Skip to main content

Nintendo Announces The “New Nintendo 3DS”

New Nintendo 3DS

First released in 2011, the Nintendo 3DS has been re-released both as the bigger 3DS XL and as the the cheaper, kid-friendly 2DS. In today’s “Nintendo Direct” video update, Nintendo announced the “New Nintendo 3DS,” an update to the platform that’s somewhere between a minor update and a full-fledged follow-up.

The most obvious changes are immediately visible on the outside of the device. The face buttons — A, B, X, and Y — are colored in a pattern similar to those on the classic SNES console. Instead of one button on each shoulder of the device, there are now two. If you look just above the face buttons, there’s now a second analog nub.

Looking deeper, Nintendo says that the console will have a faster processor and more RAM. That means the device can offer better visuals than before, letting developers bring over experiences closer to what they offer on Nintendo’s Wii U (the fact that it now offers a control scheme that’s almost exactly the same helps too). Unfortunately, that also means that games built specifically for the New Nintendo 3DS (like an upcoming port of the cult-hit RPG Xenoblade Chronicles) won’t be backwards compatible with older models.

Nintendo also packed NFC into the device so that it can be used with Nintendo’s Skylander-like Amiibo figurines. Super Smash Bros., one of the first games Nintendo showed with Amiibo support built-in, comes out in October, so it’s probably no coincidence that the New Nintendo 3DS comes out in Japan October 11. Unfortunately, there’s no word from Nintendo on the release date here in North America or in Europe.

The New Nintendo 3DS will come in two sizes, one roughly the same size as the original 3DS and another that’s roughly the same size as the 3DS XL (though each will have a bigger screen than either of those previous models). Speaking of the screen, Nintendo claims that it’s finally fixed one of the biggest issues with its 3D implementation: if you didn’t look at it head on, it was a blurry mess. Now, the device uses the front-facing camera and gyroscopes to “aim” the 3D effect at your eyes, like a cheap version of the Amazon Fire Phone’s Dynamic Perspective feature.

While it’s nice to see a Nintendo release a faster version of its popular console with better controls, I can’t help be confused by how Nintendo chose to announce it. The New Nintendo 3DS is backwards compatible with older 3DS games,  but it will also have its own exclusive titles. Is it supposed to be its own, new device, or not? If it is, I worry that Nintendo is shooting itself in the foot by not coming out with a bigger bang and a new name. This new device is an even smaller incremental jump than from the Wii to the Wii U, and anecdotally, most people I’ve asked over the last few years didn’t realize that those are two different systems.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Samsung Galaxy S5 Review and Giveaway

Few smartphones are as aggressively marketed as Samsung’s Galaxy S5. The S5 can no longer be considered brand-new — but it  is  Samsung’s flagship, at least for the next few months. With a gorgeous screen, a capable camera, a waterproof build, and a user-replaceable battery, the Galaxy S5 has a lot to offer… at least on paper. Let’s find out how good it really is. What Makes This Review Different There are about a million Galaxy S5 reviews out there. Why should you read this one? Two keys points make our review different: We bought our own device . Unlike many tech blogs, we don’t use a review unit Samsung gave us. We went out to the store and bought one, just like you would. This means everything you read here is truly impartial – we owe Samsung nothing. We used it for more than a month . Some sites rush to be the first to publish a review on a new device. That’s not how we do things. I used the Galaxy S5 as my main (and only) Android phone for nearly two months,...
Read more

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9000 Review and Giveaway

When it comes to massive phones, nothing is more iconic than the Samsung Galaxy Note. It has gained popularity not only due to its size, but its additional features such as a stylus and a larger battery make it a more useful phone. Samsung released the third generation of the Galaxy Note in October, updating the phablet with a larger screen and improved hardware. Read through our review, then join the giveaway to win the  Samsung Galaxy Note 3 ! Competitors Of course, other Android competitors haven’t let the $640  Galaxy Note 3  be the only player in the phablet market. There are others such as the  Sony Xperia Z Ultra , the Samsung Galaxy Mega , and the other more common phones that are reaching 5″ screens such as the  Samsung Galaxy S4 , the  HTC One , and the  Nexus 5 . Unlike the normal-sized top contenders, the Galaxy Note 3 has a bigger screen and larger battery. It also offers specific features (surrounding the S Pen stylus) th...
Read more

Ex-Skypers Launch Virtual Whiteboard Deekit

Although seriously long in the tooth and being disrupted by a plethora of startups, for many years Skype has existed as an almost ubiquitous app in any remote team’s toolkit. So it seems apt that a new startup founded by a team of ex-Skype employees is set to tackle another aspect of online collaboration. Deekit, which exits private beta today, is a virtual and collaborative whiteboard to help remote teams work smarter. The Tallinn, Estonia-based startup is headed up by founder and CEO, Kaili Kleemeier, who was previously a Head of Operations at Skype. She and three colleagues quit the Internet calling giant in 2012 and spent a year researching ideas in the remote team space. They ended up focusing on creating a new virtual whiteboard, born out of Kleemeier’s experience collaborating with technical teams remotely, specifically helping Skype deal with incident management. “Working with remote teams has been a challenge in many ways – cultural differences, language differences, a...
Post a Comment
Read more