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Looks like gaming’s favorite fortuneteller is at again. In an interview with Joystiq, Wedbush Morgan market analyst Michael Pachter said he expects the U.S. and European launch of the new Nintendo 3DS handheld gaming system to fall out of its tentatively scheduled March release window. Pachter is predicting an April launch for markets outside of Japan. “If you’re launching February 26 in Japan, and their earnings reports say before the end of the fiscal year in U.S. and Europe — is there any prayer, even a 1 percent chance that they’ll launch a week later in the U.S., March 5? No freaking way,” Pachter said. “It’s not even remotely possible they’re launching first half of March. I’m betting it gets delayed until April in Europe and U.S.”  If the western launch is pushed back, Pachter believes it will be due to delays in manufacturing of the 3D screens and microprocessors for the system. The market analyst went on further to say he expects the system to be priced at roughly $250 in the U.S. and that gamers will likely see at least a slight increase in the price of software over current-generation DS games. |