Engadget goes thumbs-on with new 3DS XL
There was always that one kid in your fourth-grade class who "had a cool uncle" that worked at Nintendo, and "totally knew" about all the fancy doodads and thingamajigs the company was working on. Well, we've got a cool uncle too: His name is Engadget, and he's gotten some hands-on impressions of the recently-revealed new 3DS XL model.
It was Engadget Senior Editor Mat Smith who had the privilege of toying about with Nintendo's new hardware, and his initial impressions have left him ... well, not exactly jumping for joy, but not weeping in woe either. "If we're honest, there really wasn't much difference from my now-obsolete 3DS XL at home on initial handling," Smith wrote. "There are no games that appropriately make the most of the analog stick (at least, not yet). Here at TGS 2014, with Monster Hunter 4G, the right stick was assigned to camera duties, a role it shared with the d-pad and, er, about a third of the touchscreen too."
At least when it was getting use, the new stick felt responsive and pleasant. Smith also noted that the new ZL and ZR triggers on the back of the device were "appropriately spaced" so that users shouldn't have problems with accidentally bumping the wrong button.
The new 3DS and 3DS XL launch in Japan on October 11. As for those of us stateside and in the Europe/Australia regions, well ... we can hope.
[Image: Engadget]
