170°

3DS XL Looks Gorgeous, Doesn't Need Another Circle Pad

Chris Buffa (Modojo): Nintendo's recent unveiling of the attention-grabbing 3DS XL wasn't much of a surprise, really. There were rumblings of a redesigned 3DS months before the system's debut. That said, those rumors didn't make the handheld less exciting. In fact, I'm downright giddy at the thought of rushing to the nearest retailer and handing over $199 for one of these babies, not only because I love 3DS, but also because I'm a proud DSi XL owner. Anyone who owns this supersized version will tell you that the bigger screens make a huge difference; those who own both an iPhone and iPad would probably agree on the mobile side.

gaffyh4702d ago

I have to agree, if it had the second circle pad, I would definitely consider buying. Without it, I see this as a waste of money when Nintendo eventually does a revision with the second circle pad, most likely next year.

darthv724702d ago

especially if they increased the overall size of the unit. It makes perfect sense to have added a 2nd circle pad.

To me i see a missed opportunity on the part of nintendo. with the inclusion of a 2nd pad there could have been an increase in dual pad support in games for the 3ds as well as cross play between the wii-u.

If anything, nintendo could have adapted the new 3ds to act as a controller for the wii-u seeing as it would be touch, w/camera, have the right number of input buttons and most of all...a 2nd pad.

I like my 3ds and a 3ds with a bigger screen is an obvious upgrade but a 3ds with a bigger screen and no 2nd pad is.....pointless.

SteamFrostedEgg4702d ago

As I've said before, this is another iteration of the same handheld.

Adding another circle pad to a new version of the same handheld is counter productive for developers. It would confuse customers when buying games.

Haha1234702d ago

No thanks, I dont want this handheld clustered with shooters :)

maniacmayhem4702d ago

The DS had a more than an impressive library of games and all without the use of a second analog.
Games built specific for the system should be okay. The 3DS is a great piece of hardware.

bwazy4702d ago

This will be a lovely peace of hardware to carry around in your pocket.

If you could.

Lucretia4702d ago

only an idiot would say it doesnt need another circle pad, that or just a fanboy.

if a game like monster hunter needs it, then the system needs it. the a standard in todays gaming world, so since its missing its automatically behind.

besides, the freakin dsi came out with a camera and it didnt need one, so lets get something that "we dont need" but we actually do need.

3ds didnt need a bigger screen, it needed another analog. im sure the fanboys think the gameboy didnt need color either right?

123_3214702d ago

Circle Pad Pro XL, coming soon?.

Show all comments (31)
80°

Why Portability Still Matters for Nintendo Switch 2—and What We’re Hoping to See

Nintendo Switch 2 upgrades portability with a bigger screen, 1080p handheld play, and Wi-Fi 6. Here's why it still matters in 2025.

Read Full Story >>
clouddosage.com
Profchaos10d ago

As someone who travels for work I still care about portable systems.

I have found using remote play in a hotel room is an excellent experience in a major city as I've got my console hard wired to a gigabit connection at home however it's not perfect if power trips the console tends to go to the repair section and can't be booted remotely so it's a annoying call to family to power it on for me.

A hotel out of town or regionally though that can cause havok for remote play as I'm always on 5g using it hotel wifi is never good enough for a solid remote play session.

But leaving a stable location and getting onto a plane or train and there's little to no chance of a good experience with remote play thats where something like the switch 2 will really shine for me personally long haul flights are exhausting and one of my most hated things the switch has been invaluable for me and I'll absolutely be upgrading

Goodguy019d ago

Nintendo has always done it the best, handheld is in their genes. I do wish their dock could be like an egpu though and it make it much more powerful, it's a bit harder for me to play portable now for some odd reason, love just sitting on the couch with a big screen and controller. And ofc always great to have the portable option and for me it's best for smaller games.

