With the $50 gift card at Target, (with purchase of a 3DS), I'm thinking seriously about buying one as a Xmas gift for my kid. My wife is always buying stuff at Target, so the $50 gift card is as good as cash. The problem is, that's just the hardware. I would still need to buy a game. The only games that seem to really be worth it are Mario, Zelda and Mario Kart. Mario 3D Land seems to be the obvious choice, but it's $39.99 pretty much everywhere, which isn't exactly cheap.
The biggest factor however, is what happens when he gets bored with Mario? What 3DS games are coming in the near future that look awesome? Also, the whole $39.99 price point for new games is really bothersome to me. Just seems like highway robbery for a portable game. I guess I could check and see if Blockbuster is renting 3DS games, and maybe get him a Blockbuster rental pass for a couple of months. That way, he could try out a bunch of 3DS games and see which ones are worth a damn.