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A Super Famicom-themed Nintendo 3DS is headed to Japan
If you were watching the Japan-specific Nintendo Direct yesterday, you would have noticed a little hardware treat for classic console fans. A special edition New 3DS XL is coming to Nintendo's home turf with a Super Famicom design, complete with classic colors and nostalgic "buttons" on the outer shell. It'll launch in April for 21,600 yen (about $190) but sadly, there's no word on a wider international release. Of course, to make the jump to North America, it would need a little splash of SNES purple...
Windows 95 on a Nintendo 3DS is as strange as you'd think
The trend of putting PC software on wholly impractical devices isn't stopping with the new year, folks. GBATemp fan Shutterbug2000 has managed to get Windows 95 running on a New Nintendo 3DS XL thanks to both DOSbox emulation and some ingenuity. You won't be doing a whole lot with this right now -- Microsoft wasn't designing for touchscreens and analog sticks two decades ago -- but it really does work on a basic level. It looks more than a little odd, too, between the tiny desktop and the emulator status on the second screen.
Tell us how you really feel about the New 3DS and 3DS XL
With E3 starting next week, we're going to hear plenty of news from companies like Microsoft, Sony and yes, Nintendo. The company's Digital Event on June 16th promises new games for the handheld 3DS, making this a great time to upgrade to a New 3DS or 3DS XL. The latest 3DS offers improved 3D capabilities, built-in NFC support for your Amiibo figures and even a new C stick and ZL and ZR buttons for more control options. Nintendo has also said that some future games will only work on a new 3DS, making an upgrade necessary if you want to play some of the latest titles. While we certainly enjoyed the New 3DS' added features in our review, we'd like to know how it actually worked out for our readers. If you've picked up a New 3DS or 3DS XL since its release, let us know how you've been enjoying it by writing a review on its product page. We'll do a roundup of the best user reviews to find out if this upgrade is worth your hard-earned scratch.
Nintendo 3DS review (2014): a good reason to give 3D another shot
Nintendo's original 3D handheld launched in 2011 and three years is a seriously long time in tech -- especially for Nintendo. Fortunately, it's been a hit -- over 44 million units sold so far -- following a tradition of handheld console leadership that started way back with the original Game Boy. (And if you've seen Nintendo's recent depressing earnings reports, you know that handhelds are why Mario is still able to even make ends meet.) So here's not one, but two hardware refreshes. Yep, two models, one bigger than the other (sound familiar?), both of which arrive with new buttons, a second (gasp!) analog stick and some new 3D screen assistance that means I now willingly switch on the 3D effect while playing games. Whoa. For now, it's launched in Japan and parts of Asia, and it's also coming soon to Australia and New Zealand. I'd bet the cost of a new 3DS that it'll make its way to the rest of the world at some point; it's just a matter of when. This is the New 3DS and New 3DS LL, and if you already have an older model, you'll probably want to consider an upgrade.
We just played with Nintendo's New 3DS: Finally, an extra analog stick
You might have heard: Nintendo's refreshing its 3DS family with two new models. Both the New 3DS as well as the larger New 3DS XL will arrive with a diddly analog stick just above the action buttons. (Throw away your Circle Pad Pros!) Plus, there's built-in NFC for those incoming Nintendo figurines and a new microSD card reader. Unfortunately, in my fly-by Monster Hunter 4G gaming test, I didn't have the chance to try either of those features -- readers love SD slot close-ups -- but it does offer an estimation of what Japanese gamers will get in less than a month when both handhelds launch. There's still no word on an overseas release for either model, but for now, watch me prove how poor I am at Monster Hunter in our video after the break. No, far worse than that.
Nintendo is making two new versions of its 3DS portable console, arriving in Japan this October
Nintendo releases recorded video presentations, known as "Nintendo Direct," pretty often. Usually they're focused on games, or they highlight an upcoming season's game releases. This morning, however, Nintendo revealed two new versions of its wildly successful 3DS portable game console. And just like the Mario series, Nintendo's not pulling any punches when it comes to naming conventions: the new 3DS is simply called "New" 3DS. And yes, there's a "New" version of the larger 3DS XL, too. As seen above, the smaller "New" 3DS has Super Nintendo-themed buttons on the right side. Just above those buttons is a new, tiny analog stick. Bizarrely, Nintendo's president Satoru Iwata compared the new analog stick to the GameCube controller's yellow C-stick (which was rarely used in GameCube games).
