Sure, some of us apparently overpaid for our Nintendo 3DSs earlier this year when we kicked out $250 for a device that as of next week gets marked down to $170, but there's a silver lining.  Anyone who bought (or buys) a 3DS prior to August 12 will get twenty free classic Nintendo titles in the weeks ahead in a virtual smörgåsbord of retrotastic Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy Advance goodness.  After the price drops, the free game offer evaporates.  If you're in the market for a 3DS now, you can either choose between paying the higher cost and getting the free games or paying the lower price and getting nothing extra.  It's a hard decision, but there are choices to be made and nobody can have everything.  Say, I wonder what's going on over at Walmart next week.

Walmart is reportedly going to begin offering the new $169.99 price next Tuesday, August 9. Assuming you pick one up in time, you'd have the chance to upgrade to the latest firmware and connect to the eShop, qualifying you for the free NES and GBA games.

So, there you have it.  If you want to skirt the system and get the best of both worlds, get yourself to a Walmart next Tuesday, buy a 3DS for the new low price, and qualify for the free games.  This makes a total mockery of Nintendo's 3DS Ambassador Program, but a good deal is a good deal.  Short of some wild Black Friday madness, I doubt you'll find as good a deal as this for the 3DS this year, and you certainly won't find another one that includes the free games once the deadline for eligibility has passed.