Nintendo 3DS Price Drop; Free Games for Early Adopters

[magus113]

Well not only is this a big move for Nintendo to compete with the upcoming PS Vita, but this also seems like a means to bring up those sales numbers.

The Nintendo 3DS is getting dropped to $170 USD on August 12th. We all knew it was coming, but I didn't know it was coming so soon.

As a means to try and drive up sales, Nintendo is giving out a bunch of free games that will be coming to the eShop. Joystiq has the conditions and some of the free games listed on their site:

Those who own a 3DS and connect to the Nintendo eShop before 11:59PM EST on August 11 will be automatically enrolled into the "Nintendo 3DS Ambassador" program.

3DS ambassadorial duties mostly involve playing a bunch of free games. The status grants you access to 10 free NES Virtual Console games on September 1 before their general release (these include The Legend of Zelda, Balloon Fight and Ice Climber), along with 10 more Game Boy Advance Virtual Console games by the end of 2011. The GBA games -- like Yoshi's Island, Super Mario Advance 3, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Metroid Fusion, WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames and Mario vs. Donkey Kong -- will not be available to anyone else.

Nintendo's line-up for the 3DS during the holidays is probably gonna help drive sales as well. I mean we have Star Fox 64 3D in September (with no online multiplayer; I'm still pissed about that), Kid Icarus: Uprising, Super Mario Land 3D in November and the new Mario Kart in December. So while it also seems like an act of desperation on their part, the price drop makes sense as well.