A recent tear-down and inspection of parts has the Nintendo 3DS at $103.25 in manufacturing costs. Many people may start to wonder why Nintendo is charging $249 for the 3DS. To be honest, we have no clue how much cost for research and development, marketing, shipping, and whatever else they need to do to get the 3DS out into the world. If you are wondering the most expensive part of the 3DS is, you probably guessed it, the 3D screens. Both screens are from Sharp and cost $33.88 together.