The significance of having Virtual Console titles from a console on a portable system was addressed earlier today by 1UP Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Parish. Before now, portable and console VC games had been kept separate on portables and consoles, respectively. That will change in September when early 3DS adopters get ten free NES games for their soon-to-be-cheaper handheld. They’ll be slightly gimped versions initially, but once they begin being sold later this year, early adopters will want to make sure they upgrade the versions they’ve already downloaded.
With the 3DS dropping in price from $249.99 to $169.99 next month, early adopters are upset. Nintendo is doing what it can to alleviate that frustration by offering 20 free Virtual Console games to those who connect to the eShop before August 12, the day the price cut goes into effect. Ten will be Game Boy Advance titles that aren’t planned for release on the eShop. The other ten are NES games that will be sold on the eShop later this year.
Those free NES games will, upon release on September 1, be missing a key feature. Once released on the eShop to the public, they will feature simultaneous multiplayer support, according to a statement sent to IGN. 3DS Ambassadors — the fancy term being applied to those who connect to the eShop by August 11 — will be able to update the versions they get, free of charge, once they’re released to the general public.
