Nintendo Zone Update

In the newest Nintendo Direct Mini, a new way to street pass was announced for 3DS owners. This new update will utilize Nintendo Zones in ways we never thought possible.

Users will be able to collect street pass goodies for all of their games simultaneously in over 29,000 North American Nintendo Zone locations. What does this mean exactly? Every time you enter one of the Nintendo Hotspots, you will receive street pass data from another user whether they are in the zone or not. How is this done? You will receive data from the last person who entered the zone. Your data will then be transferred to the next person who enters, creating a glorious domino effect.

This new update will launch in North America within the next few weeks. Nintendo Zones can be found in places like Best Buy, Simon Malls, Future Shop, and anywhere that has an AT&T hot spot (including places like Starbucks, McDonalds and Del Taco). If you live in the suburbs you’ll understand how difficult it is to get hits with the current street pass program. It’s a rare occurrence that you will be near someone who you can street pass with. This new update will improve the street pass experience as a whole and hopefully make it more enjoyable.

This announcement comes just in time for the Mii Plaza update we received last week. The free update includes new touch screen controls and has added four street pass games for purchase. Each game can be purchased for $4.99 or bundled together for $14.99.

Find your nearest Nintendo Zone location here.

UPDATE**

On Tuesday August 6, we received update 6.2.0-12U which included the Street Pass relay capability. According to the Nintendo Website if you have update 2.0.0-2U or higher, updating your 3DS will be a simple process. Once you accept the update, it will automatically download when you are near a Wi-fi access point and have spot pass turned on. If however you updated before 2.0.0-2U, simply connect your system to the internet, and select system update from the Settings list. The great thing about this update is how quick it is!

I've yet to try out the new features the update has to offer but feel free to leave your thoughts about it in the comment section below.