Nintendo Cuts Price of 3DS by $80
In a surprise move, Nintendo announced it will lower the price of its 3DS hand-held gaming console from $249 to $169 on Aug. 12.
"For anyone who was on the fence about buying a Nintendo 3DS, this is a huge motivation to buy now," said Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime in a statement. "We are giving shoppers every incentive to pick up a Nintendo 3DS , from an amazing new price to a rapid-fire succession of great games."
Nintendo revealed it has sold 830,000 3DS devices since the March 27 launch. Nintendo originally anticipated selling 16 million units in the financial year. Many experts say the price drop is meant to encourage sales as a result of the device's poor performance thus far.
For those who may feel jaded that they bought the device before the price drop, Nintendo is softening the blow by offering 20 free games to current owners, along with the title of "Nintendo 3DS Ambassador." Anyone who has logged into the Nintendo 3DS eShop at least once before the price drop will gain access to 10 games from the NES virtual console on Sept. 1, followed by 10 Game Boy Advance virtual console titles sometime later this year. The Game Boy Advance titles won't be available to anyone else.
The games available to 3DS Ambassadors will include Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong Jr., Balloon Fight, Ice Climber and The Legend of Zelda (available early and free) as well as Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Metroid Fusion, WarioWare Inc.: Mega Microgame$ and Mario vs. Donkey Kong (available exclusively to Ambassadors).
