Nintendo had promised some big 3DS announcements during tonight’s ‘Nintendo Direct’ stream, and didn’t disappoint. Western gamers can look forward to picking up a brand new Nintendo 3DS XL, sporting bigger screens and a price tag of $199.99. The new handheld is scheduled to release on August 19, in either a red or blue color scheme.
Plenty of Nintendo fans will be pleased that any serious announcements were made after the 3DS got ‘no love’ at the company’s E3 press conference. The reveal of a brand new, bigger, badder glasses-free 3D device deserves plenty of fanfare, so expect to see plenty more details on the system drop within the next few days.
So far we know that the top screen will measure in at 4.88″ with the bottom touchscreen measuring 4.18″. The increase in size might drastically increase the chances of those mobile naysayers to finally take the plunge. The price is also right at just under $200 (helped by the exclusion of an AC adapter), especially if the crisp graphics of the 3DS hold up when scaled to the new screens.
The 3DS XL will be released in both red and blue come August, although there’s no reason to think that several other (and more desirable, if tradition holds) colors won’t be coming as well. If the Midnight Purple 3DS is any indication, the company may be once again tempting early adopters to consider picking up another. The image obviously also features a black version, but exactly why that wouldn’t be made available to Western buyers is unclear.
A batch of good news was long overdue for 3DS owners and fans, after a rocky launch that even the manufacturers admitted went fairly wrong. Now we’ve got new headline-making games to look forward to, and an even bigger version of the only glasses-free 3D gaming device currently available.
The new, 90% larger screens can do big things for the success of the platform, specifically making TV or movie viewing far more appealing. The screen may still not be quite as sophisticated or as technically impressive as that of the PlayStation Vita, but making it bigger is certainly a good place to start. Now it’s up to Nintendo to swell the ranks of killer apps to truly gain some momentum, if this handheld will ever take its place among the highest heights of the DS family.
What do you think of the announcement of the 3DS XL at this point in time? Do the larger screen make the purchase of a 3DS more appealing? Or, most importantly, what color would really make this a no-brainer?
The Nintendo 3DS XL will be released in the West on August 19, 2012.
Follow me on Twitter @andrew_dyce.
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My only question is, did the battery get 90% bigger too? If not, did they announce any add-ons that let me get more life outta it?
Regardless, I’m pleased.
They said it will have a longer battery life than the original but no specifics.
Are you kidding? Is Nintendo really just going to keep releasing an XL version after every new handheld? All they’re trying to do is make even more money, because what they should do is release each new handheld with a big screen in the first place. But no, they’re out for everyone’s money.
They have been doing this since the original gameboy. Nothing new.
It’s why I waited to buy one.
Well that is the point to make money, and, according to their previous efforts, people will dish out the money. We need to become smarter consumers if we want the best product the first time.
What are you talking about? It’s not the consumers’ fault for Nintendo releasing the 3DS XL after the 3DS.
I guess he meant that early adopters are never gonna get the best version of a product, especially a videogame system. Component prices always fall, allowing the system to be improved without raising the cost too much. If it’d had this XL screen originally, it’d probably have launched at $300. Hehe, people might’ve even said, “wtf the screen didn’t need to be this big! Shoulda made it smaller so it’d be cheaper!”
That might be true, but Nintendo still could’ve released both the small screen and big screen versions at the same time, giving consumers two options: smaller screens, smaller device, and lower price; or bigger screens, bigger device, and higher price. That way everybody is happy, and Nintendo will see if demand for the small screen version is high enough to release a small screen version of their next new DS or handheld.
Good point.
Yes, of course they want your money. And no, they never made a bigger version of the old gameboys, only smaller, with colored bodies etc. Im pretty sure the big screen started with DSXL. I would argue that they started with the screen that they thought would be most popular, and that this larger screen is not evidence that they were holding out, but just that they saw an audience for this one and as usual, they want money of course. Mobility and weight are really important to a lot of people who play handhelds. It’s a selling factor for sure. I would personally much rather have a cumbersome, heavy portable with a big screen, but not everybody would. Why they couldn’t bite the bullet STILL and make a double joystick version is baffling to me. After all the years of PSP having only one, I had hoped we were past these clunky old restrictions. I still want one, but this does annoy me. Big screen? Thanks Nintendo. One stick? Get with the times!
Well, I didn’t specifically mean screen size. I meant a altered better version of the system. Though the Game boy and Game boy pocket had different screens, the Pocket being much nicer.
DS to DS-lite, we got a brighter screen, smaller nicer looking case, better battery life, ect, ect.
We see similar changes to the 3DS to the XL. Though, I have no facts to back up that other then the picture.
so im guessing you’re a microsoft/(maybe) sony person? i mean the ps3 and 360 had a bunch of different versions, and 360 charges you money to play online, trust me just because they released a bigger version doesnt mean that you hafto go out in get it because you have the original.
This looks horrible. I really dont like it what happened to the fresh color?
There are two things that kind of turn me off about the revamped handheld.
1. The lack of a second circle pad.
2. The AC charger needs to be purchased separately outside of North America.
The larger screen is certainly a selling point for existing 3DS owners though, and I’m interested to see how the games look running on it.
Yeah, I’m pretty surprised at the lack of the second circle pad, after they released that circle pad pro or whatever it was called. Including a second pad on this would’ve been a good way to legitimize that peripheral. Now I guess they’ll make a second model of it to fit the XL, and it’ll presumably remain something that’s barely accounted for by developers. At least, I assume that’s the current state of that peripheral?
90% larger screen but it has the same resolution as the old 3DS? They couldn’t even increase the resolution.
if they increased the resolution, then if a developer made a game for the XL’s better graphics, it wouldn’t be able to run on the regular 3DS…
Why the hell is there no dual circle pad? introducing circle pad pro XL for an extra £30!
Will the circle pad work with this? Knowing Nintendo, they will release a new one of those as well.
My god, Nintendo just can’t please anyone anymore can they?
Nope. It’s the curse of being wildly popular. Too many audiences
hi there yeah my aiptik i2 3d camcoder has a 2.4 inch 3d screen lg thrill 4.3 inch 3d screen 3d phone 3ds 3.53 inch 3d screen and a sony 32 inch 3d tv i will be buying a 3ds xl becuase i am hard core into 3d
So lemme get this straight… the ONLY difference is a larger screen? pass… the 3DS i have is good enough… maybe i’ll pick this up on ebay in a couple years for like $50 but not for $200
Well, it’s not the only difference. It also has a better battery life of 6-6.5 hours.
Though, for a owner of the original device, this probably isn’t enough to merit a new purchase.
I won’t get one right now, but maybe for the release of the new super smash bros
Thought I’d chime in my thoughts as to why ti didn’t have anything new. If they would have given the 3DS XL a second circle pad that makes this a different console than the 3DS. Thus, developers would have to make to types of games, one for people with two circle pads and ones for people who only have one circle pad. I agree with their decision but the next new hardware needs two circle pads without a doubt.
Just saw on Nintendo’s facebook that it will actually ship with an AC adapter
And a 4 GB memory card.