If they made it too cheap then no one would buy the other consoles, and then they'd stop making them! Its clearly aimed at a market that needs a more durable and 'safer' console, rather than one that wants it cheaper. The current 3DS isnt expensive and I am sure there are plenty of parents who have had a DS, DSi and even a 3DS and the machine has been broken by clumsy fuckwit children. With this wedge they should have more faith that their children arnt going to break it, or fuck up their eyes.

As for Nintendo become a 3rd party developer, it aint going to happen, people obviously still want to play Nintendo games and to do so they have to buy one of their consoles, the argument for them to become 3rd party falls flat really. They never licensed their games out either, then licensed their characters in the case of the CDi games, but less said about those the better.

As much as people seem to think Nintendo are doing badly, they are far from being in a position to have to take drastic measures to continue as a company.