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Nintendo announces $199 3DS XL with 4.88-inch top screen, available August 19th
Folks holding their breath for a "3DS Lite" might want to exhale -- Nintendo has decided to go a different route. Company head honcho Satoru Iwata revealed the 3DS LL this evening on Nintendo Direct, featuring a 4.88-inch and 4.18-inch top and bottom screens, respectively. The new hardware adds over an inch to the current 3DS' display, and ships with a 4GB SD card, to boot. The oversized handheld doesn't adopt the Circle Pad Pro's second analog input, however, retaining just a single thumbpad on the console's port side. Japanese gamers will be able to pick up a 3DS LL in white, as well as in two-tone red / black or silver / white on July 28th for ¥18,900 (about $235). In the US, of course, the handheld will be rebranded as the 3DS XL, just like its predecessor's supersized variant, hitting Yankee shores (in red and blue, no less) on August 19th for $200. %Gallery-158888%
Nintendo may have supersized 3DS with 4.3-inch screen in store for E3, Mario never looked bigger (update: Nintendo response)
Nintendo might have more up its E3 sleeve than just final Wii U hardware and a boatload of franchise games. According to Nikkei, the Japanese console legend is readying a version of the 3DS with a big 4.3-inch main display. That's smaller than on some smartphones we've seen, but a more than substantial jump from the 3.5-inch original. We might not even have long to wait: the trade paper claims that this biggest of all Nintendo handhelds could be ready as soon as the summer, just in time to squeak in some vacation playtime (and prepare us for Luigi's Mansion 2). As always, rumors such as these aren't guaranteed roadmaps; don't be surprised if we just see a regular-sized 3DS in plaid instead. If the plans are real, however, expect the DSi XL to develop feelings of inadequacy. Update: Nintendo has been irked enough by the claims to issue a response, although it's non-committal in what it's denying: it says there's a "number of mistakes" in an article that's "entirely speculation," but it won't say what's wrong and is careful to stress that it hasn't unveiled anything yet. We'll add an extra grain of salt to the rumor, but we won't completely rule it out.
Nintendo DSi drops to $100, DSi XL drops to $130 on May 20th
Three-dimensional gaming not your thing? Then Nintendo's latest price drop might just grab you. It's cast an eye over the rest of its portable gaming family and decided to cut the cost on both the DSi (down to $100) and the hulking DSi XL (dropped to $130). These new prices will kick off on May 20th -- exactly the same day as this purple mess.
Nintendo looks to keep you warm, bundled even, with two more 3DS packages
So you've got a few folks on your holiday shopping list that just aren't Zelda fans. You can still spring for some Nintendo hardware with two more bundles due out December 4th. Inside, you'll find a pink Nintendo 3DS paired with your choice of nintendogs + cats: French Bulldog and New Friends or nintendogs + cats: Toy Poodle and New Friends. Both of the aforementioned bundles will set you back $169.99 -- the same cost of a lonely 3DS system purchased solo. If a pink handheld just isn't what you're after, you may opt for one of The Big N's other bundles already on shelves, including the Midnight Blue DSi XL. In need of a quick refresher before hitting the mall? Check out the PR below for a complete list of Nintendo's holiday package offerings.
Nintendo DSi XL bundles land on November 6th, just in time for the holidays
Looking to spring for a new handheld gaming system this Christmas? The Big N is doing its darndest to nudge you in that direction with a new spin on the Metallic Rose and Midnight Blue versions of the DSi XL. Both painted handhelds will be available in bundles alongside Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!. These will set you back $170 a pop for each package deal, and you've got about a week to search the couch cushions for spare coin. You know, just in case the Mini-land ruckus can't wait for Santa's delivery.
Nintendo sells over 50 million DS units, 3DS sales fall flat in comparison
Nintendo's twin-screen wonder has seen almost as many reinventions as Lady Gaga, so it may not come as a huge shock to hear that the DS (in all its guises) has now sold over 50 million units in the US. The home entertainment maestros are still chasing similar success for its three-dimensional sibling, the 3DS, however. Nintendo has managed to sell almost half a million three dee units units after its weighty price cut, but there's now some very potent competitors seeking their own slice of the (portable) gaming pie. Good luck, Nintendo, you're probably going to need it.
Gorilla goes hands-on with Nintendo DSi XL at the San Francisco Zoo
Looks like Nintendo's DSi XL has finally found its target audience. Video after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
How would you change Nintendo's DSi XL?
It's bigger, it's bolder, but is it really that much better? Nintendo's heralded DSi line grew in more ways than one late last month, and now that you've had a handful of weekends to toy with yours, it's time to answer one majorly important question: how would you change it? We found in our review that the DSi XL was a solid option for those without a DSi of any kind, but we didn't feel that it was worth the $190 if you were just upgrading. For those that bought in, do you find yourself agreeing? Is the new size something you're into? Would you have made it a touch larger / smaller? Is the screen up to snuff? Do you think Nintendo went far enough with the advancements? Open up in comments below -- just keep it clean, okay? Your kids are probably reading.
