Australians will also have a cool limited edition bonus.

Nintendo Australia announced today that Xenoblade Chronicles will be released for the Wii on September 1, 2011, for both Australia and New Zealand.

The first production run of the game will also include a special soundtrack CD, containing 12 tracks from the game.

The game will be priced at AU $99.95 and NZ $133.22.

Iwata speaks about Nintendo's future plans for the eShop.

During a recent Q&A, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed that Nintendo is currently preparing a paid item transaction system (DLC), for both the 3DS and the Wii U. He also added that Nintendo will likely not be using this themselves, because they believe doing so would not be good for building a strong relationship with their customers.

Iwata is not completely opposed to paid content in general. He was, however, more negative on the concept of having a game that is free to play, but charges users for item purchases. He feels that that sort of game would damage the premium value of Nintendo's content.

Nintendo global president gives reasons for why the price has dropped so close to launch.

The drastic markdown of the Nintendo 3DS retail price was done at this time due to a need to increase market penetration before anticipated holiday season games are released, to boost sales to predicted levels so that it can be a sound successor to the Nintendo DS, and to reassure retailers and software publishers that the expansion of the platform will not be an issue.

Satoru Iwata made a statement at the recent first quarter financial results briefing that explained why the price drop was essential to maintain sales momentum for the handheld, as if strong momentum is not maintained, changing the situation further down the line is very difficult.

An action packed week with 3D golf, mikoshi racing and some classic baseball.

The European download services have expanded their libary with six brand new titles, and as per usual most of them are for the eShop and DSiWare.

Gameloft's Let's Golf 3D marks the first real Nintendo 3DS Download Software title for the western audience. For the price of €6.00/£5.40, the package includes more than 100 courses spread over six different locations. Players can fully customize a character to their liking and give them special powers such as rewinding time.

On the eShop's Virtual Console you will be able to download Baseball this week. This classic Game Boy title from the yesteryear will set you back €3.00/£2.70.

This video shows how to obtain the Biggoron's Sword in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.

Do you wish to harness the most powerful sword in Ocarina of Time? The following video should be of some assistance.

Poor 3DS sales means pay cuts across the board. 

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata will be taking a 50 percent pay reduction in response to poor Nintendo 3DS sales. The news was revealed at a conference in Tokyo, where Iwata stated to investors that he would be taking responsibility for the low sales figures.

Iwata was making approximately ¥137 million ($1.8 million) last year between his salary and bonuses. Specifics weren’t given, but both the base salary and bonuses are expected to be lowered.

Other directors, such as Senior Managing Directors Shigeru Miyamoto and Shinji Hatano will be taking a 30 percent pay cut and other executives’ salaries will be dropping by 20 percent.

A DSiWare/eShop-heavy week featuring 3D golfing, ropes that burn and brothers who brawl.

Six new games have been added to Nintendo's download services, with DSiWare and eShop receiving the most titles.

The lone eShop-exclusive title is Gameloft's Let's Golf 3D. Players will be able to fully customize their golfers and take them through exotic locations. The game is available for download for $6.99.

Three titles are newly available to both DSi and 3DS owners. The first of these is GO Series Portable Shrine Wars from Gamebridge. Featuring mikoshi (Japanese Shinto portable shines), Shrine Wars is a racing game where players carry the Shrine and beat opposing teams. It is available for $1.99.

The just-announced Virtual Console titles on 3DS will have additional features in their final releases.

NES games released on the Virtual Console for Nintendo 3DS will eventually be improved over the initial versions.

The pre-release versions available through the Ambassadors Program, as announced earlier, will have some missing features compared to the final releases. The earlier versions will not have proper co-operative play. For two players to play these games, they will have to alternate. However, in the paid releases, co-operative play will be included. Save states are possible by using the Home button and separate, selectable save states will also be added in the final release. User manuals will not be included in the pre-release version but are accessible online. The Ambassadors versions can be updated free of charge once the general versions arrive. These games can also be moved to another 3DS console.

Nintendo drops 3DS price around the world and announces release dates for Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7.

The Nintendo 3DS retail price will decrease in several regions.

In Japan, the price will drop by 10,000 yen. This brings the price of the handheld from 25,000 yen to 15,000 yen effective August 11.

In North America, the 3DS will be priced at $169.99, effective on August 12, 2011.

The European retail price is set by the individual retailers, but the trade price has been dropped by around a third.

Australia will also see a price drop on August 12. Originally, the handheld was priced at $349.95. It will now be priced at $249.95.

Early adopters of the system in will receive lots of free goodies.

Nintendo announced that early adopters of the 3DS, who bought the system prior to the recently announced price drop, will receive 20 free games through the eShop. This initiative is called the "Ambassadors Program."

To be eligible for the free downloads, users must connect to the eShop through a wireless Internet connection before 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on August 11. This will automatically register you for the Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors Program.

Beginning September 1, 10 Virtual Console NES games will be released early as free eShop downloads for Ambassadors only. When the games are released to the public as paid downloads later in the year, the updated titles can be re-downloaded free of charge. Additionally, 10 exclusive Game Boy Advance Virtual Console games will be released by the end of the year, with no current plans to make these available for normal purchase.