Some Nintendo fans in Europe woke up to an unexpected invitation from Nintendo. Nintendo has created a new ambassador program, giving some Club Nintendo members the ability to purchase a New 3DS console right now.
Joystiq reports on emails forwarded from readers that the New 3DS Ambassador Edition is available only to those who received the invitation. The bundle is priced at £179.99 ($274.88) and includes a white console, a 4GB microSD card, AR cards, a charging dock, and Smash Bros.-themed front and back cover plates.
This ambassador program should not be confused with a different offer of the same name run in 2011. Nintendo offered 3DS early adopters 20 games from the Game Boy Advance and NES libraries when it dropped the price of the system only a few months after release.
Nintendo’s follow-up to the 3DS is available now in Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. The console features enhanced view angles, better 3D, more processing power, a small analog stick near the four-button layout on the right, and native NFC/Amiibo support. You can read the full rundown on the system for more information.
The New 3DS doesn’t have a formal release date yet or price here in North America or in Europe. We’ve reached out to Nintendo to find out if a similar scheme will be available in our territory.
Our Take
Other than the confusing nomenclature of the program (and the console itself for that matter), this is a smart move by Nintendo. This gets the system into the hands of opinion leaders. Having devout customers able to help articulate the improvements from hands-on experience may be a lesson learned from the Wii U’s name-related troubles.