Consumers have been informed time and time again that it's not easy being green, but there's one particular character in the gaming world that owns the secondary color better than any of his cohorts. Yoshi — the loveable, rideable, and loyal dinosaur that got his start in the iconic Super Mario franchise — is no stranger to starring in his own games, and that will continue with the upcoming release of Yoshi's New Island for the Nintendo 3DS.

While the release of yet another first-party Nintendo game won't fail to tantalize fans of the company, those diehard collectors and Yoshi aficionados alike now have another piece of limited memorabilia to add to their growing collection. Nintendo has released the first images of the previously confirmed Yoshi-themed 3DS XL. The interior of the handheld is said to be white, while the exterior (or at least the front-facing surface) will be green and feature a picture of the fan-favorite dino.

One important note to draw from the North American SKU, however, is that this limited edition handheld will NOT come with a copy of Yoshi's New Island. While that may be disheartening news for those hoping to score a copy of the title alongside the new hardware purchase, the price point for the special handheld is on par with 3DS XL costs — plus the recently announced Pokemon X and Y promotion already makes taking the 3DS-based plunge very alluring.

Ringing in at a suggested retail price of $199.99, the Yoshi-centric portable is set to launch alongside Yoshi's New Island on March 14th in North America and March 15th in Europe. Suffice to say, it'll almost surely make the perfect gift for fanatics of Mario's reptilian companion, but fans will have to act quickly if they're hoping to lay claim to the unit.

With the Year of Luigi coming to a close, maybe Ninty will kick off the year of Yoshi, after all, fans are still awaiting additional information on the previously announced Yarn Yoshi for Wii U. First things first though, it's definitely about time to confirm the character for the new Super Smash Bros. games.

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Follow Riley on Twitter @TheRileyLittle.

Source: Kotaku