Cheating The System - 3DS Ambassador Program

Add me to the ranks from now on.

By Daavpuke, Posted 11 Aug 2011

Give ‘em an inch and they’ll take an arm; it’s the codex of zombies and capitalists alike. When Nintendo announced its measures of altruism by severely lowering the 3DS price and offering a Mea Culpa of 20 games to early adopters, it didn’t expect people to take advantage. Well, perhaps it did and it didn’t care; but marketing sharks abusing the price drop versus a free game date deadline on August 12 was an obvious expectation. Such is my faith in humanity anyway. And thus worldwide, stores like Target and WalMart dropped the price a few days short and the people flocked to abuse the system. Now which of the 2 parties is the worst? The corporations not respecting the deadline or the people who knowingly partake in this betrayal? That is something you can debate in the comment section!

NoobFeed Feature - Cheating The System - 3DS Ambassador Program
Proof of my tiredness is revealed in the picture quality and ten ton eye baggage.

And thus here I stand now, with a brand new Nintendo 3DS by my side, all shiny and blue, which I bought at €150, give or take, with shipping. You see, the well-reported outlets weren’t the only ones chucking three dimensional cigar boxes. Additionally, I can easily look down on every opportunist whom betrayed Nintendo’s trust, since my purchase had a slight legit twist. A site, which each day offers one item at a slight discount was faced with a dilemma. With the new price announcement and a warehouse full of originally priced handhelds, it was about to get into a right old mess. Offering a 3DS at 150 bucks doesn’t seem like a huge discount when the real price is a few smackers more. That’s why they keelhauled all the 3DS they could a week early; thus inflating a discount that is non-existent.

It’s in that small window that I struck; hoping shipping would arrive on this very day. Mission accomplished it seems. Remember all those post office complaints I made? How odd that this service does not use the national post. Eat me, crappy government service.

NoobFeed Feature - Cheating The System - 3DS Ambassador Program
You have to give the people proof of purchase these days, so behold my 3DS receipt.

Again, shame on everyone who took advantage of sleazy corporate stores. I found a much nobler workaround; you people sicken me. You’re not beating the system, you’re merely shortchanging your game provider. I love Nintendo to bits, so much that I actually don’t own a 3DS game yet. Any and every suggestion, except Ocarina of Time, is welcome as well in the comment section.

But now that everything is out of the package and loaded up, what about that Ambassador Program which yields us early adopters free games? Just like the overall navigation without consulting the manual (I’m very tired), it’s a bit of an enigma how this will unfold. Nintendo likes being cryptic and you see where that put its market value. One notification in your Home panel saying: “Hey, you’re getting free games. No worries bro, I got this!” – It would’ve been nice. No such thing though.

NoobFeed Feature - Cheating The System - 3DS Ambassador Program
Shiny and blue, it's all mine now.

The big N issued a press release to the lucky few that to be up for some virtual goodies, one must perform a system update or visit the eShop before tomorrow. Great, after some fiddling  I did that, but then what? Gratification isn’t as instant or self-evident as it could be. In a shroud of mystery, not one word is uttered after visiting either option. No notification that your handheld has been enrolled, not a special message on the screen, nothing happens. Are we getting that free stuff now then or do I have to download them from the store or what?

Hold the phone, my light is flashing, meaning the 3DS has encountered things to bother you with. I can’t wait until I get a bunch of passerby messages from all sorts of people. Ah, it seems that for new owners it takes the process a while to download a bunch of crap and swing it into your notifications. Scratch my prior cynicism; it’s just slow and confusing. Now, we were talking freebies I believe.

NoobFeed Feature - Cheating The System - 3DS Ambassador Program
Catch more horrible 3DS photos in the screenshot gallery.

It’s actually going to be a while before the mystery is answered, as games will be loaded upcoming September 1 and it’s only then that the goodies are promised.  That’s a long and arduous wait in this modern day and age. It’s not the best approach, but let’s hope it goes off without a hitch. Again, some clarity doesn’t hurt Nintendo. If you would just learn that, perhaps people wouldn’t be confused about your machine and buy it. Ignorance creates fear, don’t you know, and you’re supposed to be the family oriented platform.

Oh well; be you an honest early fanatic or a sleazy opportunist; add me to the ranks from now on. I have no idea how the friend codes work, if at all, so if you’d like to set up a Mii play date, drop us a knowledge line. Don’t worry; I kept him clean, because a screen told me so. You want the ultimate proof of my love for Nintendo? I can’t even see 3D and I bought a machine marketed on a dimension that is unknown to me. I’m an endorsement deal shy of being a PR person for these people.

But seriously, how do you feel about this price cut scam?

Gallery

Daav Valentaten, NoobFeed. (@Daavpuke)

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  • Earlier today I thought that the price cut was actually a good idea, not remembering what the actual price of the 3DS. But now after reading the situation you've been through, I think the cut should've been a lot more than just $20. This is really sloppy by Nintendo. 



    Off topic, why on earth you didn't put this photo in the article. It came really fantastic.


    Posted Aug 11, 2011

  • @Sleven: The price cut is $80.



    If you're looking for some game suggestions, DOA Dimensions and BlazBlue CS2 are great, but CS2 isn't worth buying if you already have the original on a console. OoT is self-explanatory.


    Posted Aug 11, 2011

  • @Din5193 So the original price was $230! It was too much to ask for a handheld. Though I was willing to buy it for $170 today.


    Posted Aug 11, 2011

  • Hahaha nicely done, sir. Enjoy your cheap(er) handheld system and your 20 free games


    Posted Aug 12, 2011

  • Nintendo is really leaving old school gamers like me really out in the cold.  I bit the bullet and bought my 3ds on launch day, now i get 20 free games.  If nintendo has any hopes in fixing their problems, they need to not focus so much on people that are going to play wii for about a half hour then walk away,  they need to get the gamers who live and die by their products. 


    Posted Aug 13, 2011

  • @selven



    now nontendo is talking putting majaros mask on 3ds!  makes me happy i can tell you that!


    Posted Aug 13, 2011

  • @Din5139,



    If you have the new dead or alive i'm always looking for 3ds friend codes! ;)


    Posted Aug 13, 2011

  • wow the price for a 3DS in the Uk is as low as £139 pounds now, i didnt expect the price drop to be that low.


    Posted Aug 13, 2011

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