3DS XL Announced

[A Black Falcon]

-$200
-90% larger screen than the regular 3DS, and 46% better battery life -- this new model has 6-10 hours of battery life.
-Otherwise the same as the first version. No, no second analog stick, thankfully.
-Will launch in all white, red cover with black inside, or blue cover with black inside. Japan gets silver cover with black inside instead of blue.
-In Japan it won't come with an AC adapter, but in the US it will.
-Better Start/Select/Home buttons (see the below pic)

Lots of pictures and such here:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php...ostcount=1

[etoven]

-$200
-90% larger screen than the regular 3DS, and 46% better battery life -- this new model has 6-10 hours of battery life.
-Otherwise the same as the first version. No, no second analog stick, thankfully.
-Will launch in all white, red cover with black inside, or blue cover with black inside. Japan gets silver cover with black inside instead of blue.
-In Japan it won't come with an AC adapter, but in the US it will.
-Better Start/Select/Home buttons (see the below pic)

Lots of pictures and such here:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php...ostcount=1

I went over the specs and it appears to have a fatal design flaw..
It's not this:
[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]

...We may have to shoot it

[A Black Falcon]

... Why in the world would anyone want the 3DS to be a PS3, of all things?

[etoven]

... Why in the world would anyone want the 3DS to be a PS3, of all things?

Because a PS3 is built for awesome, while a 3DS is built to save Satoru Iwata money.

[Dark Jaguar]

I don't know what you're saying, so I'll respond to the 3DS LL instead.

Terrible.

-$200
Nintendo, no.

-90% larger screen than the regular 3DS, and 46% better battery life -- this new model has 6-10 hours of battery life.
Great for that demographic that has poor vision and huge pockets (the elderly), but not really something I'm interested in. Plus, it doesn't fit the Circle Pad Pro. I'll get to that in a moment, but all in all, handhelds shouldn't be getting bigger.

-Otherwise the same as the first version. No, no second analog stick, thankfully.
I assume that was sarcasm. All this waiting for the next model, and instead of being an actual remodel, it's just the grande size. They couldn't even fit in the extra analog stick and shoulder buttons on this gargantuan? There's really no excuse for charging this much extra and still forcing people to buy something that'll make the system even LARGER and more uncomfortable down the line. Bad call Nintendo.

-Will launch in all white, red cover with black inside, or blue cover with black inside. Japan gets silver cover with black inside instead of blue.
Okay?

-In Japan it won't come with an AC adapter, but in the US it will.
...What?

-Better Start/Select/Home buttons (see the below pic)
That's good. Those 3 buttons are really aweful on the current model. They're like microwave buttons.

This should NOT be Nintendo's first "remodel". It doesn't even count as one. They haven't improved the screen (aside from size). They didn't bother putting on the extra buttons and analog stick (the circle pad pro makes up for a poor design decision, but only barely since it makes the system so much bulkier, which a remodel could easily address). The larger size is an interesting alternative and that's the best I can say.

This one's a pass unless you want to dedicate half a purse or a massive jacket pocket or something to this thing and don't mind having to hold something that much heavier.

[A Black Falcon]

[quote=Dark Jaguar]I don't know what you're saying, so I'll respond to the 3DS LL instead.

Terrible.

[quote]-$200
Nintendo, no.[/quote]
Only $30 more for a significant upgrade? Not bad, not bad at all. Why do you complain here? What were you hoping for, another price cut already and this at the old 3DS price or something? That's not realistic. The price is reasonable.

[quote]-90% larger screen than the regular 3DS, and 46% better battery life -- this new model has 6-10 hours of battery life.
Great for that demographic that has poor vision and huge pockets (the elderly), but not really something I'm interested in. Plus, it doesn't fit the Circle Pad Pro. I'll get to that in a moment, but all in all, handhelds shouldn't be getting bigger.[/quote]
A lot of people liked the DSi XL, this is for that market. It's also been pointed out that on this original DS games will display at full size, when you boot them up at their native res by holding select, instead of being really small. That's certainly a plus too. As for pockets, yeah, they're bigger, but don't look so large that no pockets could hold them... I'm more interested in this than in the base 3DS, really.

[quote]-Otherwise the same as the first version. No, no second analog stick, thankfully.
I assume that was sarcasm. All this waiting for the next model, and instead of being an actual remodel, it's just the grande size. They couldn't even fit in the extra analog stick and shoulder buttons on this gargantuan? There's really no excuse for charging this much extra and still forcing people to buy something that'll make the system even LARGER and more uncomfortable down the line. Bad call Nintendo.[/quote]
Sarcasm? No, not at all. Since when have I ever cared about dual analog? I've always been a critic of it in fact, if you remember. I don't think any dual analog gamepad is as good as the N64 or Saturn 3D controllers... dual analog is over-rated. (Oh, and I'd rather play console FPSes on the N64 controller than with dual analog.)

