So, I'm excitedly waiting for the reboot of Majora's Mask on the 3DS in February, and am thinking I might get a New 3DS. Not necessarily the shiny Majora's Mask one, but my current one is definitely showing signs of me having owned Smash Brothers :\
One concern though – I have several games downloaded and stored on my 3DS which I'd want to carry over. I'm not really worried about the save files (though the many many hours I've sunk into Smash Bros would be a kick in the nuts to lose), but I don't want to have to rebuy them all again.
Anyone know of a way to move games across? Preferably a legit method, but I'm not adverse to going below board!
Best Answer
You will use the 3DS System Transfer from the System Settings -> Other Settings menu (sub selection/page 4).
The menu options should be the same on the New 3DS even if they're shuffled around.
The process will transfer everything over from the old 3DS to the new New 3DS except for anything that was a part of a pre-installed bundle (eg, if you bought a 3DS with Mario World pre-installed, that will not transfer over).
When the process is done, the old 3DS will be reset to it's original state as when you originally bought it. Note, that most DSi Ware save game data and some DLC (no list on hand but it can be re-downloaded) may not transfer in this process.
You will loose DSi Ware save game data and will have to replay those games to unlock stages etc. (some examples of this are Mario vs. Donkey Kong Minis March Again and Aura-Aura Climber).
I just recently did some 3DS system transfers of DSi -> 3DS and 3DS -> 3DS recently and talked to a Nintendo support rep to confirm some steps in the process and also talked about future New 3DS migration and I was confirmed that once the hardware is out in the region they will update the relevant support pages with any changes, so check there first before you do anything and when in doubt, call their support line.
NOTE: Relevant info from the Nintendo Support site. 1) do not setup your NNID on the new system before the transfer process. 2) If the SD card you have on your old system is a standard SD card that is greater than 4GB, you will need to buy a Micro SD card (with an SD card adapter) and using a PC, copy the contents of that SD card to the Micro SD card.