At the end of it all, you paid $80 more for 20 free games. Is it worth it?

I'm sure a lot of us are still just looking at the computer screen confused as the 3DS is dropping in price from $250, a price known to be high, to $170, which is likely lower than anyone would think it would've been at launch. But let's look at the value of the 20 free games available for those who bought the system and took it online before August 11.

On September 1, 10 NES games will be available for Ambassadors. If we say the going rate for NES games is $5 (the price of them on the Wii Shop Channel), then that is a $50 value. We're already more than halfway to the $80 drop.

For me, this is 2007 all over again. In the summer of 2007, I bought an original iPhone (the 8GB model) for $600. A few months later, in September, Apple dropped the price to $400. The Internet exploded. It wasn't good. Apple's customers were furious that in just a few short months their phone was now available for two-thirds of its original price.

Apple responded almost instantly, by offering up a $100 Apple Store gift card to everybody that paid the original price. It seemed to quell things for them pretty well. Even though the gift card was only for half the value of the price cut, I felt fine. We all knew the iPhone's price was going to drop eventually, and that we would be paying more by buying it first. We just didn't expect it to happen so soon. By thanking us with the $100 gift card (essentially making the price cut only $100 in our minds) it made things OK.

Eurocom is working on an enhanced version of GoldenEye 007 for the PS3 and 360.

Eurocom’s reimagining of GoldenEye 007 will no longer be a Wii and DS exclusive. The developers are currently working on remaking the game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Titled GoldenEye 007: Reloaded, the remake promises enhanced graphics and better online support, with more multiplayer modes and the ability to support up to sixteen players online. The game is currently scheduled for release this fall.

With the relatively good sales of GoldenEye 007 on the Wii, I’d imagine that Activision is hoping to profit even further for the IP’s nostalgia. Though, I’m puzzled that they would decide to release the game around the same time as they release the next Call of Duty game. It seems like they are setting the game up to fail against one of their very own properties.

Pedro looks back at the importance of the development houses in charge of these highly wanted games.

At last year's E3, when the 3DS was revealed for the first time, Nintendo presented the audience a video featuring all of the most prolific and important developers, all singing the praises of the 3DS’s technology. This year, Nintendo did the same thing with the Wii U. The message is clear: Nintendo wants second and third-party support. Time and time again they have mentioned how they want to create a stronger bond between them and the developers, all in hopes that this generates exclusive content for their systems. And yet, just recently, Nintendo said that they had no plans on releasing Pandora’s Tower, Xenoblade and The Last Story in North America.

Dealing with repair workshops shouldn't be this confusing...

If you're anything of a game collector like myself, you'll look after your games. Original Game Boy cartridges will be kept in the plastic sleeves they came in, consoles will be regularly dusted, manuals will be stored neatly in the game's case and never thrown away. You may even have a particular order you prefer to store game cases in on your shelf.

And that's why when one of your carefully-preserved pieces of retro treasure decides to give up the ghost, you want to get it repaired by the professionals, the guys who know what they're doing. This is sometimes cause for more confusion and headache than it's worth. A few weeks ago I was preparing to spend a weekend cozying up with one of my favorite old Nintendo 64 titles in preparation for my very first Extra Life feature on the site. After some brief issues with the Controller Pak not finding my old save files, I got the feel of the controls again and saved at the first opportunity to go have dinner. When I returned, the console wasn't turning on anymore. The switch would flick to the on position, yet the power light wouldn't come on. I tried different power outlets, even different rooms, but nothing would yield a solution.

You might never actually catch 'em all.

My Pokédex 3D stopped downloading Pokemon the other day. This was a complete surprise, since I'd scanned every AR Marker available on the Internet back when the app first came out, and I was getting three Pokémon a day: two in the morning, one after work. It ran like clockwork, until yesterday. Yesterday, my 3DS got no Pokémon, despite missing four of the elemental monkeys and several different forms of existing Pokémon, like Deering or Sawbuck. Some internet research turned up some annoying findings: without other people who also have Pokédex 3D, I'll never have a complete Unova Pokédex.

NCAA Football 12 is here, and I'm reminded why I still pay for Xbox Live.

The college football season formally begins in September. Annually, however, I begin my celebration around the second week of July as the new EA Sports NCAA Football game hits the shelf for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The franchise hasn't been seen on a Nintendo platform since 2008's NCAA Football 09: All Play for Wii, but even as a Nintendo-centric gamer, that's never stopped me from picking up the newest NCAA game on day 1. I've done it every single year since 2001's NCAA Football 2002, which launched by happenstance on the day I bought a PlayStation 2.

Jon gives us five ways that Nintendo can improve its online relationship with its fans.

Regardless of the North American fate of Xenoblade, Pandora's Tower, and The Last Story, the furor surrounding Operation Rainfall has exposed what is perhaps Nintendo's greatest weakness: its lack of meaningful online interaction and communication with its consumers.  In this era of social media, viral videos, and up-to-the-minute news, Nintendo's approach to its web presence is conservative to say the least.  Here's what I feel the company must change in order to make their fans feel closer to their favorite game company.

Have you seen the Best Buy across the street?

Dear GameStop,

Your stores are poorly organized.

They offer a cheap-looking mish-mash of games strewn about the store on racks—never shelves—and in glass cases. The glass cases are reserved for used GBA and DS games that didn’t come with cases or, in most instances, instruction manuals. Half your stock of used…I’m sorry…”pre-owned” games are in generic DVD boxes with really awful GameStop art on the sleeve. It is not reversible. The game’s title is often written in marker. There is no manual. You are selling it for well over the $10 it’s probably worth. Your back room must be such a travesty that employees simply can’t find what they’re looking for, as trips to this mythical storage facility almost always end in disappointment and tears. It would be nice if you alphabetized your PSP games, too.

Please join us this Saturday for a special event -- we want to hear from you!

WHO: Radio Free Nintendo crew and our special guests: you!

WHEN: Saturday, July 9, 12pm (Noon) PDT, 3pm EDT, 7pm GMT

WHERE: Right here! Check back for the audio stream and live chat.

HOW: Send a Skype IM to rfn.assistant and please be patient, there may be a long queue of callers. Be ready to mute or pause the audio stream once you join our call!