New 3DS 'Ambassador Bundle' revealed for EU, shipping early
Nintendo of Europe is offering the New 3DS early to its "most loyal customers," as revealed by emails sent out this morning. The company invited a limited selection of Club Nintendo users (and only them) to buy the "Ambassador Edition" bundle, priced $180/€200 and only available to order until January 12.
The New 3DS only has a "2015" release window in Europe, like North America, but screencaps sent to Joystiq show the Ambassador Bundle is ready to be delivered within three to five days. That tallies with Nintendo's terms of sale, which indicate delivery should be made by January 23. We've reached out to the company to confirm the details.
As attested to by multiple reports, Nintendo's outline of the bundle notes the system itself has a value of £156/€170 (in USD that's $237/$202). That may prove to be the baseline price when the New 3DS hits Europe's store shelves. In Japan the system costs 16,000 yen ($134).
As revealed in the emails (which readers forwarded to Joystiq - we weren't "loyal" enough), the Ambassador bundle includes the New 3DS in white, a 4GB Micro SD card, AR cards, a charging cradle, Super Smash Bros. cover plates (front and back), and the above-pictured and bundle-exclusive Ambassador Edition cover plates (also front and back).
If you're a Club Nintendo member who didn't receive the email this morning, you can check if you're eligible for the offer here (spoiler: you're probably not).
Nintendo's email didn't shed any light on when the New 3DS will hit Europe's retail shelves, just that Ambassador Edition owners would be among the first in the region to try the system out. Still, the immediateness of the promotion suggests the New 3DS can't be too far away from launch, both in Europe and North America. The system made its debut in Japan back in October 2014, and is already available in Australia and New Zealand as of November 2014.
It's been just over four months since Nintendo quietly unveiled the New 3DS and New 3DS XL during a Japanese Direct stream. The most distinct changes in the resized models are the new "C-stick" analog pads above the SNES-esque face buttons, as well as the additional ZL and ZR shoulder buttons. Other revisions include a front slot for 3DS cartridges, improved battery life, a new Micro SD Slot, and built-in NFC tech for Amiibo compatibility. Under the bonnet there's enhanced CPU power, but as a result some new games like Xenoblade Chronicles will work on New 3DS only i.e. not on the older models.
[Thanks Will and Jack!]
[Images: Nintendo]
