Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program

The Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program is a program that Nintendo created in 2011 for Nintendo 3DS owners who bought the system at its full price of $249.99 before the price dropped to $169.99 on August 12, 2011. It offered a total of twenty free games to them, which at first was ten Nintendo Entertainment System games for early adopters, and a few months later it also offered ten Game Boy Advance games. All games utilize software very similar to that of the system's Virtual Console.

In order to become an ambassador, players had to log on to the Nintendo eShop with their Nintendo 3DS before August 12th and then update the console. The ten Nintendo Entertainment System games were released on August 31, 2011 in Japan and on September 1, 2011 in other countries, while the ten Game Boy Advance games were released on December 16, 2011. Aside from the games, Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors could also download an Ambassador Certificate to certify that they are an ambassador. The certificate has a notifications feature which, by toggling it on, allowed the user to receive updates relating to the Ambassador Program.

The Nintendo Entertainment System titles can be suspended by putting the Nintendo 3DS into Sleep Mode. It also has a restore feature, in which closing the software and then reopening it allows them to directly resume gameplay from where they left off. Since the end of 2011 and throughout 2012, the Nintendo Entertainment System titles have been reissued as purchasable Virtual Console titles on the Nintendo eShop for the other Nintendo 3DS owners. The Virtual Console releases include a restore point feature. Around the time of the Virtual Console releases, Nintendo 3DS ambassadors could update their Nintendo Entertainment System titles to also include the restore point feature.

The Game Boy Advance titles were never released on the Nintendo eShop for other Nintendo 3DS owners, although they were instead ported to the Wii U's Virtual Console a few years later. Nintendo 3DS units do not have a Sleep Mode feature for the Game Boy Advance games nor do they allow for wireless multiplayer. Both StreetPass and SpotPass functionality are disabled while playing a Game Boy Advance title, and the HOME Menu cannot be directly accessed without exiting out of the software.

Nintendo Entertainment System

 * Super Mario Bros.
 * Metroid
 * The Legend of Zelda
 * Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
 * Balloon Fight
 * Ice Climber
 * NES Open Tournament Golf
 * Donkey Kong Jr.
 * Yoshi
 * Wrecking Crew

Game Boy Advance

 * Metroid Fusion
 * Mario vs. Donkey Kong
 * Mario Kart: Super Circuit
 * Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3
 * WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!
 * The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
 * Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
 * Wario Land 4
 * F-Zero: Maximum Velocity
 * Kirby & the Amazing Mirror