Seriously, the constant griping I've seen about the 3DS not having dual analog is really annoying. No, it doesn't matter, and it doesn't hurt the system at all. Nintendo clearly agrees, as you can see in how the 3DS XL does not have a second analog stick. Well, to be fair, I can see two obvious reasons. First, it'd split the market -- now you'd have some people with dual analog, and some without. You couldn't require everyone with an original 3DS to always use the circle pad pro thing, that thing's huge and bulky. And forcing them all to upgrade to this system just a year later wouldn't be right either. This way is the best one.

In addition, though, I do think that part of it's simply that Nintendo doesn't think the second stick is really needed. They obviously don't plan on supporting that circle pad pro addon much, because it's not needed most of the time, so why bother spending extra money adding a pad when it wouldn't be used most of the time? Nobody's forced to buy a Circle Pad Pro, it's not like any games require it.

As for shoulder buttons, um, it has those already. I assume you mean a second set? How would you fit that on, in any kind of comfortable fashion? You can't make it thicker, it's supposed to be a portable system. And that "two next to eachother" style like the original Wii Classic Controller is a horrible, horrible idea. No, there's no good way to go it.

Oh, and as for making it larger, that's obviously the whole idea -- this is for people who want a larger screen and bigger system. The DSi XL did reasonably well, this probably will too.
[quote]-Better Start/Select/Home buttons (see the below pic)
That's good. Those 3 buttons are really aweful on the current model. They're like microwave buttons.[/quote]
Yeah, it's a definite improvement.

[quote]This should NOT be Nintendo's first "remodel". It doesn't even count as one. They haven't improved the screen (aside from size). They didn't bother putting on the extra buttons and analog stick (the circle pad pro makes up for a poor design decision, but only barely since it makes the system so much bulkier, which a remodel could easily address). The larger size is an interesting alternative and that's the best I can say.

This one's a pass unless you want to dedicate half a purse or a massive jacket pocket or something to this thing and don't mind having to hold something that much heavier.[/QUOTE]
It's not a replacement, it's an alternative model, just like the DSi and DSi XL. They certainly couldn't make the 3DS smaller; the thing was absolutely jam-packed inside, and already was as small as a DS lite or DSi. The only obvious move for a second model was to do the DSi route and make a bigger one, and indeed, that's what they've done. It's what I was expecting, really.

[Dark Jaguar]

I didn't expect it to be smaller, just have upgrades like better viewing angles on the 3D mode and better battery life. This gets the better battery life, but at a cost I'm not sure I like.

The Circle Pad Pro added two extra shoulder buttons, not just a second analog stick. That's why I mentioned it. Technically it added 3 but the 3rd was an alternative "right shoulder button" to make using that easier with the layout of the addon.

I really don't buy your argument for not including the second analog stick. Maybe you don't like it, but what does it hurt to have MORE buttons? It's just more options available.

The fact is, a lot of games on the 3DS suffer for lack of a second stick. I just got done playing the Kingdom Hearts 3D demo, and the lack of a second stick to control the camera gets annoying. It's more so because I actually HAVE the circle pad pro and apparently KH3D won't be supporting it after all. The "support" for it in Kid Icarus is also pretty bad. That's the fault of the programmers though. Having a remodel that just added it in from the start would get more developers to support it. Yeah it splits the market, but that bridge was crossed the second they released the circle pad pro.

If they had to release a bigger model, it should have been a bigger model of a true remodel of the base system. That's what I think anyway. I see why this wasn't announced at E3, it's a big disappointment.

[etoven]

And with that now you know why I hate it..

-$200
$200 for that you can get a awesome system like a PS3, with games that aren't all made for three year old's.

-90% larger screen than the regular 3DS, and 46% better battery life -- this new model has 6-10 hours of battery life.
I agree with DJ, that's not showing me much value for my money.

-Otherwise the same as the first version. No, no second analog stick, thankfully.
Again, I shop for hardware not 4 year old innovations.

-Will launch in all white, red cover with black inside, or blue cover with black inside. Japan gets silver cover with black inside instead of blue.
Japan was like fuck America!

-In Japan it won't come with an AC adapter, but in the US it will.
Then they were like, we fuck ourselves, because were so awesome.

-Better Start/Select/Home buttons (see the below pic)

That's good. Those 3 buttons are really aweful on the current model. They're like microwave buttons.

Now if we could just get some decent games, that wasn't made for a old model, some decent developers on board, better graphics hardware, better controls. Need I say more?

[A Black Falcon]

I didn't expect it to be smaller, just have upgrades like better viewing angles on the 3D mode and better battery life. This gets the better battery life, but at a cost I'm not sure I like.

And it does do some of those improvements. As for the price, though, what should they have done? Seriously, the price is exactly where it should be. The 3DS and 3DS XL are expensive systems, yes, but they have a lot of hardware in them... Nintendo started losing a good bit of money on 3DS hardware sales as soon as they dropped the price to $170, and I don't know if they're making anything on the systems yet. Given that, and the decent sales now, there's no way they'd be dropping the 3DS price already. And given that, and that the XL is a larger model, of course it has to cost more, and $200 is the natural number. I think it's good that they didn't try to go higher with it, like they initially did with the 3DS; that's about right.

