Nintendo 3DS Gets a Massive Price Drop on August 12th, Free Game Compensation For Early Adopters

Nintendo’s reaction to PS Vita and struggling 3DS is about to kick into high gear, as Nintendo has sliced the NA price to 169.99$ and the Japan price from 25,000 yen to 15,000 yen – over a 30% price cut in both regions. Europe and Australia will be receiving price cuts also – a specific European cut will probably be up to retailers, while Australians get 100$ shaved off the 350$ price tag.

REDMOND, Wash., July 28, 2011 – Nintendo of America today announced plans to drop the suggested retail price of its portable Nintendo 3DS™ system to $169.99 in the United States, as new games based on some of the world’s most beloved video game franchises head to the system. The new price, down from the suggested launch price of $249.99 and effective Aug. 12, makes an outstanding value even better and sets up a strong holiday season for the system.

Wait, did we mention free games? That’s right – Nintendo’s offering free game downloads to early adopters as compensation for the much higher price point they paid in order to maintain customer confidence. Want to find out what those games are? Read on.

Since Nintendo 3DS launched in the United States on March 27, more than 830,000 people in the U.S. alone have purchased one to enjoy 3D visuals without the need for special glasses. These Nintendo 3DS owners represent some of Nintendo’s most loyal customers, and Nintendo is rewarding them for getting in on the action early with 20 free downloadable games from the Nintendo eShop.

These free games are available to anyone who owns a Nintendo 3DS system and uses a wireless broadband Internet signal to connect to the Nintendo eShop at least once before 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Aug. 11. These users will automatically be registered in the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program. The program contains two elements:

Starting Sept. 1, Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors will be able to download 10 NES™ Virtual Console™ games at no charge and before they are available in the Nintendo eShop to the general public. These games, including Super Mario Bros.™, Donkey Kong Jr.™, Balloon Fight™, Ice Climber™ and The Legend of Zelda™, are slated to become paid downloadable games, but Ambassadors get them early for free. Once the paid versions of the games are posted to the Nintendo eShop later in the year, the updated versions will be available to Ambassadors for download at no cost.

By the end of 2011, Nintendo will provide Ambassadors with 10 Game Boy Advance Virtual Console games. These include games like Yoshi’s Island™: Super Mario™ Advance 3, Mario Kart™: Super Circuit, Metroid™ Fusion, WarioWare™, Inc.: Mega Microgame$ and Mario vs. Donkey Kong™. These games will be available exclusively to Ambassadors, and Nintendo currently has no plans to make these 10 games available to the general public on the Nintendo 3DS in the future.

There you have it, so early 3DS adopters (830,000 or so in the states) are getting compensation for such an early price drop in the form of 20 free games. Grant it, these games aren’t likely to be anything spectacular, but the point is that Nintendo didn’t have to give early adopters anything at all… so it’s better than nothing. Still, I think Nintendo really overprojected what the PS Vita was going to cost, and it’s clear Nintendo really overpriced the 3DS.

While we have spent time at Zelda Informer defending the price tag, we were clearly off the mark. Nintendo was money grabbing like any other company, and it worked in terms of getting a few million to buy the console at that increased price. 169.99$ is a big reduction, bigger than most thought the first cut would be. The good news is, if you don’t own a 3DS there really is no better time to get it. 80$ cheaper than at launch, plus a bandful of AAA titles coming out this holiday.

Source: Nintendo of America