PSA: Nintendo 3DS available at Walmart for $170 today (get your 20 free games!)

@Shockwave

Tell me about it. I only have interest in one game (Zelda 'natch) but I'm tempted to pick one up myself. You're saving well over a hundred dollars when you include the discount and the games.

Here's the thing though. I feel kinda silly buying a 3DS for old ass games. I mean I own most of these already. Also the battery on this thing only last 5 hours tops. Might make more sense to wait for the next 3DS revision. By that time there will be a ton of awesome 3DS games.

@Shockwave Yeah it's cool to have this opportunity. But on the other hand I'm definitely waiting for more games which I would be interested in and the inevitable 3DS Lite or whatever they call it which has a better battery life.

@NaeemTHM MadCatz and such have 9+ hour batteries to buy for like $20...

@Shockwave

I feel you. There's a moment where your fiesty digits just desire to touch something fresh, shiny.

But the Vita keeps slapping me in the face as a reminder that it's likely to be awesome.

@Shockwave
If you haven't touched the DSiWare, that's definitely something you should consider for the purchase of a 3DS... DSiWare games are pretty darn good. But more than likely, you should find a site that reviews them first before purchasing them.

I'd post one of them, but I'd think posting another game news site on a game news site is a b**** move.

@Shockwave

Personally, I got my 3DS at $150 when Gamestop was offering $100 off with the trade in of a DSi XL. I won one when I entered a Golden Sun Dark Dawn contest so I traded it in. But my overall philosophy is to get the initial purchase done and then when the stuff starts coming out that you want, assuming there is nothing at launch for you, its much less of a strain on your wallet.

As for games to interest you, Nintendo's games are going to start rolling out in the next few months. Star Fox is set for September, Super Mario 3D Land is set for November, and Mario Kart 7 is launching sometime in December, probably a few weeks before Christmas. Beyond first party stuff, Bit.Trip Saga is supposed to have been launched already, I have literally heard nothing on this since its announcement though, Tales of the Abyss is set for Fall, and Cave Story, if it doesn't get delayed again, should be out in November as well. 2012 has some great games in it as well.

@Fire Walk With Me

Ehh, OoT was worth it for me.

@jph89 cool game that anyone can buy with a cheaper system + the free games that were only meant for you - the early adopter.

@Fire Walk With Me

Hey, I live with no regrets. I knew the risk of being an early adopter. thats said, I feel as though i've used my 3DS to justify the purchase outright so far.

@Fire Walk With Me

No regrets here. I've been using my 3DS almost every day. I've gotten a lot of fun out of my games, the VC, DSiWare, Netflix, and everything that came preloaded on the system. I love mine.

@Fire Walk With Me
I expected a price drop about Sept-Oct when I bought mine. Because I had expected the Vita to come out by Nov-Jan. So they had to do a price drop to make it even more competitive.

@Fire Walk With Me thats cool i;m glad yall are digging it. I;d personally be miffed though on the fast price drop. Not killer rage or anything just a twinge of disappointment.

I'm really sore at the direction Nintendo has been going lately. Five years ago they could do no wrong by me now I'm not liking anything really. Still play my DS all the time.

@jph89

Indeed. I expected a bunch of whiners in this thread but am pleased to find they are still outside playing in their sand boxes and such.

@Fire Walk With Me
I'm not mad about this at all. If numbers really pick up for the 3DS, maybe games will stop being canceled/delayed...

@Fire Walk With Me Early adopters have no reason to be angry...this isn't on Nintendo, it's Wal-Mart wanting to jump the gun to steal sales from the competitors.

@jph89

Ocarina of Time being worth it was pretty much what Nintendo was depending on. Based on the lineup I see.

@ColdHeat
megaman legends 3 capcom isn't releasing it for a few reasons one being the 3ds not selling really well and my picture is a character from the game

@Baron Samedi

How many times can Iwata apologize? I've been an early adopter of every system in the last 10 years and never once, prior to the 3DS, have I been compensated for a price drop.