Was Nintendo pressured into revealing the 3DS early?
Hey, remember when Nintendo unveiled a 3D Nintendo DS, the 3DS, completely out of the blue? And you know how they announced it just a week before we Americans finally got our hands on the DSi XL -- effectively making it seem obsolete before it even hit retail? It seemed like curiously unfortunate timing, but according to M2 Senior Analyst Billy Pigeon, there was something more sinister behind the surprise unveil: the Japanese media. "Apparently, the Japanese press was all over it and talked with suppliers there and Nintendo just wanted to get out ahead by breaking the news to prevent a leak." That they did, but they also subverted the US launch of the oversized DSi in the process. It's a gaming system few really thought they needed in the first place, and now with confirmation of something better coming soon it looks even less appealing.
Nintendo DSi XL review
Since Nintendo first asserted sole domination over the handheld gaming market with the release of the paperback-sized Game Boy in 1989, the company has striven time and again to make its pocket systems smaller, meeting fantastic financial success along the way. Nintendo did it with the Game Boy Pocket, the Advance SP, the Micro, the DS Lite and again ever so slightly with the DSi -- the last even at the expense of backwards compatibility and battery life. Now, for the first time in the company's history, it's made an existing platform bigger, with questionable reasons as to why. Does the Nintendo DSi XL squash its predecessors flat? Or is Nintendo compensating for something? Find out inside. %Gallery-89058%
Nintendo DSi XL hands-on
Sure, it's been available in Japan for quite some time, but this is the first chance we've gotten to really sit down and play with Nintendo's "more communal" (as we overheard one PR rep describe it, given it's propensity for more eyes comfortably viewing the screens) portable gaming experience, the DSi XL. So let's get the comparisons out of the way: obvious volumetric differences aside, the maximum brightness versus the DSi seems to be slightly higher, and the stylus is inexplicably a handful of millimeters longer -- not a big deal, but you'll definitely figure it out when trying to stuff it into an older model. We're not really a fan of the top lid being glossy again -- we rather like the matte DSi lid, and this one seems even more fingerprint-coveting than its DS Lite predecessor. So with all that said, is the extra screen size worth it? Admittedly we do appreciate the extra room, and it comes without a cost to the picture clarity. The inherent tradeoff, however, is a complete inability to stuff this in our pockets -- we had better luck with the Mini 5, to be blunt. You'll be able to decide for yourself soon enough, but in the meantime, there's pictures below and video after the break! %Gallery-86454%
Nintendo to release 100 Classic Book Collection for DS on June 14
The Nintendo DS's dual-screen design has always invited book comparisons, and the new DSi XL even more so with those two 4.2-inch displays, so now's as good a time as any for Nintendo to announce that its 100 Classic Book Collection will be coming to American shores on June 14 for $20. Joystiq says they're expecting the book list to be the same as the Euro pack, so expect some choice public domain works here -- we doubt this has got any of the big e-book players shaking in their shoes, but just wait until Miyamoto releases the $129 Wii Eye Motion Detector with packed-in Mario's Read Speed mini-game. Then it's gonna get crazy.
Nintendo DSi XL coming to Europe March 5, US eventually
The last we heard, Nintendo's super-sized DSi XL (or DSi LL if you're Japanese) would be hitting the Colonies sometime in the first quarter of 2010. As of now we have no information contrary to that, but we do have news specifying when the European nobility will get theirs: March 5. That means UK gamers have less than two months to determine whether they are eligible for an upgrade from the slender DSi, and if you're not sure how to check, just measure the depth and breadth your pockets. If you have room in there for the new version, with its stereo 4.2-inch screens, you'd better make with that pre-order: Nintendo Japan sold more than 100,000 of the things in just two days.
The DSi XL gets sized up, then Joystiq answers your nagging questions
Two items of note for future owners of the DSi XL (aka, The Gigantic DSi) Nintendo has slated for a November launch in Japan (and Q1 2010 here in the US). First, if you've been wondering just how much bigger this thing is in comparison to the previous version of the handheld, wonder no more. The device has been spied in action on Japanese television, and it really is quite enormous. How big? Well luckily the folks at Joystiq have put together an awesome little FAQ about the handheld (including exact dimensions -- 161 x 91.4 x 21.2mm for those keeping count) which addresses all the pressing issues and more. Check out the XL strutting its stuff on video after the break, the bop on over to the 'Stiq to fill up on notable quotes and quotable notes. [Via Kotaku] Read - DSi XL FAQ: Sized up Read - My Game News Flash on the DSi XL
