50 replies to this topic

[Kevin]

At exactly forty minutes and forty-seven seconds into the June 22nd installment of the Japanese Nintendo Direct, Nintendo Global President Satoru Iwata made a surprising revelation. Like an instant bolt of lightning, Iwata shocked Nintendo fans across all stretches of the world with news of the newly designed 3DS model, the 3DS LL (known in other regions as the 3DS XL). Actually, most of the North American region, at this point, was completely oblivious to the fact. North American fans weren't watching the Japanese Nintendo Direct. They were waiting for the North American Nintendo Direct to air, a whole two hours later than the Japanese installment. Why would they watch the Japanese Nintendo Direct in the first place? They wouldn't be able to understand anything, so it would be a total waste of time. Right? Well, not exactly, no.

Feel free to skip directly to the following sections:
Pricing and AvailabilitySpecificationsWhat's IncludedImages (3DS XL)Images (3DS LL)
In this case, pictures are worth a thousand words and you didn't have to know a bit of Japanese to understand what took place on the "big screen." It wasn't until the news spread like wildfire, as it blazed through the channels of the Internet and onto blogs and websites, that most North American fans found out. By this time, everyone in North America knew of the 3DS LL before their Nintendo Direct even commenced. At this point, nothing else really mattered to anyone because this was the cake. Nothing could top that; not even an additional layer of software frosting. Now, it was only a matter of time before the "Regginator" regurgitated the announcement in English.

Many of us had already written off the possibility of a revised 3DS. In fact, Nintendo even brushed off the potential of a 3DS remake when asked during an interview shortly after the E3 expo. Nintendo didn't fool all of us though. They're great at what they do, and definitely have their own little bag of tricks and treats.

Below is a conundrum of information and images, collected from the Official Nintendo of Japan website, as well as the North American, Japanese and European Nintendo Direct videos. Let's take a look at pricing and availability, specifications and what you can expect to find inside the box. We've also included several images for both the 3DS XL and 3DS LL.

Pricing and Availability

• Europe - July 28th, 2012 (Blue/ Black, Red/ Black and Silver/ Black) £179.99
  
• Japan - July 28th, 2012 (White, Red/ Black and Silver/ Black) ¥18,900
  
• North America - August 19th, 2012 (Blue/ Black and Red/ Black) $199.99

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Screen Size
3DS XL/ LL:

• Upper Screen is 4.88 inches (124mm) - approximately 16.77 million colors are viewable, widescreen LCD with integrated Autostereoscopic, 240 dots vertical (horizontal) × 800 dots / (46.08mm vertical 76.8mm × horizontal
  
• Bottom Screen is 4.18 inches (106mm) - approximately 16.77 million colors are viewable, LCD with touch input feature type 240 3.02 × 320 dots vertical dots next to / (46.08mm 61.44mm × vertical horizontal

3DS:

• Upper Screen is 3.53 inches (90mm)
  
• Bottom Screen is 3.02 inches (77mm)

* comparatively, the 3DS XL/ LL has 90% larger screen sizes than the 3DS

Physical Dimensions (closed)
3DS XL/ LL:

• Length: 6.14 inches (156mm)
  
• Width: 3.66 inches (93mm)
  
• Height: 0.87 inches (22mm)

3DS:

• Length: 5.28 inches (134mm)
  
• Width: 2.91 inches (74mm)
  
• Height: 0.83 inches (21mm)

Weight
3DS XL/ LL:

• 336 grams (11.85oz)

3DS:

• 235 grams (8.29oz)

Battery Life
3DS XL/ LL:

• between 3.5 hours and 6.5 hours (when playing 3DS software)
  
• between 6 hours and 10 hours (when playing DS software)

3DS:

• between 3 hours and 5 hours (when playing 3DS software)
  
• between 5 hours and 8 hours (when playing DS software)

Bundled SD Card
The 3DS XL/ LL will come bundled with a 4GB SD card, as opposed to a 2GB SD card as bundled with the 3DS.

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What's Included

• AC adapter and charging cradle will not be included for European and Japanese bundles
  
• AC adapter will be included for North American bundles; no charging cradle
  
• Nintendo 3DS XL/ LL system console
  
• Stylus

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3DS XL Images

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3DS LL Images



























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[King Mika]

Wow. This is not a good year for my wallet:

• New PC.
  
• Nintendo 3DS LL.
  
