Jeez, Sami, did you do ANY research on the 3DS before blindly jumping in?  Like... seriously?  For all your constant whining about how much of a disappointment it is, I'm convinced you just flew into a store day one and tossed down the $250 without gathering any information whatsoever first.  I've said before that while I'm a 3DS owner I don't recommend the system to anybody yet - but at the same time there is NOTHING SHOCKING AT ALL about its current lineup.  We knew that the first year was going to be like this.  We knew the high price.  We knew what games were coming out (and weren't, for the foreseeable future).

So - totally honest question - is it that you didn't read up enough about the system before you bought it?  Or is it that you thought there were a billion super secret games that were going to magically come out of the woodwork in the first six months of the system's life?  Or is Mega Man Legend 3 (a game I'm reasonably certain would have been cancelled after Inafune left no matter what console it was on) really souring the entire 3DS experience for you?

I've never been so wary of a system as with the 3DS. I wouldn't have gotten it, but my DSi shoulder buttons broke down completely, and nothing I've done could restore them. So I thought, maybe DS backwards mode isn't as blurry as people say, maybe the circle pad will actually make playing some games better, maybe there will be a bunch of eShop releases that just haven't been announced yet, in WiiWare and DSiWare style. And it's got all those different features to try out, the AR games seemed fun when I tested them for 5 minutes or so? And surely there will be a trickle of new game announcements? I'll put in the money, get a feel for the system for myself.

You know, give the system a fair chance despite my suspicions. But it hasn't turned out so well. The eShop is a barren wasteland, like the actual retail schedule. The 3D in longer use is worse than I could have anticipated, after testing it briefly and reading several assurances from game journalists and 3DS advocates - "I wear glasses and it works great!" "Played Street Fighter IV for 100 hours and no headache!" - can't believe people actually play SF4 with those clumsy 3DS controls. The AR games, Streetpass, 3D video - most of the features turn out to be worthless.

It's just been a string of disappointments, and this latest just adds to that. Maybe it will turn around, but at this point, the 3DS is pretty bad, and this latest news makes me regret my purchase even more. But now I at least have seen it with my own eyes.

I knew Nintendo would have to drop the price before the Vita hits, because they would've had a hard time competing otherwise, but wow...this fast and this much!?
Things must not be going very well...

Anyway, I like the free gifts, so I'm not complaining.

I'm going to have to disagree here.  The only reason we got anything free from Sony is because they were under a media shitstorm (and rightfully so).  Sony let 70 MILLION people's data get stolen.  That's much worse than an early price drop. 

Nintendo, on the other hand, doesn't really owe early adopters anything since that's the risk of being an early adopter.  You get to enjoy the product sooner, so you pay more and you deal with kinks.  That's just how it goes.  I think Nintendo is doing the right thing to retain their loyal customers by offering 20 free games, even if we've probably all the played them before.  And you already know how I feel about Sony's selection of free games which were selected more for their ability to advertise their sequels than on their own merits.  Obviously it would be better if both companies gave affected users digital store credits instead of games, but that's costly (third parties would have to be compensated for lost sales) so it doesn't happen.  I think the 3DS was a bit overpriced at $250, but I chose to buy it at the price, and I've been enjoying it for four months, so the free games are just a nice bonus.  I really think the 3DS' problem is not so much the price as the utter lack of software are services.  Nintendo still hasn't fixed that.

Actually, I think clever people would do that.  Most major stores like Best Buy have 30-day price matching policies.  You buy now, you get the free games.  On 8/12, you take your receipt back to BBY and get your $80 back.

I think lack of sales, too much inventory, retailer disappointment, and third party pressure (look at all the 3DS game delays and cancellations lately) are probably the biggest factors.  I expect the Vita to struggle every bit as much as the 3DS, and the 3DS price drop isn't doing it any favors.  The funny thing about all of this is that it's a direct result of Nintendo's greed.  That's what being #1 does to a company.  Remember how high on itself Sony was when they announced the $600 PS3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOHqG1nc … re=related)?  They went from #1 to #3 and Nintendo went from #3 to #1.  When you're on top, you get cocky, and Nintendo got cocky.  The enthusiast press went nuts for the 3DS at E3 2010, so Nintendo made it a luxury item.  I think that strategy could have worked if the company had better launch titles and launched with a decent digital strategy.  Of course, neither of those things happened and word of mouth began to work against them very quickly.  Nintendo knew the software and services wouldn't be ready by the end of its FY2011 but rushed the system out to compensate for lagging Wii sales.  They should have delayed it until Fall 2011.  I hope they learn something from this.