@A Sandwich

"...early adopter of every Nintendo system in the last 10 years..."

Fixed it for ya.

@Baron Samedi
I don't understand this idea everybody seems to have that early 3DS owners all regret their purchase. The only people really complaining against Nintendo about this are the people who don't even own a 3DS.

I've been using mine since launch, and I love it. I love being an early adopter of Nintendo's new handheld, and I can't even describe my excitement for the Ambassador Program.

If I didn't think it was worth $250, I wouldn't have bought it. I don't care if they lower the price to a dollar. Nintendo didn't force me to get it, so I don't see the point in blaming them.

@A Sandwich True. But the whole purpose of that compensation was because you're an early adopter. Now that walmart is getting a head start with the price drop it defeats the whole purpose. The 20 downloads should have been exclusive to you guys. I think instead they should have given 2 or three retail games for free of you're choosing instead of older games that we've already played.

@Baron Samedi I learned the hard way to not buy a system at launch. I was young and dumb. I had money to burn ( I thought ). So for the first, and last, time I went out and bought a system at launch. I was so sure that nothing could go wrong. They had always been there for me in the past, how could their new system possibly not be amazing? I played so many awesome games in the past on their older systems!

Sigh.... I guess I eventually got a handful of games worth playing on that Nintendo 64.

@SushiGummy Good point. Maybe because we were apprehensive to buy this at launch from the get go. I'm sure that most people that bought this at launch were excited which is why there's no regrets. As long as you're happy with your purchase then I guess it doesn't really matter what anyone says.

@baddates77 Lol. You have to give it to them though, those handful of games were probably the best games you've played. To this day Ocarina of time is my number one game(which is tempting me to buy the 3ds). Let's not forget Goldeneye and Smash Bros. Ahhhh good times.

@Shockwave

No, you didn't. But since you can't argue the point, flame away.

@Baron Samedi Goldeneye and Ocarina of Time were both good games. I'm not sure that I'd say they were the best I ever played, but they were good. Personally I liked A Link to the Past a bit more than Ocarina of Time. I never really got into Smash Bros. though.

@A Sandwich

How many other consoles dropped 40% in price after 4 months? This isn't the same as reducing the price because costs have went down so it's probably not comparable to other price drops that took ... Say 12 months after launch. Know what I'm saying? The only product I can think of was the original iPhone that dropped like $200 in price (from $600 I believe) in a similar time frame. iPhone early adopters were given a $100 gift card to spend on the Apple online shop and an open letter of apology from Steve Jobs. I probably wouldn't have been very happy if they gave me 20 free downloadable apps or games I was never going to buy anyway.

@Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell

From the viewpoint of your average consumer, I think you're splitting those hairs awfully thin. We'll just have to agree to disagree. I personally don't care if they cut the price 60, 70 or 80%. No one forced me to buy a 3DS, I wanted one and I had the money. I also don't mind Nintendo getting their ass kicked about this a little. It forces them to change and get better, much like Sony has done this generation. Apart from that, I never had a GBA, so those games are great as far as I'm concerned. In any event, if not now, the 3DS will eventually be worth its initial price tag. The first iPhone never was.

@Baron Samedi
Nice sense of entitlement. People who bought the 3DS got what they paid for. Nintendo is giving out 20 free games, which is much more that you can say about other companies. I don't recall Sony giving anything out when the PS3 was cut one of the many times it was. Iwata is taking a massive pay cut as well, by his own decision. I think he's apologized more than enough

@Baron Samedi

What's wrong with replaying old games? Do you throw away all your old movies cause they aren't new?

@tendoboy1984 I always play my older games of course. But you're buying the 3ds to play 3ds games not nes or gba games. The 3ds is an innovative piece of hardware and you want to take advantage of it's features. So what said earlier was my opinion saying I would rather get new software. But wouldn't i complain over 20 free games.
I hope I'm not giving the impression that I'm a Nintendo hater because I love all platforms as long as they have great games. I'm a fanboy of games not platforms. :)

@A Sandwich

"From the viewpoint of your average consumer, I think you're splitting those hairs awfully thin."

