It's hard to believe now, but Nintendo originally struggled greatly with the Nintendo 3DS. The system's initial hefty price tag coupled with a lack of high quality exclusives kept it from flying off the shelves as previous Nintendo handhelds have done. However, Nintendo was able to turn their fortunes around by slashing the price of the 3DS, a move that saw sales rise by 260%.

Since then, the 3DS has been a huge success, with sales strong for both hardware and software. The success of the handheld has justified Nintendo pumping out alternate versions of the device, such as the 3DS XL, the New Nintendo 3DS, and the Nintendo 2DS. Nintendo is dominating the handheld gaming market, as they've done consistently since the release of the original Game Boy, and that dominance is looking to continue even further thanks to a significant price cut for the 2DS.

As announced today by Nintendo of America, the price of the 2DS is being lowered from its current price of $129.99 to $99.99, which equates to about a 25% price cut. The price cut will go into effect beginning August 30th.

To sweeten the pot even further, the 2DS will still be packaged with a digital version of the popular racing game Mario Kart 7. This adds significant value to the package, as Mario Kart 7 (read our review) is a $30 value in and of itself.

Mario Kart 7 Screenshot

Nintendo is counting on this price cut to put the 2DS into the hands of even more gamers than ever before. "At a suggested retail price of $99.99, Nintendo 2DS is an even more attractive introductory option for first-time gamers," said Nintendo's VP of Sales and Marketing, Scott Moffit. "The new lower-priced hardware combined with the strong lineup of new games launching this year and arguably the best library of games in this generation makes it a great time to be a Nintendo fan."

This price cut combined with Mario Kart 7 being packaged with the hardware certainly makes it a much more attractive prospect. It will probably be a big hit come this holiday season, especially since Black Friday deals could bring the price down even lower.

That being said, the more hardcore crowd that are looking to get back into handheld gaming should probably look into some of the other options, like the regular 3DS, the XL, or the New 3DS especially. These devices come with bonus features such as fully functional 3D, and in the case of the New 3DS, the convenient C-Stick. The New 3DS also is able to play some games that can't be played on the 2DS or even the other versions of the 3DS, such as Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, and other titles that will be releasing in the future.

Even so, the Nintendo 2DS is a great device for gamers on a budget, and the inclusion of Mario Kart 7 makes the package that much more worth it. It's undeniably a good deal, and is likely to be a hot ticket item this holiday season. If anyone has been waiting to jump into the excellent library of 2DS/3DS games, now is the perfect time.

The Nintendo 2DS is available now, but interested buyers should wait until August 30th to take advantage of the $30 price cut.

[Update: An earlier version of the story claimed the 2DS price cut was for "North America," but the new pricing is currently only planned for the US.]

Source: VG 24/7