Do we download these the same way as the NES titles?

If so, they don't appear to be available in the US yet. :(

Yes (see pic in article). At least now you can queue them for sleep mode downloading, in theory, and the Australian poster mentioned that it doesn't throw you back to the main page after starting the download.

WTF NOA?  Entire world is announced except for NA.  Now other regions games are available and NOA still hasn't even announces the games.  I am getting disheartened with NOA more and more. This is to the point of being ridiculous.

Good communication with your customers goes a long way to building loyalty; failure to communicate erodes trust and respect. It's pretty clear to me which category NoA has been falling into over the past year...


We'll probably get the games on Friday if the rest of the world is too. That's not really the point though.

NOA's probably waiting for their weekly press release of Wii VC disappointment to let us know they'll be available tomorrow.

Anyone feeling salty over the availability of a bunch of free downloads needs to simmer the hell down. No one was entitled to these games. They were an act of goodwill from Nintendo to their customers. You either bought a 3DS without expecting any kind of compensation and therefore because you simply wanted a 3DS or you circumvented the program and got the price cut too. Either way, the Ambassador games are bonuses. They're coming and before the end of the year (most likely before the end of the week) as promised months ago. You're getting something for nothing, something none of us deserve but are getting anyway. And you waited this long. Would you give it another day or two?

Does anyone know the local times of when the GBA games came online in Aus. and Jpn.? It might be a good indicator of when to expect them to show up here.

I've done a little bit of research, and from what I can tell so far, it appears that they each went up around 12:00AM local time for both Australia and Japan. So, my guess is not expect them here in the US until late tonight/early tomorrow morning-- 3:00AM EST (12:00AM PST).

I don't think anyone here is upset or complaining about games not being available. However, some people might be upset about what they feel is an ongoing communication breakdown from Nintendo of America - at least that's what my beef is.


Over the past year, NoA has done a poor job of interacting with and managing fan expectations. Even when they do something really awesome (like digital downloads from Club Nintendo, or the Ambassador game freebies) it ends up being preceded by small screw-ups, uncertainty, and customer confusion due to limited communication. Normally these things aren't a big deal, but when it feels like a regular pattern of behavior and is visibly worse than what happens in every other region around the world then fans are justified in feeling disappointed.

NoA Lack of Communication in this day and Age is Fail.  Every Branch of Nintendo should have made the announcements at the same time.

Adrock I think your the most upset person in this thread.

Are you an expert on the all the specific inner-workings of NOA's online network? Unless you are, that assertion is ridiculous for you to make. Population density, the average amount of network traffic, trends in local behavioral habits, or countless other factors could be reasons for NOA to decide that there's not a need to bother making a formal announcement. What makes sense for some regions may not be practical for others. Just because NOA hasn't made an announcement about it, doesn't mean they don't still have the same plans for release.

This wouldn't be the first time, not all the regions have made public announcements but still made the releases. I can safely say with 99% certainty, that NOA will be releasing the GBA games in the next 24hrs. just along with the rest of the world.

+1

Anyway, what "lack of communication" or "communication breakdown"? What part of "the Ambassador program games will be available before the end of the year" is so difficult to understand? Last time I checked, it's still 2011. Wait, let me check again. Yes, it's still 2011.

The sense of entitlement coming from some of you guys is astounding. Nintendo told us months ago when to expect these games. That time period has not passed yet so what is there to complain about? The truth is that many 3DS owners are getting FREE games. Instead of worrying about something you'll probably get tomorrow, be glad Nintendo is giving you all of these nice things when all you did was buy something you already wanted. So, yeah, I'm calling shenanigans on anyone who's whining like a petulant child because Nintendo of America hasn't announced the release yet. They're coming. While you're waiting for them, watch Louis CK's "Everything is amazing and nobody is happy" because some of you sound like that.

Yeah.. not feeling the whole "You don't deserve these games" talk. I believe that early adopters absolutely deserve these games. Yes it was their choice to buy the system at launch, but listen to what you're saying here, you are telling early adopters, (hard working people just like you and me, and die-hard Nintendo fans just like you and me) that the piece of hardware they bought just a a few months earlier, and before the price drop, that they don't deserve these games? A system that had no internet browser, no e-shop, and only a few notable titles to decide from? I'm sorry, but that is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. The people are not to blame for putting their faith and dollar into the company. If any faith is lost in a company from the consumers point of view, it is the companies obligation to set things straight. We have every right to these games, and I won't be told otherwise.

Now as to the whole whining and crying over NoA not announcing these games availability yet, that is indeed stupid I agree. NoA is going to release these games soon, getting them right now will not make a difference then getting them two days from now. NoA has actually made me happy with their latest announcements.

