MO SADEK
Staff Writer
Over the last year, I’ve developed an attachment to my 3DS XL that some would consider obsessive. The 3DS has really encompassed everything that Nintendo is — it’s straight and to the point, easy to pick up and has a library that provides challenge to more seasoned players. In my opinion, Nintendo couldn’t have created a better handheld. However, for Nintendo, this was only the beginning of the plans for the 3DS.
Early last year there were rumors going around about a new 3DS variant in Japan known as the “New” 3DS. At first, it seemed unreasonable — the 3DS was only released in March of 2011 and the XL version in 2012. On top of that, 3DS games were still coming out.
A main concern for consumers was backwards compatibility, or the ability of old games to be played on the newer console. Even worse, Nintendo was still making variant 3DS XL — talk about mixed messages. The whole fiasco was confusing and unfavorably affected the public’s view of Nintendo.
Despite all the trouble it may have caused, the “New” 3DS may actually be a huge improvement on its predecessor. As both a poor college student and a gamer, it might be hard deciding if these upgrades are really worth the last of your Maria’s money until your next paycheck, but have no fear! In this article, we’ll take a look at all the improvements, pros and cons of the “New” 3DS XL.
PRO — Newly Redesigned Console
On the older 3DS XL models, the buttons were flush with the system. This basically meant that your fingers would get confused when moving over the buttons since you wouldn’t be able to tell if you were pushing on a button or your system; plus, it made the buttons harder to push down. On the new rendition of the console, the buttons are slightly raised, specifically the “Start” and “Select” buttons. These buttons have also been moved over to the right side in the area under the four standard buttons, so gone are the days of fumbling to pause or get to game menus.
The four X,Y, A and B buttons are now color-coded for easier identification. They’ve also been moved up on the console to make room for the “Select” and “Start” buttons. Early reports say that they feel better to push down, but we’ll leave the speculations out of this until the console actually arrives and we can test it ourselves.
Also, the game cartridge slot has changed. Rather than being on the back, top of the console, the slot will be located on the left, bottom side of the console. Nintendo has also made the slot push in a little more so the game is no longer flush with the console. This is great in terms of location, as you’ll be less likely to accidentally push the cartridge out of the DS during gameplay.
In addition, the console has added two more buttons to the back, LZ and RZ. They’re tucked in right next to the L and R buttons. Since Nintendo has already announced some new exclusives for the “New” 3DS, it seems like an obvious choice to update the control scheme and button layout.
PRO — Better Hardware
While hardware usually refers to all the buttons and physical pieces that make up an item, in this case it’s the components “under the hood” of the 3DS. To make it easy for the less savvy people out there, we’ll look at it from four different angles; RAM, or the memory the DS can access to help games run smoother; the processor, or the part that will help more operations on the 3DS take place; and the resolutions and physical screen sizes.
So on the plus side, the “New” 3DS has a four-core processor with one core dedicated to the operating system, whereas the 3DS XL has 3 cores, one specifically for the OS. This means that the “New” 3DS XL will have a bit more processing power to work with, so you can expect faster load times and better reaction times from the console. Also, the 3D effect will probably be less laggy since there’s now a lot more room in memory to work with, making the “New” 3DS a faster and smoother experience.
On top of this, the “New” 3DS has twice the amount of RAM, or random access memory, of the 3DS XL. This means that more data will be able to be temporarily stored at once. Think about the relationship between the processor and RAM like that between a brain and a book. With a faster brain, you’ll be able to go through more pages at one time while a larger book has more pages that can be read. In terms of the “New” 3DS XL, the new exclusive games will be able to take advantage of this extra memory and be more detailed while the older games will boot up and possibly run smoother.
EHHH… — C-Stick
There’s now a C-stick in the top right corner of the bottom touch screen. This basically takes the place of the old Circle Pad Pro, a bulky attachment to the 3DS XL that would allow for a second stick. The stick is mainly used for camera control for third person viewpoint games but has also been tested to work with Smash Brothers to make some of the more difficult smash attacks easier to execute. It’ll be interesting to see how this addition plays out. On the plus side, it seems like the stick has a lot of potential in the gamespace; however, it seems to be small and might be troublesome to use.
CON — Have Fun Getting to the Memory Card
This is more of an annoyance than an actual problem; however, it will definitely affect the user experience. On the older model of the 3DS/3DS XL, players were able to swap out memory cards externally. For most handhelds since the PSP, an external SD slot is a necessity as it allows for players who have a lot of content to store it on various memory cards.
In the case of the “New” 3DS, players will have to use a screwdriver to actually access the memory card. While this gives access to the battery, which is great, it won’t allow for the same flexibility users are used to. To counteract this, I would recommend getting a larger card on launch and installing it early — that way you won’t have to worry about swapping cards down the road. Regardless, you’ll have to buy a new card since the “New” 3DS will only take micro SD cards now. Then again, this is really only relevant to those players who download games and content from the Nintendo E-Shop.
PRO – BEST FOR LAST- Enhanced 3D
If you’ve seen early images of the “New” 3DS, the two cameras on the inside probably come off as strange, but they serve as an integral part of the console’s claim to fame. On the 3DS XL, finding that sweet spot for the 3D to look as intended is a task in itself; you’ve got to position your head just right, adjust the slider so you won’t get a headache and pray that you don’t have an awkward itch that would cause you to go back to step one.
Nintendo probably realized this was a huge issue and created a system of cameras at the top of the 3DS that will now track your head as you play and adjust the stereoscopic 3D accordingly, meaning you get 3D EVERYWHERE!!! Plus, the new 3D effect has been described as “looking into a diorama” rather than having the graphics “pop out.” This, in turn, will cause less strain on the eyes and possibly rid players of the headaches commonly associated with playing in 3D on the old DS.
Is It Worth It?
Well, it depends on how much you really want it. As someone who loves his 3DS and just bought it, I’m more than happy to turn it in at GameStop for $100 toward the $200 price point of the “New” 3DS.
I just bought my handheld a little over a year ago; however, I don’t want to miss out on any new exclusive titles coming out on the “New” 3DS, and there’s a lot of benefit to getting one. Currently, I cannot use the 3D feature since it causes headaches, and that’s one of the main reasons I bought the console in the first place. Sure, $100 is a lot to pay for one small feature, but the console also has a lot of hardware upgrades I’d like to take advantage of, as well.
Maybe you only bought your 3DS for a few core games and don’t really care about anything new coming out, or you don’t have 100 bucks to drop on a remake of the same console — that’s fine. The “New” 3DS is, at its core, a 3DS, and you won’t miss out on too much. If you are just getting into the 3DS scene, you couldn’t have picked a better time. The “New” 3DS XL is the handheld Nintendo should have released in 2011. It picks up on the small things that the 3DS didn’t do and has the power to do things that you’d never think you’d want.
Whether you get it or not, the console is coming out on Feb. 14. Good luck trying to find one — presale 3DS XLs sold out within an hour.