jznrpg9d ago

I was hoping for a little more than 540p upscaled

UltimateOwnage9d ago

IMO, 540P upscaled in portable mode to a 1080P screen using DLSS on the tensor cores will likely extend battery life using a lower TDP and provide much better anti-aliasing and similar clarity compared to native 1080P with med/low AA at a higher TDP. It’s just a better way to use a mobile chipset. That’s not a flaw or weakness, it’s a key benefit for the portable design of the platform.

repsahj9d ago

Lol, even the impressive upscaling feature of Switch 2 can now spin to a negative one.

jznrpg8d ago (Edited 8d ago )

Switch 1 was hitting 720p and above that with no upscale, so why can’t they have a higher res and upscale it more

repsahj8d ago

@jznrpg
Because of that even the current gen games will now run on switch 2 that looked as good and with decent framerate as the current gen consoles.

Do you watch Nintendo's hands on preview for switch 2? LOL.

badz1498d ago

because aside from Nintendo's own games which have their dedicated fanbase, portability is the only other thing it has going for it. Nintendo will be eliminated faster than xbox if they ever decide to do a dedicated home console again. going the hybrid way is the only way left for them and they are lucky they dominated the portable market all those years ago. imagine the power of the Switch 2 as a console this day and age with the same price as PS5. they will be the laughing stock of the market.

300°

Former Nintendo PR Explains Why Switch Games Rarely Go on Sale: 'This Isn't Ubisoft'

Former Nintendo PR manager says that the reason their games rarely go on sale is because they value their games and aren't like Ubisoft.

Read Full Story >>
tech4gamers.com
Relientk7728d ago

Just throwing shade at Ubisoft like that.

"Nintendo’s audience will buy the game if it wants to, regardless of sales."

Sales? What sales? People buy Nintendo games at full price because they don't go on sale.

SlothLordPootus27d ago

That and the fact that their 3rd party support has been near nonexistent, so if you own the system you have basically no choice in what to buy. Especially with the switch it was nintendo first party or indies.

Obelisk9227d ago

Each company just wants to make the most profit, and Nintendo is such a strong brand that can afford to sell games at full prices withouth sales.
Weaker brands need to go on sale in order to continue selling some units.
That's just how it goes.

Christopher27d ago

Why I don't play Switch games and won't be buying a Switch 2. I tried, but it's just not for me or my wallet.

Dudebro26d ago

Nintendo is a game company only.althought I don't like it you can't see where they're coming from.nintendo doesn't have a diverse portfolio.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 26d ago
gold_drake28d ago (Edited 28d ago )

theres a reason why hes a "former" employee.

woth that kinda mindset, i would have fired him too ha.

__SteakDeck__27d ago

What are you talking about? He wasn’t fired. Nintendo wanted to move his show to Seattle and he didn’t want to leave California.

franwex27d ago

Keeping it real? I would’ve promoted him.

lukasmain28d ago

They value their games? Meaning others who have sales don't? How fking rude of this dude. Nintendo are really arrogant

LucasRuinedChildhood27d ago (Edited 27d ago )

Hopefully they get humbled like with the 3DS launch but I doubt it. There's enough early adopters that are very enthusiastic.

VariantAEC26d ago

I don't doubt that Nintendo will be forced to swallow their pride again.

SoloGamer127d ago

because Nintendo is anti-consumer

Show all comments (33)
100°

5 Of 8 Japanese AAA Game Stocks Just Hit All-Time Highs

Dr. Serkan Toto says: While things do not look great for many studios in the West, things are very different in Japan – and I was shocked how little people in the industry still know and understand about the third biggest gaming market in the world (which is a probably a positive for a Japan game industry consultant like myself).

Read Full Story >>
serkantoto.com
42d ago
42d ago
gold_drake41d ago (Edited 41d ago )

its funny, i just read something about this yesterday.

Eonjay41d ago

Honestly, it looks about the same if we are measuring a company's success on their all time high stock price. It has nothing to do with the sentiments some in the industry have.

Objectively the two biggest problems are cost cutting and consolidation.