FYI: log in to Nintendo eShop before August 12, 2011

Ok, so we know about Nintendo's Ambassador program where they will reward early adopters "Nintendo Ambassadors" who bought the 3DS at launch (or before August 12 at least) with a bunch of games; 10 games in September 2011, and another 10(?) by the end of 2011(?)..... yeah I'm still a little iffy on the whole thing at this point.

Nintendo says 3DS owners need to use their handheld to log into the eShop before August 12, 2011. But the Notifications message I got from Nintendo on my 3DS says:

These free games are available to Nintendo 3DS owners who connect the the Nintendo eShop at least once before 11:59 p.m. Eastern/8;59 p.m. Pacific time on Aug. 11, 2011.

Now, I may be reading more into it, but it seems like we need to log into the eShop *ON* August 11, not just before then. Like, that specific day. I've been logging in a lot lately, and I haven't gotten any kind of acknowledgment that I've been enrolled in the "Ambassador program". Maybe on August 12, 2011 they will send out a notification.

UPDATE: I just checked the eShop late tonight and what do you know-- a eShop News update that says I'm an Ambassador:




So I guess I'm enrolled now...

But maybe they only count the 3DS's that log on specifically on August 11. That seems stupid, I hope that there isn't too much traffic that day. Also, it's important to note that while the deadline is 11:59pm Eastern time, that's 8:59pm--before 9:00pm-- Pacific time. So I have even less time.

Yeah, you better believe I will NOT forget to log in that day. But I am wary of online registrations; I've been burned pretty badly by Sony in the past... the last time they never sent me the free movie they said they would. We'll see how this Nintendo one works out, but it seems very rushed. I hope they have their bases covered.

And finally, it's a given that this is only available to people who have access to wi-fi. Some places have lots of free wi-fi available to them, but some don't. I myself only got wi-fi in late 2009 (now I wonder how I ever lived without it)... I dunno, I guess wi-fi is easily available enough nowadays, even McDonalds has it.... but I don't think I would trust a set of one-time downloads to McDonald's wi-fi.




later
don