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NEW Nintendo 3DS (& XL)

Apparently Josh at the Bitblock got a free New Nintendo 3DS. Probably for early review and whatnot.

I doubt it was free. He's tied with Nintendo of America, not Japan. It doesn't make sense for NoJ to give him a free console to review when he's not partnered with them..
 
Alright, I spent like 7 hours dabbling on my recently arrived New 3DS from Japan. And I can say that the new system enticed me to play more with my current 3DS games than on the older models. Here are my initial impressions:

- The new 3D depth management by tracking my head from the front camera definitely gave me a significantly larger sweet spot than any non-New 3DS model thus far. Even if I deliberately quickly turn my angle of viewing, the 3D adapts fairly shortly accordingly. As long as you try to get your head directly facing to the screen and play with a well-lit environment, you shouldn't be seeing unwanted "ghosting" effects too often. Turns out that you can calibrate the 3D head tracking feature and even completely deactivate it if you're going to play in a dark room. I'm glad that I won't have to deactivate 3D quite often as I would on my older 3DS models.

- The overall UI speed is considerably improved on HOME Menu, eShop and Miiverse. If you have a decent Internet speed, it'll be twice the speed of your old 3DS. I definitely appreciate how snappier the interface has gotten! Also, it's worth mentioning that New 3DS enhanced games (such as Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Monster Hunter 4G) will benefit significantly reduced load times and will enable Internet Browser and Miiverse.

- The C-Stick did took some time for me to get used, because the force feedback is tougher to perceive than with the Circle Pad. It's a bit easier to slip my thumb away from it if I don't apply enough pressure to the stick. Thankfully, most games (including those who are compatible with Circle Pad Pro) that would use it are mostly relegated to camera controls and move shortcuts. Did I mentioned that you could move the cursor on the HOME Menu with the C-Stick?

- The standard New 3DS model is obviously much more comfortable than the original 3DS. The latter's rough edges that murdered people's hands are practically gone and its teeny-weeny size of screens is slightly increased, but enough for me to not get tired during hours of gameplay without relying on XL's overblown screens.

- If you want to perform a system transfer from old 3DS to New 3DS, I highly recommend to opt for the Computer route if you happen to have the right screwdriver, a SD card slot and a microSD adapter. This is the fastest method. Don't bother with the first option unless you're dealing with a very strict Internet data cap or a poor Internet connection, or simply didn't downloaded any large game to begin with. Trust me, it's very very slow. With around 6GB worth of data, it took me four hours and half to complete the transfer. I'm not entirely sure on how the second transfer option works, but I assume you transfer everything from your SD card (including the saves) but the downloaded games themselves. You can then redownload the missing games free of charge from eShop later on, and an opportunity to take advantage of the system's 2x faster download speed.

- New 3DS microSD card management via a PC that is connected to the network can be useful if you lack both the appropriate screwdriver, microSD adapter and a compatible SD card slot from computer. Good for simply importing your pictures and save datas (if you know where they are), but greatly daunting if you're going for a full backup. The data transfer speed is apparently capped less than 1MB per second (in my case, 420 KB per second on my 700 KB/s Internet) and can be worse depending on the wireless router's capacity and how many devices are actually interacting with it. No wonder why they always ask you to keep the system charging its battery. I'd rather plug my microSD card to my computer with my microSD adapter and manually manage files.



I recommend getting any New 3DS model if you haven't gotten a 3DS yet or aren't satisfied with your current model. Otherwise, you should hold on purchasing it until later, as there won't be a single New 3DS exclusive game going to be available before the end of the year.
 
nintendo australia posted a pic of the box for the regular new 3ds, which is colorful like the japanese one - so i'd assume they' keep it similar when they release it in NA and EU

B0NSwT-IQAAUoIN.jpg
 
My New 3DS should be arriving by Tuesday at the earliest- let's just hope UK customs doesn't decide to slow it down :/ I have also ordered a 32GB micro sd to put in it which should arrive on Monday, hopefully it will work fine because if I want to get any more Japanese games I'm going through the e-shop so I'll need a bigger sd card- my friend studying in Japan comes back home in May so no more free games. (Finally I have a use for those mini screwdrivers that you get in joke cards)
 
nintendo australia posted a pic of the box for the regular new 3ds, which is colorful like the japanese one - so i'd assume they' keep it similar when they release it in NA and EU

B0NSwT-IQAAUoIN.jpg
I like how apparently a handheld console qualifies for "mild violence" in your region.
 
It sucks that the xl doesn't have face plates ;_; i would get the smaller one, but after getting a 3dsxl i can never go back! o.e
 
I am definitely buying one:) Probably in like a year. Other things are taking priority on my gaming wish list~
 
AHHHH this looks so nice and I'd want maybe, but the current 3DS XL style looks better imo. The new ones kinda reminds me of iphone lol. and it would take me a while to get used to where the stylus is... but anyway, looks cool.
 
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I personally don't see the point in this. Like yeah it's cool, but I don't know. It just didn't quite feel necessary? Mind you I never thought XL's were necessary either.
 
Planning on getting one someday, since my older model ran into the black screen of death recently. It still works ok, but it'll be the first one of mine to be replaced. Then I'll replace my mom's.
 
The blue new 3ds xl is supposed to look like the gamecube and the white new 3ds is supposed to look like the snes
 
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