Following an 82% cut in the company’s profit forecast, and sluggish sales of the 3DS worldwide, Nintendo has announced a steep price cut for its newest handheld system. Beginning August 12th, the suggested retail price of the 3DS will drop from $249.99 to $169.99 in North America. In Japan, the price will be cut from ¥25,000 ($317) to ¥15,000 ($190).
Early adopters shouldn’t feel ripped off, however, as Nintendo also revealed its “3DS Ambassador” program to reward people who bought the 3DS at its original pricepoint. Everyone who owns a 3DS system and connects it to the eShop before 11:59PM EST on August 11th will be entered into the program.
Ambassadors will receive 10 free NES Virtual Console games on September 1st (before the NES VC is rolled out to the general public), including The Legend of Zelda, Balloon Fight, and Ice Climber. In addition, Ambassadors will receive 10 free exclusive Game Boy Advance Virtual Console games before the end of 2011. The GBA games offered include Yoshi’s Island, Mario Kart Super Circuit, Metroid Fusion, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, and WarioWare Inc. Nintendo has stated that these games will be exclusive to Ambassadors and will not be available to the general public.
30 Years of Super Mario – A Retrospective
Nintendo’s Mobile “DNA”