I'm sorry but if Blizzard can make announcements in all of its regions at 1 time I believe Nintendo can.  That is not asking for the world.  In fact they could just do it through Twitter and Facebook.  Super Easy Super Fast.

It's the Fact that NoA is the ONLY region to not make an announcement.  Which leads everyone to think of 2 things.  Either the Deal is going to be different here somehow or there was technical glitches that are only effecting NoA covered areas.

Its like your mother going ahead and giving all your brother and sisters a lollipop when she promised all of you one this week without confirming your still getting a lollipop.

Um No. I don't have to be you know why?  There are TONs of places on the web NoA could post on they have ready access to.  It could be as simple as "Hey everyone check out the last 5 games for the Ambassador program which will be coming soon. " on Twitter.

umm are the GBA games cut off from the side? like the nes games

There are two small black pillar boxes when playing them full screen. If you launch in native res, the screen is centred in the middle with nothing but black around it.

Dear "Mad C***"
I don't like your attitude.
Might I remind you that Ninny lowered the price by almost a "buck", which basically screwed their most loyal of fans out of our hard earned money at a time when most economys are in the toliet.
We were promised these games by the "end of the year", and they don't have long left.
All these people are getting at is that other countries are already playing their games. We have not even got a release date or notification. This was meant to be their "kiss and make up" and someone at Nintendo PR is dragging their feet.
So yes. All these people and myself are ENTITLED TO THESE GAMES WE WERE PROMISED!
Smell what I am steppin' in AdCrock?
RightCheersThanksalot.

Hmm...

No one forced these people to put their hard earned cash down for a system that Nintendo rushed to market. Every early adopter who purchased a 3DS did so willingly and should have with full knowledge that those features were missing. And if they didn't, that's their fault anyway because there's this thing called the internet and one of the most popular websites on this internet is called Google which lets you search for things that you are not knowledgeable about. If Helen Keller was alive today, I bet even she would know how to use Google. I have no sympathy for anyone who purchased a 3DS and was disappointed in what it had to offer initially. I know that sounds harsh but there were no delusions about what was available on 3DS. None. People should know what they're getting into when they surrender $250 to buy something. Otherwise, don't buy it. This isn't complicated. I scoffed at the price when 3DS was announced and I didn't buy one until Nintendo dropped it to something I was comfortable paying. Nintendo just happened to drop the price far sooner than I ever expected them too.

No one deserves these games because Nintendo didn't have to offer them. Early adopters paid money on something that they felt, at the time, was worth it. If they changed their tune, that's on them. It's called buyer's remorse. Early adopters aren't entitled to compensation. That never happens. Nintendo just did a really nice thing. If someone buys an unsatisfactory product knowing that it's unsatisfactory, he/she is entirely responsible for that decision. People can't just pass the buck on the maker of that product because they made a shitty choice in life. Just like people aren't entitled to these games; Nintendo isn't entitled to anyone's money. People freely gave it to them. With the Ambassador Program, Nintendo isn't so much as righting a wrong as it is acting on good faith. They could have dropped the price and just said, "Suck it." They know their fan base. Anyone who would claim to boycott Nintendo is totally full of shit. After all, they did buy a half-assed system just because it said Nintendo on it...

That's only unfair if you don't get a lollipop. But, we ARE getting these games so I don't get what all the complaining is for. If we get these games tomorrow, can we just drop this and enjoy all of the free shit we're getting?

I see what you did there.........(exaggerated elipses)........

I think you guys should calm down, the U.S can't be far behind. They will probably launch on your next eShop update day.

And +1 to you, kind sir.

You're missing the point. They already gave us multiple announcements telling us we'd get them by the end of the year in the first place. They're also aware existence of the Internet and that it's already well known from Europe and Japan's announcements. So, any announcement they made would be redundant anyway so why bother? Especially when you factor in how it can unnecessarily complicate things-- if you recall, NOE ran ads claiming the 3DS update would be available November 30th, only to have it get pushed back a week. NOA kept its mouth shut. If you ask me, that shows that NOA is less careless.

Are they less careless, or do they just care less?

(I don't have any point I'm trying to make there, I just came up with that and felt the need to share it.)

You missed the point on mine as well.  It's not so much of a we will be getting these games X date.  Its more of a "Yes the rest of the world knows when they are getting their new toy.  We haven't forgotten about you.  You are still getting your toy.  Just not now."

Actually, our eShop update was earlier today (a good six hours ago)-- and still no GBA games. But as I already pointed out earlier, it's still Thursday here. Australia and Japan seem to have gotten theirs at midnight on Friday. So, our games are most likely scheduled for the same time, which is still nine hours away.

