All you have to do is look at the exchange rate of other console/product releases and check the direct conversion against the real prices. You'll see that the US gets things a LOT cheaper than any old direct conversion.
Up until now it's been yen to dollar, so 25,000 yen would be 250 dollars, the exact same price as the wii and past nintendo consoles at launch. Then again, the exchange rate just keeps on bombing over time which really does hurt Japan and when the 3DS (again 250 dollars/25,000 yen) was price cut, it ended up at 15,000 yen and 180 dollars, I think it was? I think it was a little about 150 dollars anyway, so that was a little different.
Mario being mario isn't exactly strange though. People play it because it is mario, not because they love the character and want him to appear in a brand new game, but then again he does in all sorts of sports etc. Can't really say much about metroid from one game, as if one game depicts its entire future.
Your own future is also just as non-confirmed, so pretty sure there's still a huge chance you'd be buying another console at some point in that future :p (I don't understand how people can say "I'm never doing X again" over and over, unless its something much, much more serious like jumping off a building etc)
10 mins till the rest of the world are told its prices/release dates and other software etc based news
