New Nintendo 3DS & 3DS XL Handheld Consoles Announced

Heads up gamers, if you are in the market for a new handheld console, you might be interested to learn that Nintendo has officially announced their new Nintendo 3DS and 3DS XL handheld gaming consoles. On the surface it might look like the console does not differ too greatly from the original 3DS, but it does.

For starters it seems that Nintendo has added a smaller analog stick to the control which you can see pictured above the action buttons. It’s smaller than the first analog stick although Nintendo has likened it to the GameCube’s C-stick secondary analog stick. Nintendo has also tossed in a new pair of shoulder buttons labeled ZL and ZR.

Nintendo has also made the screen of the new 3DS a little bit bigger. Previously the 3DS had a display that measured 3.5-inches, but with the new 3DS, Nintendo has bumped it to 3.88-inches. Unfortunately the same will not be applied to the new Nintendo 3DS XL which will retain its 4.88-inch display. The cartridge slots have also been moved to the front edge of the console as opposed to the rear.

The new handheld consoles have also been given a speed bump in terms of processors and will sport built-in NFC that will play nicely with Nintendo’s Amiibo interactive figurines. Other changes include the switch from SD to microSD and a replaceable battery. The new Nintendo 3DS and 3DS XL will be priced at $154 and $181 respectively but unfortunately it seems that they will not be making their way stateside this year.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Gaming
Tags: Nintendo