Calm down?  Good suggestion. Hopefully the apologists who get up in arms when it's suggested that NoA could (and in fact should) be handling things differently will take that under consideration.
;)


(For the record, Australia and Japan got their games on Thursday -  in Australia, it's only 10am on Friday as I write this. I don't think anyone in the thread has complained about that at all, and personally couldn't care less.)

I didn't miss your point at all. Your point just wasn't valid-- you're whining because over something so pointless it wasn't even worth doing in the first place, let alone be worth complaining about.

You should never go into PR or Politics.

What's with all the Nintendo hate? Can't NOA do a surprise x-mas release in 10 days without the unfaithful bashing them?

People like to complain, even when they are getting free stuff.

I'm just glad that the GBA games are actually good ones, there are definitely some junk games they could have chosen. Nintendo can take all the time they want to make them available, as long as the US is getting the same list.

I will actually argue in favor of a very small group of people with regards to the whining/entitlement attitude.

Those who purchased the system during that small time period where Nintendo announced that you'd be eligible for the free games if you bought a system then.

Those people deserve the free games because they made their decision based on the offer of free games.

Everyone else, sit down and be patient.  Nintendo owes you nothing more than they offered when you made the purchase.  To say "well, this, this, this, give me more!" is bull crap - If Nintendo came back to you and said "Hey, remember that 3DS you bought last year?  Well, the US dollar has tanked, therefore we feel you should pay us another $80 - after all, we've given you so much happiness over the years." - how would that sit with you?

Gift horses and mouths, people.  This kind of attitude is why we didn't get a Club Nintendo for so long.  Instead of being thankful for what we get, we crap in Nintendo's hand, tell them it's gold, they should be thankful and give us more.

This thread is ridiculous.

Some people express reasonable disappointment and get bashed? Hoping for some type of notification from NoA isn't asking the world. Wishing that NoA could try to live up to (not even exceed, just match) the quality job done by every other major Nintendo division around the world isn't a sense of entitlement.



And again, is anyone complaining that the games aren't out yet?  I hear a lot of "sit down and shut up" about that... but I don't see that as the issue people are concerned about. I bought the system expressly because of those games - that added value was necessary to make the purchase worthwhile - yet I don't personally care if the games take until the middle of next year as long as they arrive eventually and play well.

What I do see is a fear that NoA in particular is failing to communicate well and manage appropriate expectations for their consumers. Japan is doing a better job. Europe is doing a better job. Australia is doing a better job. America used to set the standard... but lately it feels like they've simply fallen off the rails. Is someone asleep at the wheel, or are they understaffed and having a tough time to keep up, or do they really believe (as was suggested before) that communicating with their customers isn't necessary or beneficial?  Who knows. They haven't told us.

Oh well. Guess I'm just not one of the faithful.

It's called managing your expectations.

Nintendo of America has always - ALWAYS - been horrible at communicating.  Period.

You got it a few months ago when they said "by the end of 2011."

A.) "Wishing" it, no.  Making public statements, condemning a company because they don't follow what your perceived schedule of announcements is?  Yeah....

B.) Did Nintendo APL even make an announcement beforehand?

As someone who's in this category, I'd act like an entitled prick right now... but I'm too busy downloading my Ambassador games to care. :)

The only Nintendo APL announcement we got was from the Ambassador "Program" via spotpass, exactly what it was built for. I figure NOA would follow suit in time. As to why there is such an extensive delay is odd. Normally the delay hits NZ/AUS since we pass the dateline first so we get things a "day" late. This time we got things a whole day early, 2 days if you were to factor in the normal delay.

Hey everyone! The games are up for download now!


Go to the eShop>Settings>Your Downloads and go through the list of NES Ambassador games. They were on the second page for me. You can even que them up to download in Sleep Mode.


Minish Cap!!

Yes.

The fact is we are downloading these games now not because we recieved a Spotpass notification that was explicitily promised in the Ambassador App we downloaded but, because people were so excited to get these games that they figured it work like last time and checked on the off chance they be there.  They happen to be.  No word from NoA still that they even exist.

The question now is are they really suppose to be available and will they take them away?  The  answer is who knows and we all know they won't redact them from people systems. 

I had enough time this morning at home to check my 3DS to see if NoA pulled through and told me the games are ready.  They had not.  I closed my 3DS and took it to work.  Come to find out here at work from the forums that I should have went into the eShop, checked my download lists, and then I see they were in fact there.

I like to reiterate that I downloaded a specific app that sole purpose in existance is to notify me when Ambassador items are available. And I quote:

Which I had when I downloaded the application because its now a button to not recieve notifications.

