3DS price watch UK (January 29th)

Seems you can’t have a new gaming release in the UK anymore without a good old fashioned price war erupting amongst retailers, and the 3DS is no exception. Nothing wrong with that of course, anything that can whittle down the 3DS’s already huge £229.99 price point is a boon to us all. But with so many different retailers each with their own constantly changing special offers and deals, it can be hard to keep track of whats going on. So, over the next 2 months leading up to the release of Nintendo’s no doubt revolutionary handheld, I’ll endeavor to try and keep you all updated on which major retailer is making the most economical offers.

At the moment the ever reliable ShopTo.Net heads the pack with its “Limited Time Only” price of £199.85, closely followed by Amazon, Play.com and ASDA (with promo code) at £202.00. How long ShopTo will keep that price is still a mystery, but don’t get carried away and think you need to buy right now in order to get the best deal; this is only the beginning of the price wars. GAME have already started offering the 3DS bundled with various games for a discounted price, something that may save you money overall compared to buying the console and the games you want separately. I expect other retailers to follow suit in the coming weeks.

As always, you should also expect offers to start cropping up on auction sites like eBay, there’s already several listings for the (region locked) Japanese version at a variety of prices. I know it’s common sense and all but please be mindful dealing with such offers; all sorts of lowlife cons are going to try and capitalise on the ensuing 3DS mania, so if a price seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Just stick to sellers with extremely high feedback scores and you should be fine.

As of January 29th current price rankings:
ShopTo.Net: £199.85 [1]
Amazon: £202.00
Play.com £202.00
ASDA: £202.00 [2]
TESCO: £217.00
Zavvi: £217.85
GAME: £219.99 [3]
GAMESTATION: £219.99
HMV: £219.99

[1] Limited time only promotional price, how long it’s going to last is unknown.
[2] Normally £217.00, currently you can use promo code “15OFF3DS” to reduce it to £202.
[3] Can be bundled with certain games for £19.99 or £29.99 more, depending on the game.