Redmond, Wash. –
has cut $80 off the
price of its 3D handheld game player, the 3DS, to a $170 suggested retail in
the United States.
The new price,
which is down from the original $250 suggested launch price, will take effect
Aug. 12.
“For anyone who
was on the fence about buying a Nintendo 3DS, this is a huge motivation to buy
now,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America president. “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.”
The Nintendo 3DS
player features glasses-free 3D game play and is supported by an expanding
library of titles, including The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, which
launched June 19.
Forthcoming 3D
games include Star Fox 64 3D, slated to arrive on Sept. 9; Super Mario 3D Land,
scheduled for November; Mario Kart 7, scheduled for December; and Kid Icarus:
Uprising, to be released during the holiday season.
Key features in
the player include Nintendo Video service offering access to 3D video shorts; Netflix
support; the Nintendo eShop with an offer of 20 free downloadable games to
early purchasers of a 3DS system —
purchase must be made prior to Aug. 12, 2011.
Since the Nintendo
3DS launch March 27, more than 830,000 units have been sold in the U.S.
Those who take
advantage of the 20 free downloads offer are entered in the Ambassador program,
which, starting Sept. 1, will offer 10 NES Virtual Console game downloads at no
charge, before they are available in the Nintendo eShop to the general public.
The games include
Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong Jr., Balloon Fight, Ice Climber and The Legend
of Zelda.
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.
In addition, the
3DS Ambassadors will be offered 10 Game Boy Advance Virtual Console games,
including Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3; Mario Kart: Super Circuit;
Metroid Fusion; WarioWare: Mega Microgame; and Mario vs. Donkey Kong.
The games will be
available exclusively to Ambassadors, with no current plans to make them
available to the general public on the Nintendo 3DS in the future.
