Are you a Nintendo Ambassador? Did you check your emails yesterday? If that is a no, then perhaps you should. Nintendo Europe are offering the New 3DS to a select number of Nintendo Ambassadors yesterday via email for the price of £179.99. Adored in a limited edition design this truly is a late Christmas present (albeit, one you have to pay for) to those lucky enough to be able to log in and buy one.
The main body of the console is White and also includes:
- Exclusive Ambassador cover plates (front and back)
- Super Smash Brothers cover plates (front and back)
- Charging Cradle, Stylus and a 4GB Memory Card.
It would seem only a very select few people have been given the opportunity to seize one. If you were an early adopter to the original 3DS (receiver of the free 20 games issued as a thank you back at the 3DS launch pre-price cut) it's well worth giving your inbox another look (don't forget those spam folders!) to ensure you haven't skipped over it. Those fortunate only have until the 12th January to purchase it.
Eurogamer.com asked Nintendo to clarify how they decided on who to select, of which Nintendo replied stating they could not disclose how you'd have needed to be eligible, aside from being an Ambassador. You can find the original Eurogamer article here.
Some members of the StreetPass Manchester community received the email. While the reaction was for the most part positive, a couple of the members did have their reservations, mainly concerning the model on offer (the smaller 'regular' size 3DS and not it's larger brother). Robert Bland was one of those who got the opportunity to purchase one and had this to say on the situation:
it's cool that Nintendo do things like this and it sets them aside from other companies in that respect. However, the offer didn't appeal to me personally.
The two main points of it seem to be that you can get a New 3DS before other people, and it comes with exclusive Ambassador faceplates. The trouble with this is that people already have the New 3DS and the XL model (which is the one that interests me more personally) thanks to importing from Australia, so that's not really that special. As for the faceplates, they're pretty boring to be honest. They'll be rare, yes, but I also worry that faceplates will be easy to manufacture, and thus the Ambassador plates could be cloned (even if it's done illegally).
Like I say, it's very nice of Nintendo to do this, but I can't help feeling that they maybe should've offered an exclusive New 3DSXL to lucky people. That way the design can't simply be cloned and it would be more of a rare collectable item, and I certainly would've bought it
Chris Joyce added:
To begin with it's not an XL model, and after owning XL models for a while now, I could never downgrade the screen size. Secondly, the ambassador face plate isn't even that nice, in my opinion.
The console itself isn't special in any way, it's only the exclusive face plate. I also don't think the cost is worth it. For that price you can get a New 3DS XL - you just won't get the charging dock and face plates, but the XL doesn't use the plates any way.
I imported a New 3DS XL back in late November/early December, so I'm all set with the new model.
It's nice that Nintendo are giving some people the chance to get their hands on one early - without having to import one, which less serious collectors/gamers won't get involved in - and I think that keeping it limited was the right thing to do
And finally, James Patrick Bowden felt this offer was more of a marketing tool, rather than a reward:
The Ambassador name has sort of been used in vain to an extent as where before the 'Ambassador Program' felt like a reward for being an early adopter, here it feels like what it is - marketing.
Thing is, I purchased a Nintendo DS way back when when it was offered through Club Nintendo as a VIP Pack. No cheaper, but a month early, and a free t-shirt (which said 'touch me', not Nintendo's finest hour). Ergo I'd be a bit of a hypocrite if I said I don't see the appeal of the offer; getting the console before general release (ignoring the reality of importing), especially when general release is still an unknown, is a huge thing for many and the Ambassador faceplate looks functional if completely unspectacular. Throw in the fact that this pack will be the only way to get said faceplate, and that collectors 'need' starts to take control, and in many ways this is what Nintendo is cashing in on. The fact it seems no more expensive than the console will be at retail rounds it off as a pleasant offer that is welcome, even if it's largely devoid of spectacle.
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