Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program

Earlier this month, Nintendo unveiled a price cut for the Nintendo 3DS. This was their response to the system's low sales after its weak launch, partially due to the weak lineup of release games. Originally $249.99, this price cut slashed the price all the way down to $169.99. As one of the biggest price cuts in gaming history, those dedicated many who bought the system at launch, like me, felt ripped off. Just because we're dedicated Nintendo gamers, does this mean we'll be left out in the dirt with $80 less?

Luckily, the answer is no, thanks to the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program, which was announced early August and went live today. Nintendo's rewards for those lucky gamers who stuck with the 3DS at launch would receive 10 free NES games and 10 free GBA games through the Nintendo 3DS eShop. The NES games are available today, and will be available at a low price for the non-ambassadors. The GBA rewards will be available by the end of the year, and these are exclusively for ambassadors only. 20 free games amounts to more than $80, so it's a great deal in my book.

The NES games are as follows:
Super Mario Bros.
Donkey Kong Jr.
Balloon Fight
Ice Climber
The Legend of Zelda
Metroid
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
NES Open Tournament Golf
Yoshi
Wrecking Crew.

These are available today, and can be downloaded through the 3DS eShop. Just select the eShop on the 3DS menu, then scroll all the way left to the Settings menu. From there, click "downloaded items", and scroll to find your rewards. It's kind of a pain to download each individually, but they go quick and it's totally worth it. I've had the time to play through a few of these, and there are some great classics on this list that newer gamers and veterans will love. I wouldn't have minded some others, like Super Mario Bros. 3 or Punch-Out!! instead of NES Golf or Wrecking Crew, but hey, you can't argue with free games!

The GBA games (so far), are as follows:
Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island
Mario Kart Super Circuit
Metroid Fusion
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!
Mario vs Donkey Kong

So far, only 5 GBA exclusives have been announced, and 5 more will be on the way. These are some of my favorite games, and I'm excited to get my hands on them when they're released later this year.