The Circle Pad Pro added two extra shoulder buttons, not just a second analog stick. That's why I mentioned it. Technically it added 3 but the 3rd was an alternative "right shoulder button" to make using that easier with the layout of the addon.

On a handheld, having two shoulder buttons on each side -- again, through what, a horrible two per side design like the Wii CC? -- would not be an improvement, no.

I really don't buy your argument for not including the second analog stick. Maybe you don't like it, but what does it hurt to have MORE buttons? It's just more options available.

The fact that it'd split the market, and that that'd be a bad thing, is a pretty strong point. You don't do that just a year into your console's life. That angers your fanbase, of people who bought the original model, too much. And if only the larger model had it, it'd be pretty counter-intuitive, because the XL isn't a replacement, it's a supplement. So what do they do, release a new 3DS that adds the second stick too? And anger people who on the systems even more, all in the name of a pointless, unnecessary change? It'd be an awful idea, and it's good that they have not gone that way.

The fact is, a lot of games on the 3DS suffer for lack of a second stick. I just got done playing the Kingdom Hearts 3D demo, and the lack of a second stick to control the camera gets annoying. It's more so because I actually HAVE the circle pad pro and apparently KH3D won't be supporting it after all. The "support" for it in Kid Icarus is also pretty bad. That's the fault of the programmers though. Having a remodel that just added it in from the start would get more developers to support it. Yeah it splits the market, but that bridge was crossed the second they released the circle pad pro.

The thing basically was made for Monster Hunter 3G. People then blew it up into a much bigger thing than Nintendo clearly ever actually meant it to be. I don't have a 3DS yet, but I do have a DS, and I can't think of one DS game which has made me think "you know, what this game needs is a second stick/pad"... have I wished for one analog stick? Yes, of course. But two? No.

Anyway, the reason why few games are supporting it is because it's clearly meant not as a required addon, but an option for those few games like Monster Hunter which actually do benefit significantly from something like that. And clearly, that's where it's going to stay. We'll see what they do for it with the XL; will there be another addon for it, or will they just ditch the addon like they did the DS rumble pack, or what? We'll have to see.

If they had to release a bigger model, it should have been a bigger model of a true remodel of the base system. That's what I think anyway. I see why this wasn't announced at E3, it's a big disappointment.

No, you don't do a full remodel of a system just one year after its release. Quite a while in, when you're releasing a new, upgraded system, like the DS to DSi, maybe, but you really want a full remodel, with different controls on the system, in just the second year? Oh come on.

Anyway, it's certainly not a disappointment, it looks great. Looks like it's getting a mostly positive reception from the press and internet, too. I'm not surprised.

And with that now you know why I hate it..

-$200
$200 for that you can get a awesome system like a PS3, with games that aren't all made for three year old's.

So I should ignore anything you have to say about the system because all you've got are stupid, false, childish insults? Check.

-90% larger screen than the regular 3DS, and 46% better battery life -- this new model has 6-10 hours of battery life.
I agree with DJ, that's not showing me much value for my money.

It's only $30 more, for some definite improvements. The 3DS isn't cheap, I agree, but there IS good hardware in there, particularly for the 3D. It's the price it is for a reason, $170's actually under value for the hardware.

-Otherwise the same as the first version. No, no second analog stick, thankfully.
Again, I shop for hardware not 4 year old innovations.

Dual analog is highly overrated.

-Will launch in all white, red cover with black inside, or blue cover with black inside. Japan gets silver cover with black inside instead of blue.
Japan was like fuck America!

I'm sure we'll get a few more colors eventually.

-In Japan it won't come with an AC adapter, but in the US it will.
Then they were like, we fuck ourselves, because were so awesome.

Japan often has gotten a worse deal... like, even back on the NES and SNES, in Japan consoles never, ever came with packin games -- you always had to buy them separately. Here, though, consoles usually came with a game or two in the box. Japanese consumers are more willing to spend more for stuff.

-Better Start/Select/Home buttons (see the below pic)

Now if we could just get some decent games, that wasn't made for a old model, some decent developers on board, better graphics hardware, better controls. Need I say more?

The controls are fine, and the graphics hardware's fine too. As for the games, the 3DS has a decent game library so far. It is fairly early in the system's life, but it already has a small number of good games, and has more great-looking ones upcoming like Paper Mario 3DS and Etrian Odyssey IV. The library's coming along.

Now if you want a thin library... well, for that you've got the Vita. Now that has a thin library, and the poor sales to match.

[Sacred Jellybean]

I tried a demo 3DS at a Best Buy a year back, I found it massively underwhelming. I had to really squint to see any 3D. The two games I tried were some submarine game, and maybe Pilot Wings 3DS?

I don't get it to be honest, but maybe my eyesight is subpar. I'll probably be needing glasses in the next few years. D:

So I should ignore anything you have to say about the system because all you've got are stupid, false, childish insults? Check.

Damn Falcon! Represent!

[A Black Falcon]

Damn Falcon! Represent!

Saying that 3DS game are "for three year olds" deserves that kind of reply.

[Weltall]

I don't think three year-olds should probably even play a 3DS unless they want to develop astigmatism by the time they're in the third grade.