Nintendo is at it again with a pretty big, but not unseen, announcement regarding their very popular line of 3DS handheld devices. During today’s Nintendo Direct presentation the company announced two new versions of the handheld. Keeping things simple, Nintendo is naming both of these units New 3DS and “New” 3DS XL, because if there’s one thing Nintendo is known for it’s for choosing names that don’t confuse consumers.
Naming convention aside, both units do offer up enough changes that may have you thinking about upgrading, or if you are like me and have a 2DS (I was slow to adopt the DS brand) this might be the time to jump onboard. Well, until Nintendo surprises nobody and releases a “New” “New” 3DS before next holiday season.
There are a few cosmetic changes that you will notice right off the bat here. The standard “New” 3DS (I’m really going to hate having to keep referring to it as that) has a different button styling, channeling the controller of the Super Famicom. It’s a tiny change, but against the white “New” 3DS it stands out in a pretty striking manner.
But don’t think this “New” 3DS (seriously, how long before we can stop referring to it like that, because I’m already over it) is just a fancy coat of new paint. The handheld has been outfitted with a brand new analog stick on the right side of the unit. Users have been clamoring for dual joystick support for some time now (can anyone remember that clunky dual analog attached we got some years back) and it looks like Nintendo has taken the hint, sort of.
Taking a look at the picture of the unit, it looks less like an analog stick and more like a nub. Those o a certain age will get direct flashbacks of early laptop nubs before the advent of the mouse trackpad. That’s right kids, we used to work on our laptops without the use of a trackpad; Those were crazy times.
Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata said that the new analog stick would work much in the same way the yellow C-stick did on the classic Gamecube controller. My memory may be a bit hazy, but I remember using the C-stick primarily to control the camera when I was playing, so if that’s the case here I’m okay having it. Although, I would have much preferred to see a full-sized analog stick be added.
Additionally, Nintendo has added two shoulder buttons on either side of the 3DS to give players better control options. This is fine, but our concern is whether the addition of these new buttons and analog nub will see developers creating games that only function on this new “New” 3DS. Nintendo has been known to update its handhelds time and time again, but this is the first time that I know of where such a large functionality change that could affect gameplay has been done.
The changes keep coming though, as the “New” 3DS has built-in NFC technology that will allow the unit to work with the newly announced line of Amiibo figures. We got a chance to check these figures out during both E3 and San Diego Comic-Con this summer and they looked stunning. Nintendo is saying that the figures will retail for $12.99 when the release later this year.
But wait, there’s more! As if all that wasn’t enough, Nintendo has also added a new microSD card reader to the unit right below the 3DS base panel. Not sure why they went the microSD route as the 3DS isn’t a tiny machine to begin with, but having that option is still pretty cool. They could have easily created some idiotic proprietary media format and charged an arm and a leg for it. That’s right, I’m looking at you PSP/Vita/Minidisc/Beta/ Everything unit they put out.
These new “New” 3DS models will be available for purchase on October 11th, but as of this writing they will only be available on release in Japan. Nintendo has said that worldwide consumers can expect the “New” 3DS sometime in 2015. The current Japanese pricing for the units puts them at about $150 for the smaller version and $180 for the XL.
About Author
