Marvellous claims 3DS development costs could hit $1.8 million

If developers were looking for a platform to offer them a quick buck or two, it would appear 3DS is not it.

That's according to development costs cited by Harvest Moon developer Marvellous Entertainment.

The studio has revealed during a call with investors that it expects to spend between ¥50 million and ¥150 million on developing each 3DS release that's around $600,000 to $1.8 million.

Money mattersAs Joystiq points out, such a rate represents a major leap from the average DS spend, which based on Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) figures for last year comes in at between $50,000 and $525,000.

That would make a top-billing 3DS title almost four times as expensive to develop as a DS release

CESA figures also suggest 3DS games could eclipse even the most ambitious PSP spend, the most expensive release on the platform last year costing around $710,000 to develop.

Indeed, 3DS development would in fact be in Wii's league, with the most expensive title on Nintendo's home console in 2009 pooling development costs of $1.4 million.

The only ways studios will be able to offset such an escalation in development costs come release, of course, will be to either ramp up the prices of their games at retail, or hope their titles simply shift more units  both somewhat ambitious strategies, given the current financial climate.

[source: 1UP]