Sure, but in this case early adopters paid a 47% premium to have the 3DS five months sooner.  That's beyond the pale.  Nintendo grossly mispriced the 3DS and is now shifting the consequences of that blunder to its most eager customers.  I don't see how that's other than reprehensible.

I'm inclined to agree with XLord here. I can't blame Nintendo or any company for swaying with the market, that's just how it goes. Yes, you can argue that Nintendo got cocky, and they should have waited before releasing the 3DS, but as a consumer, you knew what titles were available, and you knew that it would be some time before more titles would be released. I really do not understand how giving 20 free games to early-adopters is "reprehensible"? There is no law that says Nintendo has to compensate anyone for overpaying for a console. I feel that they are at least trying to do something nice for their costumers, which frankly is more than I can say for Sony.

This price drop prompted me to pre-order it for the new low price from Amazon.  I don't have to play it now, but I'll be ready when the good games are released.

Well, you can't say that consumers knew or should have known that the resale value would drop so far so fast.

Doesn't matter. You take that risk buying anything. They offered a product for a price, and anyone who bought it had a right to decide if it was worth it to them. There was no deception, and there's certainly not even anything to indicate they knew they would drop it so drmatically.
It's capitalism.

I'm impressed with Nintendo's pragmatism in lowering the price so drastically.  They bet heavily on 3D as the system's selling point and now that that feature's appeal is in question and they can't really challenge Sony on the hardware front they are preemptively attacking them in the other two areas - price and software support (by trying to get as many units out as soon as possible).

If the 3D feature doesn't really take to consumers I don't think there's anything Nintendo can do to make the 3DS match the original DS's success in this post-iPhone market, but this move is them doing about the best they can with what they've got.

I don't know why the price revision of 3DS brings so much anger while the same things (100 $ in a half year) happened in the past several times (PSX, SS, 64). IIRC, Apple also did the same a few years ago.

Perhaps people as of late has become short temper and poor (the latter was indeed absolutely the case with Japan).

In a move that will surely go down as one inspiring an enormous amount of fanboy vitriol, Famitsu has revealed that the batshit crazy rumor that Nintendo would release a second analog stick attachment for the 3DS is actually true.

http://www.destructoid.com/2nd-analog-n … 0760.phtml

I have to say, I'm shocked. I can't believe Nintendo would do something this stupid. They're releasing this for an upgraded port of an old Monster Hunter game.  It's not even a new Monster Hunter game.  Announcing this device is paramount to screaming: DON'T BUY THE 3DS BECAUSE THE NEXT VERSION OF IT WILL HAVE TWO ANALOG STICKS. IF YOU BUY ONE NOW YOU ARE A SUCKER.

Damn.

The 3DS is becoming a chronicle in lunacy. Oh, I'm not saying it shouldn't have had a second stick. But it should have been built in to the design in the first place. This is fail upon fail. The peripheral looks awful - the 3DS doesn't need more bulk. And, as you say, what idiot would buy a 3DS now when the next iteration is not just obvious, but will have what is a fairly fundamental change? Just what did I buy?

Speaking of the 3DS, I just have to ask this question. Has anyone seen the TV spot where four grown men are on their 3Ds's? (Not so much the Star Fox 3D one but the newer one that isn’t game specific) I'm sorry but I have a really hard time believing this scenario would/could happen in real life.

EPIC FAIL.

A reminder for my fellow Ambassadors: the 10 GBA games are now available.  Still no word on when the upgraded versions of the 10 NES games will be released.

Man, Yoshi's Island looks pretty bad compared to the SNES version doesn't it...

Who cares about graphics - somebody wake me up when they let you map buttons like the SNES version instead of the GBA version's awkward control scheme...

Proof that Find Mii / Streetpass Quest is awesome. Wonder if the composer is known...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPRQHYBNVG8 (musical spoiler if you haven't finished part II yet)

Anyone here using Swapnote/Letterbox? I'm loving the letters.

You certainly are.  I turned my 3DS on last week and I think I had around 30 unread swapnotes from you!  I have no drawing ability whatsoever, so I just use it to receive.

Yes, sorry for the bombardment. I have been doing like one or two a day so, very quickly, they mount up. I love getting them though and have seen a few gems. You don't need to be able to draw! In fact, I'm not even sure it's possible to draw well on this thing,.

I'm curious what games people are playing? I typically only purchase a system once it has a few exclusive titles that I really want to play. In the case of the 3ds, I don't think it has any thus far! The one that comes closest thus far is Mario 3D, but I'm not sure if I would enjoy it all that much. However, should they release Fire Emblem 3ds, that will certainly be on my must purchase list. However, some asses at Nintendo decided not to release the last Fire Emblem (Hero of Light and Shadow) outside of Japan. Why? I can only assume because they're idiots...

