Bloomberg: Nintendo to incur loss on every 3DS sold thanks to price cut

Nintendo's global 3DS price cut will mean a more attractive price point for the underperforming handheld, and hopefully better hardware sales.  The console giant is still sticking by its forecast to ship 16 million 3DS handhelds by end of its current fiscal year ending March 31st, 2012.

However, Bloomberg Japan believes that by slashing the retail pricing of the 3DS across multiple markets anywhere from $80 - 125 USD depending on the region, Nintendo will now face a loss for every 3DS sold once the new pricing takes effect next month.

That's based on the cost to produce each 3DS handheld, which UBM TechInsights earlier this year estimated was somewhere around $101 USD for the raw materials alone.  At its original $249.99 USD in North America, Nintendo was definitely going to net a profit for each 3DS sold.  The catch of course was that Nintendo wasn't selling anywhere near enough.

While Nintendo is praying for good things to come out of its massive 3DS price cut over the long term, the company already reduced its revenue forecast for the current fiscal year by 18 percent, while expecting its annual net income to drop a whopping 82 percent from its previous estimate.  Analysts believe 40 percent of this downward revision can be attributed directly to the 3DS price cut.