Nintendo has dropped the U.S. price on its portable gaming device Nintendo DS from $150 to approximately $130, a cut of roughly 13 percent, effective August 21, 2005. The price drop comes one day before the U.S. release of the interactive game "Nintendogs," which simulates the ownership of a puppy, responding both to the Nintendo DS’s built-in microphone and touch screen. The game is already a strong seller in Japan.
Nintendo launched the two-screened, clamshell device at the end of 2004; its primary competition is Sony’s Playstation Portable (PSP), which retails for about $250 in the U.S., and Nintendo’s own Game Boy Advance, which sells in the U.S. for less than $100. Between the Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS, Nintendo is estimated to control well over 90 percent of the portable video game market; the company says it expects to ship more than 12 million Nintendo DS systems this year.
