Nintendo slashes 3DS prices

20 free games? I'm actually happy I bought it early.

I hope this means that the Wii U will be cheap around the 250 to 300 range.

This is Nintendoes fault c what they did was have a gimmick wit the Wii but what they don't get is alot of those casual gamers they created became hardcore gamers & went to the 360 or PS3 & Nintendo now left in the dust trying 2 catch up

LOL, that would stink if you bought one early.

This smacks of a total misread of the market by Nintendo...either on price point or size of market or both. Home run on the Wii, but looks like a strike out on the 3DS.

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@wertigo Oh please. If the 360 or the PS3 gave out free 20 year old games, you'd know you'd be right up there on your knees ready to recieve the moneyload.

20 free games that is awesome thats nearly a 100 doller value! so glad i bought the 3DS when i did! I am so glad they are bringing GBA games to the 3DS that will rock! I am glad they are dropping the price so that more people can experence it with the two big Mario games coming out the end of this year maybe it will sell a bit more!

So glad I didn't buy one yesterday like I planned to :O

See that Capcom, nintendo thinks about their fans that lose out on money from their products

Pricing the 3DS initially at $250 was a bad decision. Releasing the 3DS without any must-have software was a bad decision. I love Ocarina of Time (read: played through it more times than I probably should admit) and even I don't see a compelling reason to get this handheld. I know it is cheaper now, but it is still going to be $169. Do I really want to spend a chunk of change that large on something that I honestly see sitting on the shelf collecting dust next to my Wii? I'm not yet willing to take that chance. The technology looks cool no doubt, but until real new software arrives that is AAA in stature, I'll gladly take a wait and see approach. Good luck Nintendo... I really am still pulling for you. You've had your ups and downs in the past, but this and Wii U are looking to me like a potentially really big hurdle. Lets get some games out there!

This actually makes NO SENSE! 3DS is the ONLY next gen handheld in the market. In a business standpoint, slashing prices when there is no other competitor (other than your older brother the DS) is a dumb move. UNLESS 3DS sales are that pitiful that you need to garner more interest in the system (a la PSPGO). Which isn't too surprising considering that the launch of the 3DS was at best... decent. The lack of titles so far in its library made ME question why I even bought one as well. But for lack of anything else I already sunk it a few hundred and I guess getting 20 free downloads will ease the wound...but not by much...

ohh yes now I will buy it cause I need a upgrade from a DS lite and to play Zelda.

Nintendo really wants to sell lots of Pokemon games on the 3DS. That can only happen if lots of people have a 3DS, hence the price drop.

Even though there isn't any game as of right now that interests me on the 3ds aside from SS4, LoZ: Oot and maybe Resident Evil, I'll get it because I know that in the future there will be a ton of awesome first party games from Nintendo!

I was thinking about buying it, but now that Nintendo is going to drop the price, it is going to be a definite buy. Along with The Legend of Zelda OoT.

I think this is a great move on Nintendo's part. Dropping the price to get more adopters before the Vita comes out, making it much cheaper now than the Vita, and rewarding the people who bought the system early (take note Capcom). I will definitely be getting one now. However, I still think the Vita will be very competitive with its (relatively) low price point, new controls, and high graphics.

YES im excited about yoshi's island! and this is great because my birthday is on sept first! :D

This is a huge move that makes the 3DS much more appealing. What Nintendo fails to realize is that there's still no *original* quality software for the unit -- the real reason it isn't selling. Super Street Fighter 4 and Zelda: OoT might be good games, but they're both re-releases that most people (who want to play them) have already played. In short, this is a smart move, but they should've packed Zelda: OoT with the Unit. And, lower the damn price of the games. $40 for a Handheld title is rediculous, when most people can download 10-15 good games on their iPhones (3DS and Vitas REAL competition) for the same price.

I'll have to agree with some of the posts here that the news is good, but still not compelling enough for me to purchase one.

Now there is no reason not to get it.

in my country a 3DS costs more then a wii and xbox360, and almost as much as PS3... And i am not willing to pay that kind of money for a handheld

Reeeeally glad I waited. Even with a price drop, I'm still not seeing any must-have game for it. Maybe when Mario Kart comes out.

