Free 3D NES Classic Coming to 3DS Owners With eShop Update

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Nintendo will soon gift 3DS owners with a free classic NES game, now in 3D.

The Nintendo 3DS already comes with augmented reality games and a title called Face Raiders at no extra cost, but Nintendo wants to add another, more familiar title to its free 3DS roster. In an upcoming firmware update, Nintendo will give away a 3D version of NES classic Excitebike.

Excitebike is easily one of the most memorable NES titles, but it doesn’t carry the name recognition of Super Mario Bros. or Legend of Zelda, so it’s a good one to give away for free. It also happens to play out from a perspective that would work very well in 3D. Excitebike puts players in the seat of a professional motocross rider that hits huge jumps while trying not to overheat his bike or crash into opponents. It also has a short, but catchy menu theme.

At a recent investor briefing, Nintendo revealed that the free version of Excitebike will accompany the addition of the 3DS eShop coming with a firmware update in late May, at least for Japan that is. It’d be just plain cruel to keep the game exclusive to one region, so here’s hoping that it’ll be a worldwide thing.

The eShop will be similar to the Nintendo DSi’s DSiWare shop and allow users to download games, trailers, and more. The firmware update will evidently also bring the 3DS’s Virtual Console service down the pipe, which will begin by offering Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles such as Super Mario Land and Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.

Nintendo also talked about adding other platforms to the 3DS Virtual Console down the line, with Sega Game Gear and TurboGrafx-16 already confirmed. The free release of Excitebike hints that we’ll probably see more NES games brought to the 3DS in the future too, if we’re lucky. Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! in 3D anyone?

Source: Siliconera

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