The first impressions of the 3DS XL

June 27th, 2012

The first impressions of the 3DS XL

Puissance Nintendo, a French website, has spent some hands-on time with the 3DS XL and have come back with favourable impressions of the hardware. Based on the translation, they believe the XL has a “better viewing angle” and a “more natural” 3D effect, is easier to hold within your hands, and is also lighter than they expected. You can run the complete preview through Google Translator if you want to read the full thing.

http://nintendo.com Umbaku

Looks as if Nintendo didn’t only make it bigger.

David

Most of the benefits are just natural offsets of the screen being bigger though.
TheGZeus

@David
Well, I expected the viewing angle improvement, because they intentionally increased the viewing angle of the DSi XL/LL, in hopes of others watching as one played. (Iwata Asks rules)
Elctric

David, There was a small update for 3ds not sure why
DanDroid

Yeah I got a small update too, it didn’t say why though.
Colaman112

Probably the update just removed illegal applications.
critical

Why only make them bigger when you can make it better?

DS Phatt and DS Lite has the same size screen but the quality is day and night. You think Ninty will just make the handheld bigger or smaller? Every time they make a new hardware the screen gets better. The same with PSP.
Mountain Man

It’s just too stinkin’ big to act as a convenient portable game system. The 3DS fits easily in my back pocket. I’d need a small pouch to carry this thing around!

Link

The 3DSXL seems very nice, but it’s not that “stylish” like the normal 3DS. But that doesn’t matter as long as the screen isn’t all pixely :)

Link

Hmm…now that I look at the 3DSXL, I just realized that it looks more like the DSi.
joe

The only problem that is doubting me to buy this is the screen resolution; since 3ds xl has bigger screen and will keep the screen resolution of the original 3ds might make the screen quality stretched and ugly.
Co-Wink-Key-Dink inc.

When I looked at the dsi Xl and the ds lite, I ddent see the pixels-on both of them
Roberto

The screen will sadly be “all pixely.” The resolution is the same 800 x 240 (400 x 240 per eye) on both devices. That means the screen of the XL will be far easier to point out pixels on than the 3DS.
Matt

The pixels per inch on the 3DS XL are just below the original DSi. So basically, if the DSi (NOT DSi XL) screen doesn’t bother you, you’ll be fine with the 3DS XL.
SparktehFox

About the screen, yes it is the same resolution however, people report that it uses a filter that makes the screen actually look more smooth in comparison to the original. No more jaggies.

Enzo

Apparently Project X Zone has a release date now.

Csaw

Has it been announced for the west though?
Enzo

Nope. October 11th in Japan, but nothing has been said about a localization. http://andriasang.com/con1og/project_x_zone_date/

Daviz

I will get it. But I’ll wait for a limited edition one, and a circle pad pro XL
Kirby 64

come to think it,the 3DS XL looks pretty good. :)
dave

should i be getting a 3ds xl or WII U?

tron

Wii U
Gamerjjxl

if you had only one choice….The Wii U!
Kirby 64

none.
JK, Wii U of course.
Link

That depends if you already have the original 3DS. Do you want a bigger 3DS system, or a whole new Wii version?
Lene

“whole new Wii version”

*Starts charging Power Beem and aims at Link’s head*
The WiiU isn’t a new Wii!!

*BWIU*
Enigma

If you don’t already have a 3DS, then the 3DS.

If you already have a PS3/Xbox 360 then that is even more of a reason to not get a Wii U. Unless you got a lot of money or something, which you don’t seem to have.
Flip

BOTH!
http://youtube.com/Spagettit Spagettit

At some point get both. When SSBU comes out… The 3DSXL will be a great companion. No doubt
Roberto

Lene, yes it is a new Wii. It’s called the Wii U for God sakes! It’s essentially just a HD Wii with a new controller and some improved UI features. Of course there is more to it than that, but that’s basically what it is.

Gamerjjxl

it looks thinner too
Gr8 Mosnt3r

Now, 3DS or Wii U…. i think i’ll get BOTH!!! :P
Gr8 Monst3r

* 3DS XL
NinjaFart

it looks so so so good :( IM DYING
Straight arrow

Better veiwing angle AND better 3d?! YES!!!!!
Lene

If I may add a couple things:

They also say the 3D effect is better and less tiring.
(sans surprise ou presque, on se rend compte que l’effet est beaucoup plus éloquent et agréable à l’œil. [...] on ne force plus sur les muscles oculaires de la même façon et c’est un réel plaisir.)