I've played Star Fox 64 3D, Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7.  They're all what you'd expect, but I still enjoyed playing them.

I've played Layton and the Mysterious Mask (Japan only at the moment), Pilotwings Resort, Ocarina of Time 3D, Super Mario 3D Land and Splinter Cell Chaos Theory. With the exception of Splinter Cell, these are all good games, although Pilotwings was rather lacking in content.

On the download side, I am an Ambassador, so I have the 10 NES and 10 GBA games, and I also bought PushMo and the 3D Classics version of Kid Icarus, both of which are fun. I for one love the 3D effect, so I don't regret buying the 3DS in the least.

I've mostly played older games on my 3DS.  Okamiden played better on it due to the circle pad, and I don't have a DSi, so this was the only way I could play Shantae: Risky's Revenge.  For actual 3DS games, I only have Ocarina, Star Fox, Mario, and Mario Kart.  All are good, but Super Mario 3D Land is the only one that's really worth it since two of those are remakes and Mario Kart 7 is nothing you haven't played before (though it is fun).

I'm a big fan of Super Mario 3D Land. I find it quite different and its short levels are mostly excellent. My only complaint is that it really dumps themed worlds but that's probably not a big deal for most people. It starts off a little too easy but does get tricky as it goes on. I still haven't finished it. I played a good bit of Mario Kart 7 and it's fun and has some excellent tracks. Is it special? No. But it's still a good Mario Kart.

Played through the classics too - Zelda OoT (fantastic on the 3DS) and Starfox 64 (not even close to fantastic in my opinion).

Those would be the games that probably got most of my attention. Well, aside from Swapnote/Letterbox, which I'm always on. Really like the 3D Kid Icarus classic too. I never played it back in the day and I find myself really enjoying it. It's hard work though.

Did you ever try PushMo, Jay?

I have a feeling you'd like it.

Yeah, I just got it very recently (it's Pullblox over here for some reason) and haven't yet given it much time but it seems really good. Lovely style and a very simple idea with loads of potential. Looking forward to getting stuck into it - I just need to get the recent Layton game finished to clear my play time!

The Resident Evil: Revelations demo is ridiculously good.  Looking forward to the full game, and with recent news that the U.S. release has now dropped to the $39.99 price standard, it'll make the purchase that much easier.

While I had zero problems with the demo's button configurations, I'm still wondering if the Circle Pad Pro will be worth it.

I haven't had time to try the demo yet, but Capcom's last minute price drop increases the likelihood that I may actually buy the game.  I guess the $50 price didn't test well or pre-orders were really low for them to do this at at the last minute.  As for the add on, I'd rather buy a whole new 3DS with two sticks than the unwieldy add-on, and I expect to be given that opportunity later this year.

I haven't played the full game yet (should arrive tomorrow) but I have played the demo both with and without the circle pad add-on. The attachment is bulky to say the least, but it works. It's clear that the circle pad would be an essential purchase for a FPS game, and I still maintain that the system should have had a second analogue control to begin with.

But to their credit Capcom have developed RE to work perfectly within the limitations of the system and it really doesn't need the second circle pad. It makes the control a little more FPS-like and looking around feels more free but that serves no purpose in this demo and, for me, sometimes made reacting to enemies a little tougher. It actually feels a little more controlled without it.

Those of you with a 3ds, are you playing primarily in 3D, or 2D? Also, do any games require 3D, or are they all 2D compatible?

All games can be played in 2D but I play in 3D constantly. I love the 3D.

There's something odd about the RE demo's 3D though. I think they're using some cheats or something and it's not fully 3D. I think they may be rendering objects in 2D and separating them on different fields or something, hard to be sure.

Each new game I've played -- from Ocarina of Time, to Super Mario 3D Land, and now, seemingly, Resident Evil: Revelations -- seems to be improving more and more on the 3D tech.  It's gotten to the point where I wouldn't exactly say I prefer it over 2D, but I certainly don't mind it either.  Technical performance was my biggest concern with the 3D effect turned on, as was the case with Super Street Fighter IV's frame rate, but none of the three aforementioned titles suffer much at all. 

Kinda more of a 'pop out of screen' look than natural depth, right?  The effect is definitely noticeable, but I think it looks great.  I do need to put the option to "Strong" instead of "Very Strong," though -- otherwise, I begin to experience ghosting.

I think Nintendo is the new Apple. That's kind of a big F.U. to everyone that has bought a 3DS.