Nintendo’s redesigned handheld will appear in stores sooner than you think.
More than two weeks after an E3 press conference centred mostly on the Wii U, Nintendo has revealed a successor to its 3DS handheld: the larger, more efficient 3DS XL. The device, set to go on sale this summer, will include an improved battery, 90%-larger screens and a larger SD card for storing downloaded games.
The 3DS XL’s battery has been upgraded to keep up with the larger backlight, however the actual reported increase in battery life is minor at best; you’ll be able to squeeze about an extra half an hour out of it while playing 3DS games, or one or two extra hours while playing DS and DSi games compared to the original 3DS. Storage space is better this time around as well, with its bundled SD card doubling from 2GB to 4GB.
There will be three colors available at launch: silver, blue and red. The border around the screen has gone from piano black to a matte black, so no more shiny fingerprints at the fringes of the screen.
The screen itself has grown, taking up a larger proportion of the handheld’s surface area. Much like when the DSi’s larger brother was introduced, this incarnation won’t offer a higher resolution despite the screens being almost twice as large. Just how much this will affect the picture quality remains to be seen.
You won’t have to wait long to get your hands on it, as the 3DS XL (known as the LL in Japan) will hit retailers in the US on August 19th priced at $199.99, making it only $30 more than the 3DS. The release in Europe and Japan comes a little sooner, on July 28th, at a somewhat higher price of £179.99, €199.99 and 18,900¥ respectively.
The higher price point in these regions comes despite the news that the console will reportedly not include an AC adapter in Europe or Japan (The US release will include an adapter). Nintendo of Europe president Satoru Shibata stated in his European release that this was in an effort to cut costs, but made clear that the device will be fully compatible with current DSi, DSi XL and 3DS chargers.
Source: BBC News
