Topic: Pre-Installed Game Dilemma

Hi guys, I'm new here so hello from Oxford UK

I've searched all over the place with my issue but cannot find anything that helps.

I have a 3DS XL with MARIO KART 7 pre-installed and have just bought a USED 3DS XL ANIMAL CROSSING console. I performed a system transfer to the ANIMAL CROSSING 3DS and everything was transferred INCLUDING MARIO KART 7.

My problem is I can no longer download MARIO KART 7 for free on my original 3DS XL, and I cannot download ANIMAL CROSSING for free on my USED 3DS XL ANIMAL CROSSING console (as is advertised on the boxes of the consoles).

This is an issue as I want to sell my original 3DS XL with MARIO KART pre-installed (like how you would buy it new) and I want to play ANIMAL CROSSING on my new console. Neither game pop up in the download history on the eshop (apart from MARIO KART 7 on the ANIMAL CROSSING 3DS) so I'm a little confused.

Is this normal, everything I have read has said that the games are tied to the console and not the account.

Any help would be fantastic as this has not worked out how I planned.

Since you did a transfer, you transferred everything from the Mario Kart one, including the ability to redownload. Sounds like you also overwrote the Animal Crossing one's ability to redownload Animal Crossing, too.

You are correct, games are tied to the console. You cannot download MK7 on your original 3DS anymore(unless you buy it again) due to the system being wiped of all its memory. All the memory that used to be on the Animal Crossing 3DS XL has been fully deleted as well. Think of it like this: everything on your original 3DS has been transferred to the 3DS XL, with no changes. Nothing taken, nothing added.

Ah I see, the Animal Crossing 3DS XL was at the "select your language screen" when I first turned it on so it was previously formatted. So if people have consoles with pre-installed games and they format the console for whatever reason, they would not be able to get that game back?

I once transferred and merged eShop downloads from both 3DS models:

To make it easier, you have 3DS A and 3DS B, if you transfer 3DS A to be B everything on A, including the software licenses, are moved to 3DS B. So yeah, you cannot download a software license on 3DS A because you've chosen to transfer and that 'right to download" has moved to the other 3DS unit.

Unless I'm mistaken, the rules of 3DS transfer is that the eShop purchases on the destination 3DS get's merged with the source. I did this once when buying 3DS XL with Mario kart 7, after the transfer I was able to download all my games from my original including the Mario Kart 7 from the destination 3DS.

However, and this is important, on the Mario Kart 7 one I first went to the eShop and made sure it was initialized and after that I did the transfer. So in short, I think the eShop on your Animal Crosing 3DS has never been used so the transfer didn't merge the two eShop accounts, hence Animal Crossing does not appear and cannot appear in your transfered eShop.

You could try calling Nintendo and explain what happened, maybe they can help you with a download code.