Nintendo is cutting the price of the Nintendo 3DS by over 30 percent. As of August 12, the handheld will have a suggested retail price of $169.99, down from its launch price of $249.99.

The aggressive price drop better positions Nintendo's handheld against Sony's upcoming PlayStation Vita -- the cheapest version of which will launch at $250. Nintendo claims that it has sold more than 830,000 3DS systems in the US since it debuted in March, and that it will keep momentum up with several big holiday releases, including Kid Icarus: Uprising, Super Mario Land 3D in November, followed in December by Mario Kart 7.

Nintendo's also looking to reward early adopters, or get a last-minute burst of sales before $80 comes off the 3DS price. Those who own a 3DS and connect to the Nintendo eShop before 11:59PM EST on August 11 will be automatically enrolled into the "Nintendo 3DS Ambassador" program.

3DS ambassadorial duties mostly involve playing a bunch of free games. The status grants you access to 10 free NES Virtual Console games on September 1 before their general release (these include The Legend of Zelda, Balloon Fight and Ice Climber), and 10 more Game Boy Advance Virtual Console games. The GBA games -- like Yoshi's Island, Super Mario Advance 3, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Metroid Fusion, WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames and Mario vs. Donkey Kong -- will not be available to anyone else. Is all that enough to ameliorate early buyer's remorse?