GameStop drops 3DS price to $150 right before Vita launch, is this going to happen everywhere?

Nintendo’s 3DS had a rocky start,
but following a crazy huge price cut, it not only got back on track but performed
better in eight months than the DS did in its first year. Thanks to the lower
price and giant releases like Mario Kart and Monster Hunter 3G in Japan, the
3DS has been trouncing the Vita on a weekly basis in the island nation. Obviously Nintendo wants to repeat that success in the US, perhaps using shocking price reductions, at
least if one GameStop listing is anything to go by.

Currently on GameStop's website
you can buy a new 3DS system for $ 149.99, $ 20 less than the current price
elsewhere. It’s listed like a sale price by Stop, but GameStop basically NEVER
cuts prices on new hardware, and Nintendo stuff besides. More often this
type of thing happens as part of an industry wide price drop. Is this the case?

Our brief research has proven that
competing mega-retailers like Amazon, Best Buy and Wal-Mart are still charging
$ 169.99 for a new unit. Recently Nintendo has given GameStop US-exclusive
retail items, like the 3DS Circle Pad Pro
and Xenoblade Chronicles.
It’s possible that this is another Nintendo favor, but it’d be a pretty big
one.

In the US Nintendo is launching a
new pink unbundled 3DS system in three days, which would be a great time to
reveal a shocking, last minute price cut. Perhaps The N is letting Stop in on
the new MSRP a little early, but we bet it’s only a matter of time before every US store will
reflect that price. Nintendo is playing hardball with Sony and this clearly
appears to be a big move to overshadow the Vita’s upcoming launch that begins
with early bundles on 2/15 and a full launch on 2/22.

How long before Nintendo makes
this price cut official for everyone? Will UK/EU/Japan get similar reductions?
And will this move allow Nintendo to dominate in the US like it does in Japan?
We’ll keep you posted.