See-through purple bag not required

As part of today's surprise Nintendo Direct Mini broadcasts, both Nintendo of America and its European counterpart confirmed a Nintendo Zone StreetPass Enhancement to help all 3DS owners make the most of the functionality.

Said to be on the way "in a few weeks" on both sides of the Atlantic, this upgrade will use the thousands of free Nintendo Zone hotspots in both regions as StreetPass Relays; when you pass a hotspot you'll receive a StreetPass of the last 3DS owner to walk past, and the next person will receive your data, and so on. It'll be the usual data exchange, so it'll include Mii Plaza characters and puzzle pieces, as well as goodies for your applicable StreetPass-enabled games.

It's designed to help those who get few hits to enjoy StreetPass more, which is certainly welcome for a lot of 3DS owners. We'll keep an eye out for details of when this new StreetPass Relay service will go live.