I don't think that view is based on any sense of superiority or being more deserving, but an assessment of the buying power of $300 and how 3DS would compare with similar priced commodities. Relative to what else you can buy for $300, it looks like a 3DS doesn't get you as much for your money, suggesting it'd be a price without too much demand. That's the thinknig anyway. Personally I can see Nintendo selling that high to a smaller amrket and then dropping the price. I said XB360 could have released at a higher price. Basically you want a price that's high enough that you sell without anyone selling on eBay at an insane markup. If they are selling on eBay at a huge markup, you got your demand estimation wrong and were priced too low, meaning missed profits.
When comparing prices across different territories and countries, people really need to stop using exchange rates.
25,000 Yen in Japan is still 25,000 Yen in Japan. Peoples wages, cost of living, etc. all haven't changed despite the rising value of the Yen versus the dollar.
So while 25,000 Yen is now worth a lot more dollars than it was say 4 years ago. None of that impacts anyone in Japan directly because dollars are irrelevant in the local economy. A 2,500 Yen steak is still a 2,500 Yen steak and not a 30 USD steak.
So the question of "But why is $300 considered affordable in Japan but too high in the US?" is irrelevant as USD isn't used in the Japanese local economy. People aren't paid a variable wage based on the current exchange with the dollar.
Once you move outside of Japan, then you have to look at each of the markets you want to enter and determine what each individual local economy can and will support.
For most of the top tier economies you'll usually not have a problem. But go to countries where the exchange rate makes it impossible to price your product such that it is attractive in that local economy (say Peru or Vietnam as examples) and profitable for your company, then you just don't sell your product there. Just like I believe neither the X360 nor PS3 launched in most of S. America and the PS2 possibly remains a hot selling item.
So when the DS comes to America, Nintendo have to determine not only what would be an attractive price point in USD (determined by local economy) but as well if that price is profitable in their native currency (determined by exchange rate). If they can get both of those where they like it, then it'll sell in the US. If not, then it won't.
Regards,
SB
Except local economies do work like that! I can eat for a lot less outside of London than in London, because the cost of living in London is more such that businesses there ahve to charge more, but then those working there tend to get paid more. We even have a London Weighting allowance directed specifically at that. The cost of everything is typically cheaper up north because people earn less - there's no point trying to sell them a £30 steak dinner as they just plain can't afford it. Petrol costs typically 10% less in the less built up parts of the UK, because people earn less. Regional economies, both big and small, come into affect wherever you want to sell stuff.
And if no-one can afford your product, you sell none. What's in it for you then? the whole point to any product is to make money off it! Alternative you can drop the price and make less profit per unit than you'd like, but at least make some profit.
If it's too high, they won't buy. Too high is the price which turns people off, and not the price that they grumble at but still pay. Regional differences could mean that in Japan, the value of 3DS is $300 going by current exchange rates and they're willing to pay that, while in the US, and Slovakia, and Romania, it's considered too expensive and they won't pay. At which point Nintendo either accept the lost revenue, or price lower in those markets to secure some revenue, keeping the price higher in more receptive markets where they can make more profit. And if the price a market is willing to pay is too low, it makes more sense not to sell there. It's a balancing act.
