New 3DS and Xenoblade Chronicles

[Razmos]

Sigh, I remember getting the original 3DS shortly after it was released, and i'm still using the same one to this day. It really sucks that they keep coming out with these newer versions because it is pretty pricey to upgrade. It was bad enough when the XL came out and I was like "Omg bigger screen" but now this one has better 3D as well and the interchangable plates and hnghhgh.

I really want one but I can't justify buying a brand new one when my old one works fine :(

At least the new dashboard themes being released will breathe some new life into my old 3DS.

[Lozmaster]

It's no surprise that there was a new iteration of the 3DS. We've had a new handheld iteration roughly every year since the DSi launched in 2010.

Don't want to upgrade? Fine, that's ok, it's virtually guarenteed that the next proper nintendo handheld upgrade will support at least one gen of backwards compatability (i.e. all 3DS games), so you can play the games then.

Personally, I'm waiting to hear if the improved hardware is enough for them to easily bring GBA/SNES virtual console to the handheld, because if it is, then I'm in.
If not, I can wait to play xenoblade portable for a few years.

[Polantaris]

Probably a great thing to get if you are really into your Monster Hunter, they're not stupid with having a MH4U special edition New LL already.

I doubt there will be a MH4U one, but there most likely will be a MH4G one, especially with MH4G coming out on the same day it launches.

[Kirov]

I doubt there will be a MH4U one, but there most likely will be a MH4G one, especially with MH4G coming out on the same day it launches.

Sorry not really a MH fan so I probably got the name wrong. Anyway it looks like this.

[Niernen]

Sigh, I remember getting the original 3DS shortly after it was released, and i'm still using the same one to this day.

We suffer together.

While I don't particularly like the fact that Nintendo releases a new handheld every year to every other year, it does let them judge what sells well and what doesn't, and what features they should include in the next handheld. I wonder when they will replace the DS brand. Gameboy was 1989-2003, so around 14 years. DS has been around for 10, so I wonder if we will get a new handheld brand in another 5 years or so.

Nintendo should really release their popular older gameboy games on the android and apple markets. Put them for something like $5-$15 and people would grab them up.

[Lozmaster]

Nintendo should really release their popular older gameboy games on the android and apple markets. Put them for something like $5-$15 and people would grab them up.

People don't grab anything that isn't named minecraft on phones for $5 or more.

Releasing nintendo games on phones just stops little jimmy ever getting a 3DS/current nintendo handheld, because when parent is asked, they get told to play the games on the handmedown phone they recieved from the parent unit with games that cost 1/6th of the price instead.

The damage from releasing nintendo games on phones would be catastrophic for the companies own hardware.

[Polantaris]

That's an especially terrible idea when Emulators run rampant all over the iPhone and Android markets.

[Kubi]

Sigh, I remember getting the original 3DS shortly after it was released, and i'm still using the same one to this day. It really sucks that they keep coming out with these newer versions because it is pretty pricey to upgrade. It was bad enough when the XL came out and I was like "Omg bigger screen" but now this one has better 3D as well and the interchangable plates and hnghhgh.

I really want one but I can't justify buying a brand new one when my old one works fine :(

At least the new dashboard themes being released will breathe some new life into my old 3DS.

I think I might be one of the few people that actually prefers the original 3DS over the XL version. I like it being smaller and more portable. And from what I've seen, the XL seems to stretch out the pixels a bit more in some games compared to the original. So bigger screens doesn't always mean better resolution for certain games. But I do agree keeping up with these 'new' consoles is a pain that only has a few changes.

The only thing that would bother me is the better CPU which would mean faster load times and extra features being added in some games. Sort of how Pokemon B/W2 only had extra features in the DSi. Really though, if they do the same thing with Pokemon OR/AS, we can expect some backlash... This new 3DS won't be released outside of Japan for a while might add to it, but the time passing may just make me not care about it until then.

Guess we should've really expected Nintendo to release something new to accommodate a few of the biggest game releases right before the holidays. I can also sort of tell they didn't want it to make the CPU too powerful that would make it comparable to the Wii U. It can already play Xenoblade, so what if they released something like SSB brawl being NWifi supported?

[Dudewitbow]

it would still take awhile for the mobile cpus to catch up to the console cpus. Note that the resolution of the wii is technically higher than the 3ds with 3d off. and the Wii still has more pixel count than the 3DS with 3d on ( 640*480 = 307200 vs 800*240 = 192000). With a slightly lower load on GPU it probably frees up a bit of CPU room on post processing effects. The problem was that Xenoblade Chronicles was one of the hardest games to run on the Wii. Only its Japan copy ran the game at 30fps. All other regions ran the game natively at 25 fps instead due to performance. Heck the game runs pretty terribly even in emulation unless you brute force it with a strong computer. Its pretty much a mission for Monolith Soft to optimize Xenoblade Chronicles for its mobile debut, and they really needed the extra CPU performance to close the gap between the 3ds' cpu and the Wii's cpu. Ideally if they could hit 30 fps, the 3ds' gameplay will be smoother than most of the worlds gameplay when played on the Wii.

[Hypermug]

I kind of like the throwback to the Japanese SNES controller.

After reading that the regular New 3DS has an increased screen size over the original, I might just get it over the XL.

It's those little things that matter :]