With more power, the new C stick, and new 3D head tracking the New 3DS XL looks like a great buy for anyone with or without a previous handheld from the DS lineup.
With More Power Comes More Responsibility
There are however a few downsides with the New 3DS XL:
Lack of A/C Adaptor. Moving to the smaller MicroSD card, comes with 4GB MicroSD card. Later games may not be compatible with older 3DS consoles due to the increased power of the New 3DS XL. No regular version coming to the US. Majora’s Mask Edition does not come with the game.
Lack of A/C adaptor?
If some of that confuses you, Nintendo are likely anticipating that the majority of buyers will be current owners of a console in the DS line up. The A/C adapters from the DSi, DSi XL, 2DS, 3DS, and 3DS XL will all be compatible with the New 3DS XL.
Trading out standard SD for microSD
More details about how to transfer over your existing data from the standard SD cards to the smaller microSD cards is coming soon. And lastly with the downsides, due to the increased performance from the New 3DS XL, so if a developer opts to use the extra power it is unlikely that game will work on older 3DS consoles.
Upsides are the best sides
The New 3DS XL features some great new features, along with the increased power, comes the C stick.
This is a small button-like stick right above the XYAB buttons, it allows for all games which used the Nintendo 3DS Circle Pad Pro to work with the C stick, but also opens up new possibilities like shooters to feel more natural on the handheld console, or easy camera control.
NFC
New to the New 3DS XL is Near Field Communication (NFC) which will allow for Amiibo support. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy is but one game which will feature Amiibo support.
3D Face Tracking
Lastly, due to the 3D on the 3DS requiring you to view the screen at a specific angle to use the 3D effectively, most people just switched it off. Good news as now with the New 3DS XL it will feature a new head tracking feature. This will allow for 3D viewing from many angles, a nice feature if on the bus, or train.
The 3D will use the front facing camera, which will also be used to dim or brighten the screen automatically depending on the light in the surrounding area.
Lets shut the lid
The New 3DS XL will be coming to North America on the 13th February 2015, and the non-XL, regular version, is coming the Europe on the same day. The New 3DS XL will come in 2 different colours, black and red, but there are also 2 special edition versions.
The Monster Hunter 4 Edition (exclusive to GameStop) in the US, and the Majora’s Mask Edition, each have their own design. On GameStop the consoles are priced at $199.99 for the black, red, and Majora’s Mask Editions, and $229.99 for the Monster Hunter 4 Edition.
