Nintendo dropping its 3DS from $249 to just $169 next month

In obvious efforts to significantly increase sales counts on its 3DS handheld gaming console before Vita steps on its turf, Nintendo has issued out a press release today that indicates quite the price drop coming to the U.S. and several other regions. They will be shaving $80 off the cost of the 3DS, taking it down from $249 to $169 as of the 12th of August.

If you're one of the 830,000 odd people in the U.S. who've already paid out for the 3DS and feeling somewhat bitter about the above, at least there's a little sweetener in it for you guys too. As long as you've logged into the eShop at least once before the price cut, Nintendo will allow you to grab 10 free NES virtual console games from September 1st, as well as 10 more Game Boy Advance virtual console games, these of which are games Nintendo isn't planning to release to the general public before the end of this year.