• Nintendo Wii U.
  
• Microsoft Surface.

[Kevin]

King Mika, on 22 June 2012 - 02:41 AM, said:

Wow. This is not a good year for my wallet:

• New PC.
  
• Nintendo 3DS LL.
  
• Nintendo Wii U.
  
• Microsoft Surface.

You're getting a 3DS LL?

[Naito]

And why was this not at E3!?

Anyway, looks good. I need one :3

[Kevin]

Naito, on 22 June 2012 - 02:56 AM, said:

And why was this not at E3!?

They were keeping it a secret, hoping everyone would think that they've moved on to focus on the Wii U and other future hardware. Nintendo even stated in an article about a week or so ago, that they have no "plans" on developing/ designing a new model 3DS. Ha! Liars! I didn't fall for that nonsense for one second.

[Naito]

That frustrates me. But... I do reallly want that red one.

And since E3 was so poor :/. Something like this... could've really been... good? interesting? nice, even?

[Kevin]

Naito, on 22 June 2012 - 03:06 AM, said:

I do reallly want that red one.

I do like that one too.

Naito, on 22 June 2012 - 03:06 AM, said:

And since E3 was so poor :/. Something like this... could've really been... good? interesting? nice, even?

It's all a big marketing game. Nintendo had this planned out from the start. They knew they would come into E3, have a so-so response from the consumers, then bust in like John Wayne two weeks later with a new-and-improved 3DS just in time for all the new 2012 releases. This year is big...really big for the big N.

[King Mika]

Kevin, on 22 June 2012 - 02:44 AM, said:

You're getting a 3DS LL?

Yeah. The Nintendo Wii U and Microsoft Surface are the priority though.

[Kevin]

King Mika, on 22 June 2012 - 03:32 AM, said:

Yeah.

I think you meant 3DS XL.

The 3DS LL is only for Japan.

[Vicki]

Hmm ... I wouldn't give up my 3DS for this .. I still need it for walk-abouts. But I might sell my DSiXL for this. I'm not using it all that much anymore.

[Kevin]

That's a great idea, Vicki. It would be totally worth it in my opinion as well.

[Megkipz]

I will totally get one, the only thing I dislike about the 3DS is that when I open it, the hinge feels so weak, like it'll break apart at any moment. The XL looks so much more sturdy.

Would we be able to move our friend codes? I don't want to have to get every ones friend codes all over again

[Vicki]

God, I really need to get a life! Why do I keep coming back to look at these pictures?
I don't need another console. And I absolutely LOVE my 3DS as it is. If anything, I wouldn't mind swapping it for a different colour. So why do I keep thinking about the new XL? I gotta keep telling myself that this beefy thing would be much harder to carry around, and I always take my 3DS whenever I go out out, even if I'm just walking to the post box. This XL wouldn't get any play coins, or Street Passes, or be used for taking 3D photos. It just looks too big to be portable. But wouldn't it be nice to have for playing Animal Crossing???

[aquizero]

Yeah the American Nintendo Direct is calling it 3DS XL. I am just a bit saddened by this because come August my system will seem old now. The "first" not as good model which irks the hell out of me. I mean why wouldn't someone want larger screens for drawing (colors 3D/ Swapnote) and a better battery and also the removal of the green 3D led on the top right screen. I have so many games on my current system the only way this would work is if I sell my game to a friend who would pay me up front and allow me to "system transfer" my existing account to the new system. It is a lot of work! It is also another way us "ambassadors" get slapped in the face. So, no I am really not happy that Nintendo did this again. This will make me reconsider ever buying an original handheld model...

Sorry but it really upsets me.

[Vicki]

OK ... so I didn't really think I wanted one, and now I see they're coming out with a new version of Art Academy for 3DS. The whole reason I bought a DSi XL was to use with Art Academy. So now I'm thinking I might want this new XL. But still, I don't think I'd want to carry it around with me. It's just too big.

@Aquizero - Do you know someone who would buy your current 3DS? People I know who have done a system transfer say it's pretty easy. Everything gets copied over.
You say you would reconsider buying a console on release again, but haven't you enjoyed all the time you've played on your 3DS? I remember lots of people said they didn't want to buy one when it first came out, and they wanted to wait for an XL version. But if they'd have waited, that would have been 16 months they would have been been playing on their DSis or worse - their old DSes.