A real StreetPass encounter...finally!

So I get home from work one day and flip open my Nintendo 3DS case in order to put the system in the charging cradle, as I so often do. To my utter surprise, the notification light is lit. And...it's green. That's important, because it's not blue. Now I'm thinking wildly, 'Could this really be a StreetPass? Can a green light indicate something else? Nothing comes to mind. It must be a StreetPass! I certainly haven't arranged one. This is the real deal!' I flip the system open and, sure enough, I've had a genuine StreetPass encounter!

As usual, I get to use my newly acquired Mii character in the game Save Mii. But the real treat is that this encounter unlocked a whole new puzzle. There are seven in all, and each 3DS owner starts out with just one of them. The only way to get new puzzles is to StreetPass with other 3DS owners who have the missing ones.

So I had my 10 minutes of fun with my new friend. This got me to thinking about StreetPass as an application. I own Super Street Fighter IV, which is StreetPass able. Does the cartridge have to be in the system in order to have a successful StreetPass transfer? I hope that's not the case, because it is unlikely that I'll pass someone else who owns the game, let alone that they'll have it in their system. I own a second StreetPass-capable game: Ridge Racer 3D. I guess this particular 3DS owner doesn't have either game. I look forward to a day when the 3DS system is more common, and StreetPass encounters will abound.