In 2008, Nintendo introduced the DSi. One year later, Nintendo expanded the DSi line-up with a larger model, the DSi XL. In 2011, Nintendo replaced the DSi with an all-new handheld, the 3DS. And now, one year later, Nintendo has introduced — wait for it — a second member of the newly minted 3DS family, the 3DS XL. Who could have possibly seen this coming?
Nintendo weirdly doesn't want their handheld line-ups to match — they don't want the regular and XL models to look like "just" two different sizes of the same thing. And so the 3DS has a fresh design, with more rounded corners and matte plastic instead of then weird tri-tone glossy look of the original 3DS. But the big news here is the screens — with a 4.2" touchscreen on the bottom and a 4.9" 3D screen on the top, the screens are 90% larger than those on the regular model. Notably, battery life has actually gone
up even with the larger screens, as the new enclosure has room for a larger battery as well.
Many of the design changes are welcome, like switching from a weird squishy membrane for the Select-Home-Start keys to actual buttons. But some of the other changes seem more like cost-cutting measures. The 3DS XL reduces the ridiculous amount of blinkenlights on the original model — I believe I counted
seven LEDs on the original, and now that's down to four. (Most of the LEDs — such as the one helpfully informing you when the screen is in 3D mode — were unnecessary anyway; Nintendo just really likes sticking lights and labels everywhere.) The 3DS XL is available in red and blue (and in Europe, silver as well), but only the top of the units is different — the bottom half and interior is matte black on each. The stylus is no longer metal and extendable, a charging cradle is no longer included, and in Europe, the AC adaptor isn't included either — though anyone upgrading from a DSi, DSi XL, or 3DS can continue to use the same charger.
It sounds like a lot of cost-cutting, but it's easy to forget that the current 3DS package was originally designed as a $249 bundle, before Nintendo was forced to slash the price. The 3DS XL, with its larger screens and battery and 4GB SD card, will sell for just $199. (I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo eventually tweaks the the smaller 3DS as well, reducing the number of LEDs and differently-colored pieces in an attempt to make it cheaper to build.)
If they really wanted to make the 3DS cheaper to produce, they'll have done something about the ridiculous 400 pages of full-color documentation that comes with it. Seriously, Nintendo, explaining everything about every app is not how you make something easy to use. The iPhone comes with, like, a
card.
I traded in my 3DS (so, uh, don't message me?) and I'll be picking up one of these. They'll be available in Europe starting at the end of July, and it launches in North America on August 19.
