Nintendo has announced a worldwide price drop for the 3DS, which will come into effect on August 12. The UK price is to be slashed by around £100 to just £170, while the rest of Europe will pay €169 — a drop of €90. Nintendo 3DS prices in North America, Australia, and Japan will fall to US$170, A$250, and ¥15,000, respectively.

* RRP and estimated new RRP from guardian.co.uk

The price drop should give the Nintendo 3DS a competitive edge, making it only slightly more expensive than the gaming giant’s other consoles. The new price also beats the Wi-Fi only PlayStation Vita’s current pre-order price by £60, and the Wi-Fi and 3G version by £110.

This isn’t just a good-will gesture, though: Nintendo today announced losses of more than £290 million for the first quarter of the year, and cut its annual profit forecast by more than a billion pounds. The 3DS’s early life has been blighted by slow software sales, delays, and cancellations, and Nintendo is clearly hoping to turn things around with today’s price drops.

In fact, the company has admitted it will be selling 3DS consoles at a loss — a tactic Nintendo President Satoru Iwata says is necessary to build momentum.

Ambassador Programme

Early adopters won’t be left out in the cold, though, thanks to a Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Programme that will provide them with 20 free Virtual Console downloads. Anyone who has accessed the Nintendo eShop before August 12 will be eligible for the programme, with the first downloads arriving on September 1.

Ten of the downloads are NES games, and ten are Game Boy Advance games. Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong Jr., Balloon Fight, Ice Climber, and The Legend of Zelda are among the NES games on offer; while Yoshi’s Island, Super Mario Advance 3, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Metroid Fusion, WarioWare Inc.: Minigame Mania, and Mario vs. Donkey Kong all appear on the Game Boy Advance roster.

While the NES games are heading to the Nintendo eShop as paid downloads, Ambassadors will be able to download them early without paying. Nintendo says it isn’t planning to make any of the GBA games available to non-Ambassadors.