Nintendo hopes that the 3DS price cut will lead to a bigger and more diverse audience.

While everyone from your baby brother to Nicole Kidman enjoyed the original DS the 3DS has yet to be welcomed by such a diverse audience. The wide-ranging success of the DS shows in its myriad of software titles and the 3DS' key audience shows in its; with titles such as Super Street Fighter IV 3D and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D being favoured by young males it is clear where the biggest audience lies.

Speaking to investors Nintendo's president Satoru Iwata has stated that this is partially because the console was not launched during the seasonal busy period so most early adaptors are the oft-cited "hardcore". Nintendo is looking to improve this however and the price cut is just the start according to Mr. Iwata.

Noting that the 3DS' female audience share is lower than the Wii or DS he suggests that while they may not buy the console it doesn't mean they aren't playing it. Of course the next step is to get them to buy the console and the new price point should hopefully go a long way in doing that. However, he does admit that the majority of the audience is young males, particularly oversees.

Another demographic that isn't adopting the 3DS as much as the original DS is young children. Since the 3DS has not been available during a holiday season yet, and as parents may have multiple children to buy for and the previous price point may have been off-putting, it has not had the chance to sell to this market. However, another important aspect is the health and safety warnings for children under the age of six.

Prior to the console's launch Nintendo warned that children under the age of six shouldn't play the console in 3D due to the associated eye fatigue 3D causes. While they admitted medical research suggests children would be fine Nintendo were airing on the side of caution, as they often do when it comes to children, but it has become a problem in itself. They are still trying to inform parents that the 3D mode is safe and optional and their planned holiday advertising campaign pushes this point. Whether or not they'll be able to convince The Sun, a paper that has continuously spread false allegations about the 3DS and even claimed Nintendo cut the price because people felt dizzy, remains to be seen.