New 3DS XL review: Silly name but a worthy upgrade | Postmedia

The New 3DS’ name might be ridiculous, but thankfully the console is a significant upgrade over Nintendo’s original 3DS, released three and a half years ago ago in 2011.

[pat_11_5]

It's a shame the console is only launching with one game that takes advantage of the new hardware...

[rdgneoz3]

The shame is forcing people who have a 3DS (that could have gotten one for Christmas) to have to get the new version (of which only he XL version is releasing in the US) to play the new games like Xenoblade Chronicles.

It's not the next gen handheld by Nintendo, and if consoles did something similar by releasing a slightly more powerful xbone or PS4 a couple of years later and screwed over early adopters, you'd have a lot of pissed off fans.

[desolationstorm]

I agree that it's a shame that they didn't get this to the states before the holiday season. Though I will point out the system is 4 years old.

That being said Xenoblade is one of the few exclusive games.

[pat_11_5]

They probably wanted to sell excess 3DS XL stock, especially with the launch of those two limited edition consoles.

[3-4-5]

It takes time to make new games.

Developers have only had so much time with the new device as it's only existed for a certain period of time.

* How long do you think it takes to make a decent quality game ? It takes about 2 years.

Most dev's haven't had that time.

Late 2015/2016 is when you see the NEW 3DS games that take advantage of the system's power and buttons.

* It's not like the other games releasing are "less than".....

The name is fine....

[Canary]

And a shame that the one game that requires it just so happens to be a port.

And it's probably going to stay like that forever. Remember the N64's expansion pack? The 3DS' Circle Pad Pro? The NDSi? The only people who are going to make games that require the new hotness will be Nintendo, and they're not even likely to do much. The best the average gamer can hope for is that a few games will offer extra functionality on N3DS.

[tastas21]

This thing looks studpid. Nintendurs will love it.

[Theparanerds]

I skipped the 3DSXL had my 3DS for about 4 years now...time for an upgrade?

[pat_11_5]

Me too. I'm totally down with this upgrade.

[BenqMagician]

Lol 229.99 in Canada for a 3DS I think it should be 199.99 because it's not a total upgrade when the both screens are at the same res and it's the same old gpu( yes it has more ram in the new 3ds).

Why Nintendo didn't release a new 2DS for around 149.99 and I find it strange when the price of a new Nintendo 3DS XL - Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate is 259.99( in Canada) that's $40 less(doesn't come with a plug in) then a Super Mario 3D World Wii U 32GB Deluxe Console that sells for 299.99 (oh and this comes with a plug in and a extra game too).

It just looks like Nintendo cares less about Wii U console sales but really cares about 3DS sales.

What's funny is at ebgames Canada you can get PlayStation Vita Borderlands 2 Bundle for 199.99( I understand the 3ds have more games and have a lot of third and first party support) and Nintendo is selling the new 3ds for 229.99(29.99 more then a vita).

Wow in terms of hardware specs(not game selection) which has the better value a vita or a new 3ds?

[Canary]

"Silly" doesn't quite cut it.
It's abysmally stupid. It's like Nintendo is deliberately trolling everyone who thought "WiiU" was a bad name that would create way too much brand confusion.

And this is Nintendo. They know, or knew, how to name stuff. The Super NES is clearly better and newer than a regular NES; a Gameboy Advance is clearly better and newer than a regular Gameboy. Etc., etc.

But now we have silly names that random consumers won't be able to differentiate: The Wii and WiiU; the 3DS, the 2DS, and the new 3DS.... yikes.

[BenqMagician]

The NEW 3DS is selling for more money then a PlayStation Vita(close too ps3 graphics) that's crazy and what's even more crazy is people don't care.

But if Nintendo came out with a Wii U advance with a 8 core processor with 4 gb of ram the internet would explode. Not in a good way either and it's no difference then Nintendo releasing a "New 3DS".

All I read on this site is it's a good upgrade yeah if you own a 2ds or a original 3ds & even then all it does is help Nintendo get the what 50 million who brought a 3ds/3ds xl/2ds buy a new 3ds in hopes they can sell another 50 million too the same people.

Don't forget no plug in comes with the "New 3DS" and Nintendo want's u too buy a official Nintendo plug in not a third party one(LOL).

3DS(sold close too 50 million) gets a upgrade and the wii u(sold a little over 10 million ) stay's the same.

One more thing why did they put the second stick that's above the 4 buttons on the right side of the screen for the new 3ds. Why didn't they put a actual thumb pad under(they had the room) them like a 360/x1 controller config then it would be easier for long hours of playing.