How am I splitting hairs? Please give me comparable examples of consoles that dropped 40% or more in price 4 months after launch or even a year for that matter. I am not aware of any. There is a HUGE difference between reducing manufacturing costs and lowering the price and blatantly hiking the price up to pilfer the pockets of early adopters. I don't even know of any that dropped in price that much because of manufacturing costs and thats a legitimate reason.

"I personally don't care if they cut the price 60, 70 or 80%. No one forced me to buy a 3DS, I wanted one and I had the money."

Thats certainly your right to feel that way. Personally, I like my money and I don't like getting ripped off for being an early adopter and supporter of the console. Saying no one "forced" you to buy one is intentionally hyperbolic. I didn't expect my purchase to be devalued over 50% (used is worth less than new) right after the console launched. I haven't gotten anywhere near my money back in entertainment value and I doubt I ever will. I sure as heck can't sell it and get much more than Nintendo is asking with the two retail titles and 20 downloadable games.


"I also don't mind Nintendo getting their ass kicked about this a little. It forces them to change and get better"

The important word is IF. I'm not convinced that they get it because if they did their compensation package wouldn't have been 20 ancient games maybe 2% of owners would have bought anyway. You'll probably see the same thing happen when WiiU launches. Jacked up launch price with nothing to back it up.

"Apart from that, I never had a GBA, so those games are great as far as I'm concerned."

I'm happy for you. I think it's great that you feel you are being taken care of by them. In my opinion It's an empty gesture. They are giving you something that doesn't cost them anything. A true apology would be a $50 e-shop credit. I guess thats too much to ask in Nintendo's eyes.

"In any event, if not now, the 3DS will eventually be worth its initial price tag. The first iPhone never was."

Did you intentionally miss the example or are you daft? Regardless of your straw man argument about the original iPhone Apple took care of it's consumers by giving them an appropriate compensation package and an open letter of explanation and apology. If they gave me 20 crappy games not worth the hard drive space like Nintendo did they'd of lost as much consumer confidence as Nintendo has. I want to hear Nintendo say it .... we all know why they jacked the price up and lowered it so fast so the least they can do is own it. Come out and say "The initial price was artifically high we were hoping to capitalize on the success of the DS & Wii and the price drop came so soon because the Playstation Vita is slated to release this holiday season and we wanted to get out in front of it."

That's a preorder. You won't be able to register the 3DS by August 12 to get the 20 free games.

@kentuckyfried Exactly it's what happens.

@kentuckyfried - Exactly. If you're an early adopter, you should know that the price is going to drop.

Don't like it? Wait for the price drop & then buy. End of story.

@kentuckyfried I don't feel butthurt at all. I didn't know there would be a window where you could get the drop AND the program, but hey, I still have OoT3D to play both normal and backwards, and then Fallout 3 on PC will keep me busy until the true main lineup of the 3DS comes out.But now that I think about it, I still have way to many games. I would say I need to stop buying good games, but I can't help myself.

@Jetleo1

Don't worry, I have the same problem. I don't finish alot of games that I buy this gen.

Damn you, Amazon, and your irresistible promotions!

@Faceless Troll I say the same thing. I oppose them

@Faceless Troll If it makes you feel any better they will likely be taking a loss on all the 3DS systems they currently have since there is no real profit margin on systems they probably paid close to $250 apiece on all they systems they currently have. Now whether or not they are able to bully some sort of credit out of Nintendo I can't say...

@baddates77 Also, I just typed one hell of a mess of a run-on sentence. An edit function would be nice....

@Mrblonde57 i don't see why i just 16 pairs of comfy underwear for 2 bucks each

@Measlesopolis

I'm sure the children in the Vietnamese sweatshop that made those drawers truly appreciate your purchase.