I like Nintendo in general and I tend to be harder on the things I like.  The rest of Nintendo had set the bar on this.  I don't think its really to much to ask for the Applications whose only reason to exist is to notify me of this exact occurance to do its job.  It be like shipping a game that had no gameplay.

I can't speak for Nintendo, but judging by how things went the last round, I'd say later today, there will me a SpotPass message sent out saying "Hey, your games are ready."

I'd be willing to guess this is so the servers aren't hit has hard.  This, basically, splits the userbase into two groups - the first group who reads about it online and downloads everything and the second group who finds out about it via the SpotPass message, then downloads everything.

Remember how SLOW it was downloading the new system update when it went live?  Could you imagine if everyone was downloading all then GBA games at once?  I don't think the eShop would survive.

Great! Downloading Now!!!

Loved that I was able to queue them all up and let them download in the background, and now I am addicted to Youshi's Island.

I played a race in F-Zero (meh) and the first round of microgames in WarioWare (awesome). I wish I could just sit and play all these games all day.

I'm fairly certain you're wrong about it being released on Thursday in Japan, though if it was, it was definitely at least approaching midnight when they went up.

As for Australia, it may not have been Friday yet in all timezones, but are you sure it wasn't wherever Nintendo's Australian headquarters is based out of?

I know while I'm on the east coast of the US, NOA is based on the West-- which three hours behind, so I assumed they wouldn't be up until 3:00 AM where I am. And I certainly seemed to be right as when I checked a little after midnight last night, they still weren't up. Yet when when I woke up this morning at 7:00, they were up. So, I'm very confident that I was right.

Sleep mode download works, even though they are small, i downloaded a couple instantly, and que-ed(?)
up the rest. must be in home menu, in sleep, no suspended software.
put it on the cradle, came back later, they were in my menu, waiting to be opened and arranged.
now, put them according to name, zeldas together, metroids, etc.
put them according to system?
humm, how to do it??

That make sense.  I'm guessing they don't have the tech to say do a random 500 people at a time with notifications.

Though I hope some respected profession thats actually done server load optimization etc.  Take a look at there infrastructure for there digital downloads and gets it squared away before Wii U.

Nintendo?  Online Infrastructure?  Optimization?  This forum really needs to work on managing its expectations. :D :D :D

:P

Good news everyone! Metroid Fusion is still awesome!

Yea, ummmm anyone actually gonna play Mario kart super curcuit, or what its call on the gba, when
7 is out?  But Zelda Minish cap looks and plays great.
Oh and save your games, the "Suspend" thing doesnt work like the Nes, lost 1/2 hour of Minish cap progress, that intro is boring, twice.  LOL

Super Circuit is a way better single player game than 7!

I was able to download mine at 3AM EST, which is midnight Pacific time, where NOA is located. From what I can tell, other regions received their games at this time in their local time equivalent, which is ahead of North America. So NA is not late one bit.

Now, making an announcement is another matter, but I don't feel like getting into that.

The colors are a little washed out, and I'm noticing a little motion-blur when I play. Still, this is great to have these games. Also, I know some people complained about the NES/GB games not having a Y+B option, but this at least has the X+A if you don't like B+A.

Some of the artifacts are from the scaling process (ghosting/motion blur) since they aren't in integers. Another is because the games are more than likely still keyed to the original GBA which means they are either too dark or too light depending when it was made. Also because the image is scaled, each virtual pixel gets a little more light, washing it out. You can unscale the image to have 1:1 pixel ratio by holding down start or select on start up, gives you a far more accurate picture, but of course the picture is tiny.

What the dealio with no sleep mode for these puppies? Not even the Home button will freeze the game state. The NES VC games the Home button brings you to the suspended software 3DS main menu. Even DSiWare games will freeze when you push the Home button.

*face-palm*

Other than that this was an awesome bonus. One that we (early adopters) were 100% entitled to the moment Nintendo stated we were. *face-palmx2*

Am I the only person who thinks the colors look a little washed out on GBA titles. It must be the larger screen and different resolutions

I stand corrected. After comparison of GBA SP (lower powered backlight version) and same game running on 3DS. The clear winner is 3DS. Ever so slightly blurry, but the color looks better on 3DS.

When compared to DS lite it is very close to call, and comes down to personal preference.

Downloaded them all last night. I decided to start with Wario Land 4, which I have almost no memory of. There was some contention between reviewers when The Shake Dimension for Wii was released over which Wario game was better. I have a feeling that the latter will win that match-up in my mind, but all the same, I'd like to see how WL4 holds up.