I almost feel like getting it now but there still is no must play game for me.

No excuse not to get one now people. I'll admit it's rather shocking, but I'm glad they aren't giving early adopters nothing.

Make a Pokemon Game with ALL the Pokemon and ALL the regions and i'll be interested

I made a comment many months ago stating that the 3DS price would put Nintendo in the gutter and would ultimately lead to their graves, I got 15 thumbs down for that. Now I'm laughing. An 80$ price cut? Doesn't that spell desperation?

vita is coming watch out!

$250 was way too high of price point for the product - same price the Wii launched at. Perhaps it will do better at this lower price. Sony should take note.

the nintedo e-shop looks amazing

@pinicolaroxa Indeed, before launch the hype for 3DS was crazy and Nintendo pushed the price up I'm guessing.

This is unprecedented. An 80 dollar price drop after the system's only been out for four months? Nintendo's scared... And well, it would have been nice if they gave us vouchers for free 3DS games instead, because I have pretty much all those VC games in their original cartridge form. Well, free is free, so I won't complain.

3ds = epic fail

@sonicasawerehog August 12th is pricedrop date

@CorruptGamerGX Dont blame them for being greedy, everyone is greedy. But this is just the proof that gamers are smart and will not pay any price just because is nintendo.Same thing happened with ps2-ps3.

How much you want to bet $169 = £169? £150 if we are lucky... don't screw me over Nintendo.

Finally, the inevitable has happened. I will be getting a 3DS once some more good games are out like the new Tales of and Metal Gear Solid 3DS.

Thats sounds like a pretty good way of making up for the high launch price. Im curious to how much file space I'll need to download all those free games, might need to upgrade the old 2gig SD card :P

Sounds like Nintendo's afraid of Sony's Vita. Maybe i'll get one now though, cause i really want to play Ocarina of Time.

That's about right. Very smart move Nintendo. People buy up the DS's because it is at that price point and now people will buy up the 3DS. I hope Sony's looking at this one hard because if they don't drop the price of the Vita right away it will go the rout of the PSP.

This Ambassador program appeals solely to retro gamers, and holds no appeal to those who bought the Nintendo 3DS for it's original intent and purpose, to enjoy a new way of gaming. That being said, I know there's a few games I'll enjoy, but certainly not 20. I still feel ripped off.

This is ridiculous. People praise Nintendo for the price drop off of their ridiculous $250? The handheld is horrible for 3D, tilt it the right way, certain areas you can't see the 3D. The list goes on, horrible analog stick, ugh. The Vita will so win with its game lineup, a handheld machine actually worth $250 at start. Uncharted: Golden Abyss alone will be amazing, front and back touch, 2 analogs, more graphics and power, better online, trophies collection. 'Nuff said.

This sudden price drop only proves A. 3DS was in fact overpriced B. Iwata truly jacked up the price due to E3 2010 hype C. Nintendo makes mass profit off each unit sold If Nintendo can still make a profit at a $170 price point, what does that tell you? At least they're giving away 20 Free NES/GBA games to make up for their greed.

Don't blame the software. The earthquake in Japan and financial chaos in Europe and North America can't be good for hardware sales, either. The 3DS launch library had some good games ("Super Street Fighter IV 3D"), some middling games ("Ridge Racer 3D" and "Rayman 3D") and some duds ("Steel Diver"). Name one launch lineup where every title was a marquee release or that didn't have at least one flop in it. Personally, I'm enjoying "Ocarina of Time 3D" and "SSFIV3D" very much, and the video capabilities of the system are just starting to be tapped. The future looks bright for 3DS, so don't panic.

You are not kratos just because you are a angry spoiled kid.

@Iostn You forgot point 3) Afraid of PS Vita being a more powerful handheld for the same price.

Do we have to wait for a price drop, or is it happening now, i looked on the gamestop website and it still says $250

20 FREE games? yummy, nintendo, smart move.

it just sucks!