Nintendo will dramatically slashed the price of its new 3DS handheld gaming console to $169.99 on August 12 following sluggish sales since it was introduced earlier this year. In addition, a new program is being instituted for those who paid the original full price.
Citing a lack of top tier software as a reason for soft sales totalling 710,000 units sold between April and June, Nintendo additionally announced Star Fox 64 3D will be released on September 9, followed by Super Mario 3D Land in December and Mario Kart 7 in December. Kid Icarus: Uprising is scheduled for the holiday season while Luigi’s Mansion 2, one of the most well-recepted upcoming 3DS games unveiled at E3 last month, remains a no-show on the release slate.
Amazon.com has already adjusted one of its 3DS listings to coincide with the announcement. The more popular Cosmo Black model is no longer in stock and now lists a ship date of – surprise, surprise – August 12. The price hasn’t been adjusted down to $169.99 yet, but is expected to by the time it ships and credit cards are charged.
Current owners of 3DS who paid the original $250 premium are getting a little added bonus. Anyone who logs into the Nintendo eShop prior to 11:59 pm on August 11 will automatically become a member of the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program. The first element of this program begins on September 1 and will allow 3DS Ambassadors to download 10 NES Virtual Console games for free before they are available to everyone else. A sample of those games includes Donkey Kong Jr., Super Mario Bros., Balloon Fight, Ice Climber and The Legend of Zelda.
An additional 10 free games hailing from Game Boy Advance will be available for free to Ambassadors by year’s end. They will include Yoshi’s Island, Super Mario Advance 3, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame, Metroid Fusion and Mario vs. Donkey Kong. At this time, Nintendo is not planning to make these games available to anyone outside the Ambassador program.
Expect some new Nintendo 3DS bundles to be announced as the holidays draw closer. Planned promotions still being ironed out may be why Luigi’s Mansion 2 still doesn’t have a release month.
