News
Nintendo Gets Fired up for Christmas with New Flame Red Nintendo 3DS
REDMOND, Wash.--(August 10, in the year of our Lord
2011)-- Nintendo is making sure the holidays are hot
this year with a new Flame Red version of its portable Nintendo
3DS™ system. The new color launches Sept. 9 alongside the new
Star Fox 64™ 3D game, and comes on the heels of a new $169.99
suggested retail price, which goes into effect Aug. 12 in the
United States. Flame Red joins Cosmo Black and Aqua Blue, so now
shoppers have three distinct and fashionable colors to choose
from.
“Nintendo 3DS is poised to be on fire for the holidays, with its
new suggested retail price, great games and our new Flame Red
color,” said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime.
“With major upcoming releases in the Star Fox, Pokémon and Mario
series, in addition to downloadable offerings from Nintendo
eShop, Nintendo Video and Netflix, the system offers new and fun
experiences to owners on a daily basis.”
On the software side, third-party developers have lined up to
deliver great new experiences that make use of the unique
features of Nintendo 3DS.
“Nintendo 3DS is an amazing piece of technology that offers
players incredible 3D games without the need for special
glasses. Beyond that, it’s an affordable dedicated gaming
machine. Simply put, Nintendo 3DS is a fabulous device,” said
Laurent Detoc, President, North America, Ubisoft. “Ubisoft has
been a big supporter of Nintendo 3DS since the beginning with
eight Nintendo 3DS games released to date and another eight
games coming out before the end of calendar year 2011.”
Retailers are also anticipating a strong showing from Nintendo
3DS this holiday season.
“The new, lower Nintendo 3DS price combined with a hot new color
and big-name games will entice even more Target guests to get
their hands on this first-of-its-kind 3D gaming experience,”
said Nik Nayar, vice president of Merchandising, Target.
“GameStop customers were excited about the Nintendo 3DS launch,
and this lower price point should spark additional demand,” said
GameStop President Tony Bartel. “With a solid back-half game
lineup, the Nintendo 3DS price drop is well timed to drive
consumer interest and purchases through the holiday season.”
Nintendo is planning the release of two upcoming games starring
its famous hero, Mario™, this holiday season. Super Mario™ 3D
Land will launch in November, while Mario Kart™ 7 becomes
available in December. Super Mario 3D Land is a new platforming
game that takes full advantage of 3D graphics to deliver new
puzzles, more precise jumping action and a remarkable new visual
perspective on the Mushroom Kingdom. The game also marks the
return of Mario’s fan-favorite Tanooki Suit, which allows him to
strike enemies with his tail and slowly descend after jumping.
Mario Kart 7 is a new racing game that includes multiple
characters from the Mushroom Kingdom, Kart customization and
intense multiplayer action. Players can now race on land, sea
and air, sail through the sky with the new hang glider feature
and drive underwater in some stages. Both games are completely
new and are designed specifically for the Nintendo 3DS system.
Since Nintendo 3DS launched in the United States on March 27,
more than 830,000 units have been sold in the U.S. alone.
Nintendo 3DS owners represent some of Nintendo’s most loyal
customers, and Nintendo is rewarding them for getting in on the
action early with 20 free downloadable games from the Nintendo
eShop.
These free games are available to anyone who owns a Nintendo 3DS
system and uses a wireless broadband Internet signal to connect
to the Nintendo eShop at least once or performs a system update
before 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Aug. 11. These users will
automatically be registered in the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador
program. The program contains two elements:
Starting Sept. 1, Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors will be able to
download 10 NES™ Virtual Console™ games at no charge and before
they are available in the Nintendo eShop to the general public.
These games, including Super Mario Bros.™, Donkey Kong Jr.™,
Balloon Fight™, Ice Climber™ and The Legend of Zelda™, are
slated to become paid downloadable games, but Ambassadors get
them early for free. Once the paid versions of the games are
posted to the Nintendo eShop later in the year, the updated
versions will be available to Ambassadors for download at no
cost.
By the end of 2011, Nintendo will provide Ambassadors with 10
Game Boy™ Advance Virtual Console games. These include games
like Yoshi’s Island™: Super Mario™ Advance 3, Mario Kart™: Super
Circuit, Metroid™ Fusion, WarioWare™, Inc.: Mega Microgame$ and
Mario vs. Donkey Kong™. These games will be available
exclusively to Ambassadors, and Nintendo currently has no plans
to make these 10 games available to the general public on the
Nintendo 3DS in the future.
For more information about the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program,
visit
http://support.nintendo.com/3dsambassador. More details
about this program will be announced in the future.
Remember that Nintendo 3DS features parental controls that let
adults manage the content their children can access. For more
information about this and other features, visit
http://www.nintendo.com/3ds.
*Online features require a broadband Internet connection.
Netflix content is available to Netflix members who have an
unlimited streaming plan.
