Nintendo doesn’t want to leave their most loyal fans out in the cold. So there is a special ‘Ambassador Program’ on the way for those who own or buy a 3DS before the price drop on August 12. How does 10 NES titles and 10 Game Boy / Game Boy Advance titles sound as a little something for nothing… or maybe that extra $100…
The first batch of titles will be available from September 1. A second batch available ‘by end of 2011′.
Here’s the official announcement in detail.
Nintendo Australia plan to offer an exclusive Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program to consumers who have purchased the Nintendo 3DS at the original launch price. The program will enable those Nintendo 3DS owners to download 10 NES™ games and 10 Game Boy™ and Game Boy Advance™ games for free 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 the price drop on 12 August. These users will automatically be registered in the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program. The program contains two elements:
1. Starting 1 September, 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.
2. 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.: Minigame Mania 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.
ZePpLiNs
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 6:06 PMAnd you couldn’t include this in the original price drop article because?
Seamus Byrne
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 6:08 PMBecause I missed it. It’s important. Didn’t want to bury it. One aspect is about potential buyers. The other those who already own.
lord jimu stark
Friday, July 29, 2011 at 5:37 AMdon’t worry, I still want to give you a filthy man-kiss!
GO HANDHELDS!!!
Jake
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 6:09 PMI take back my insane rage.
ripperhugme
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 6:26 PMI take back my years of insane rage against Nintendo.
thisguy
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 6:13 PMNintendo… I… I… I love you…
GamerLuke
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 6:14 PMMario Kart, Metroid Fusion, Yoshi’s Island… not available outside the Ambassador’s Program?
I thought Nintendo liked making money.
Obviously not. :|
Alinos
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 7:20 PMWhile I’m grateful ninty aren’t screwing me over
I have to agree there are so many awesome titles they could sell as opposed to the crap that’s on their so far
Seegrey
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 10:47 PMThese are the GBA virtual versions – they’ll make money on the 3D remakes.
Stevorooni
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 6:22 PMholy crap that’s awesome!
Nick
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 6:23 PMALL IS FORGIVEN!
Doug
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 6:26 PMGame Boy Advance Virtual Console games, hm? This had better damn well mean MOTHER 3 gets a look-in eventually…
RaygunBrown
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 6:28 PMHow dare you make me read two separate articles Seamus! This is such an inconvenience! I’m a busy man!
Sloth
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 6:29 PMThank god for that. My rage levels were building to unsafe levels.
SOX
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 6:32 PMSounds fine to me
BlueMaxima
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 6:36 PMI hope I get paid on the 7th. If I do, I’m going to pick up a 3DS straight away and get in on the ass end of this. Would this be possible Seamus / Mark / whoever’s moderating right now?
jason
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 6:44 PMi got my 3ds last week.
im really torn about this.
i did get it for $300 so its not a huge loss but the 20 “free” games are sure to be things i already have. out of the list above mario vs donkeykong is the only one i dont have in some form or another.
the other thing they could do to make me less annoyed is to stop region blocking the console, im sure a firmware update could fix that.
this makes me remember the xbox launch all over again
MrTaco
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 10:49 PMPretty much this. Except replace MvDK with Yoshi’s Island, which I never got because I couldn’t justify the pricetag for a game I’s already played :P SMA4 got an exclusion to that for being both SMB3 and having eReader enhancements.
Sleeper
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 6:45 PMHAHAHA! Best news ever!
This is genuinely amazing!
And it confirms GBA virtual console!
Aiman
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 6:50 PMDoes anyone know how much EBGames or GAME are trading in a 3ds in for now?
Costy
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 7:40 PMOff the top of my head $165 at EB.
Marek
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 6:56 PMHaha these last news posts read like a story: nintendo’s sales aren’t good, so we’ll drop the price of the 3ds!. But now everyone who had one its going to get mad, so we’ll give them free games!
Ben J
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 7:09 PMI’m all happy now. I’m looking forward to my 20 games! I got mine for $299 – $160 of gift cards anyway so I’m not mad at Nintendo anymore.
Tony
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 7:37 PM“Nintendo doesn’t want to leave their most loyal fans out in the cold. ”
I’d hope so. Cause they have left us out in the cold since the Gamecube died.
MrTaco
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 10:51 PMThe DS says hi.
Tony
Friday, July 29, 2011 at 1:27 PMAnd i shut the door in its face! lol
Cephalxn
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 7:55 PMSo who’s go the best deals going around for a 3DS.. I know I don’t really need one but with the eStore sounding damn good I’m thinking about getting one… Or maybe I shouldn’t.. Or maybe I should.. *head explodes*
DefoliateCoffee
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 7:56 PMId prefer a $100 cheque thanks Nintendo
The Cracks
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 7:56 PMFreebies! Exclusives! Yay!
Yiani Mastrantonas
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 8:19 PMumm just to clarify are the GBA games free or are they exclusive for ambassadors to buy?
Nick
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 9:37 PMFree man All 10 games FREE!
n/a
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 11:18 PMNot free, you payed in the original price. If price difference reimbursed then the games given to you would be free.
Yiani Mastrantonas
Friday, July 29, 2011 at 11:15 AMDon’t try and be a smartass you know what I meant
Dudeface
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 8:23 PMHmm, don’t have a 3DS yet and those free games would be good to have, but $100 can buy me Zelda with the cheaper 3DS.
The GBA games though, not being available through normal means seems like a cop out. Yoshi’s Island better be available some way or I’ll stamp my feet, hold my breath then jump in a bubble and cry.
Seegrey
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 10:48 PMI hope FFTA and Harvest Moon are in that list as well. Oh, I do so hope.
Slowly getting there 3DS, you may yet be worth the price.
MrTaco
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 10:52 PMHmm… one thing I’m wondering with the GBA games is whether they’ll be receiving any kind of filter like the Game Boy games do, to switch between how they used to look and how they are now.
By which I mean some kind of filter to make the colours look normal, since the GBA colour palette was far brighter than they actually appeared when playing the game, making emulators and screenshots look really weird and/or wrong.
boomtish
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 11:48 PMI paid 268 for mine on day 1, and have enjoyed it ever since (SSFIV, Pilotwings, DOA, RE:M and OOT.. not so bad in the first 6 months I think) so it’s all good from me. No complaints, I’m a fan.