Iwata isn’t taking a pay cut to directly subsidise the cost of the 3DS, he’s taking a pay cut because it has become necessary to reduce the price as a result of lukewarm sales. Whether you like the device or not (I like it), the 3DS is costing Nintendo more than it’s bringing in. Iwata (and other Nintendo execs) are taking the pay cut to show the investors that they are taking responsibility for the downturn in business overall.

Kind of the opposite of what happened with the banks here, where they managed to lose a load of money but the executives got their bonuses anyway.

He actually took the cut because the 3DS bombed so horribly compared to their expectations, and instead of laying off a few minor workers over a period of time, he took responsibility and docked his own pay.

The 3DS price drop is an attempt to get more purchases, as they will lose money on each console sold, but in actual fact be making more money than not selling any at all and over time it will become profitable again, not to mention game sales.

Also the price drop in the states is to $170, but from what I’ve seen they don’t seem to take conversion rates into account between the UK and US, so we’ll most likely be seeing it on sale at £170.