to an argument that it's better to buy the USA 3DS to get the USA games that we don't. As opposed to getting the AU 3DS to get the games USA don't. Since the AU 3DS also plays EU games, I don't see why you wouldn't consider EU games.
"but how about the games that Australia gets that America doesn't? Wouldn't it bug you to know and see people around you playing the games while you miss out? (Imagine seeing trailers & ads for games that you couldn't buy/play.)"
There aren't any that I know of and if they are, they won't be games I would want to buy anyway. I do not care about games like AFL or Cricket.
On the Wii there were three games the US was not getting (Xenoblade, Pandora's Tower, and Last Story) but after a petition, the US ended up getting all three.
On the other hand, historically there've always been games the US (and JP) got which EU & AU did not get. Not as much now, but years ago definitely a lot. If I had to miss out on one region's exclusives, it would be AU's.
"Plus there aren't many 3DS games at all, you'd be buying maybe 1 every 5 months? Not worth the downsides considering how many games you won't be buying."
This sounds more like a knock against the 3DS itself rather than the idea of importing a unit to save money. I won't argue that the 3DS is a good buy. I'm only suggesting importing it if you were intending to buy one anyway. In general I don't buy games from AU due to pricing and censorship laws.
There's not that many games on 3DS, but that is true of all systems when they are new. There was even less worth playing on Nintendo DS when it was a year old. With all systems give it time, and the library of games worth buying will grow.
I don't own a 3DS by the way, and I don't intend to buy one until I see the next refresh. I'm expecting the second analog pad to be built in, and won't buy the current model until I find out if this is the case.
Not much of a "bargain" @ $199
that on initial release was a bargain (and did see it for that price)
not so much now
wish i could use my gift cards for this.
would only be able to use 50 dollars worth of my gift cards. i called a few stores here in WA and some arent even accepting gift cards or were only accepting 10% of the value of the item i want.
If I had a GAME giftcard, I'd go into a store and physically take what my voucher stated. Then just leave the voucher in its place. I doubt the cops would trouble themselves as its really a civil matter, and not a criminal one.
Still technically shoplifting as there was no contract made.
can't wait for SMH to report this nationwide occurrence.
GAME stores across Australia have seen a tremendous increase in giftcard traffic as people are flocking to their local stores to get the items they want and leaving their giftcards behind. Vladdo from the Ozbargain forums was the pioneer of this nationwide revolt, and has puzzled cops and lawyers alike with the legalities of the matter by stating this is a civil case not a criminal one
Not a good price at all.
Considering that Nintendo are planning on an updated 3DS at this years CES - you might be better off waiting.
This year's CES was in January…
He likely meant E3. And he is right.
You want to find out if the next refresh has a second analog pad, because some games like Kid Icarus, Monster Hunter and RE play much better with it. But the analog attachment looks really really dumb.
Including it built in should be a no brainer, so you may as well wait.
Do they give you $50 credit if you had a D3 deposit?
This is a pretty average price. Yes, the RRP is $249, but there's almost always someone selling it for below $200.
Agreed. Pretty sure DSE had it for $189 a few months ago
Its a hard call
I worry about warranties and
I feel as I am owed on a $55 preorder that I wont spend any more with them
I talked to the manager down my way, he said all transaction were CASH only for now.
PS I did see Preowned Kintect for $80 (web as well)
I asked about them , he said they were typically NEW as they were traded in when they bought a bundle..Might be good value for someone (must be new model 360 though)
Normally around $189 at Costco if you live closeby and have a membership…
$199 at Kmart, if you get the $10 essentials pack with it you get the pack free.
They should drop it more, last time I saw a closing DSE have it for $150-$160.