The tester says the lower resolution isn’t that much a problem, the picture is really nice and soft.
(Les pixels agrandis, [...] ne posent pas de problème car l’image est assez douce)

The surface of the console is alike the one of the Galaxy S3, it looks really good.

They say they heard no difference with the new speakers, they were in a really noisy room, though.
(le son des hauts-parleurs qui ne nous a pas semblé de meilleures qualités que la 3DS initiale… [...] Nous étions dans une pièce bruyante)

Lene

I think the size of the screens is little exaggerated, but it should help making gaming more comfortable.

And for the 3D effect, I really think the removal of this horribly shiny surface atop of the top screen should help a lot to ^^
TheGZeus

@Lene
Word. I have to play in the dark if I’m going to be getting serious with a game, and even then I end up with the reflection of my glasses reflecting the reflection of the 3DS’ screen in my glasses (ad infinitum) much of the time.
Co-Wink-Key-Dink inc.

I feel your problem, I can’t stand mine, have to ask my dad to clean them cuz there still smudged when I clean them, when I look and any bright light, my eyes fell like burning up
Lene

Sounds… err… funny.

I don’t have such problems with my glasses, neither in day light or in the dark. I didn’t even this kind of things could happen. Long live to the anti-reflective glasses!!
Co-Wink-Key-Dink inc

My glasses doctor says “There anti reflective”
Yah right

rom

I dont have a 3DS yet. I might get the 3DS XL but I… still want to wait. Incase they make another new one with maybe a 2nd circle pad.

I can use my little bro’s 3DS in the mean time, lol.

BlueHawk007

I wouldn’t hope on one with a 2nd circle pad. They don’t want one necessarily being “Better” than the other in terms of features like that.

Roamrandy

David,you should consider trying, buying and then making a ps vita blog, i cant find any other blog such as this one which contains details and so on for the ps vita…

Sobatron

http://www.sonypsvitablog.com is the best vita blog i have found, its well kept like this site. Keep in mind that news for the vita is relatively slow right now.

Ttimer

after reading this and actually looking at the system well , i might just get this instead of the smaller one
TheGZeus

These are things I hoped would be true.
I am quite please with the announcement of this product and its prospects for awesomeness.

perhaps the ‘small’ stylus will be large enough that I won’t carry around a large DSi stylus (large hands).
http://www.youtube.com/user/Jesusgldtr?feature=mhee MattDeL

Too bad they got rid of the telescope stylus. :(

DanDroid

Would the speakers be improved too?, I mean the dsi XL’s speakers were improved (louder) or maybe it was just acoustics idk I’ve never had both at the same time to prove it. What do you guys think?
DanDroid

I have no idea why that was a reply, but yeah the telescope stylus was cool, when I showed it to my little cousins they’re mouths opened in excitement XD It’s the little things that astound them XD

The Fralin Boy

The more I see about the 3DSXL, the more I wish I didn’t buy the 3DS early on. Playing a lot of games on it really cramp my hands and the 3D usually gives me a headache. I might consider getting it if the price ever goes down.
Ness

So they didn’t bother to make their article in English, huh? Is the 3DS XL that fucking bad?

JamesD

You know, you’re pretty funny! You’re one of those trolls that post such ridiculous things, I end up smiling at your comments. :D
Ness

Well, thank you! That really fucking touches my heart. ^^
TheGZeus

“Dey duk ‘er daw!” Is all I hear when any xenophobia is expressed.
the psvita is better

well it is a french site. maybe that explains why everything is in french and not english
but i guess you are right, the 3ds xl sucks because some french website decided to praise it in their language, but not translate it to english.
how sad, and to think i was so excited for it :’(
Co-Wink-Key-Dink inc.

afin Ness n’a pas pris la peine de faire son commentaire françaises, hein? Est-il si mal que ça baise?
Derp

^ This guys just said fuck u Ness at least i think…
Lene

I wouldn’t let someone say such things about my mother, Ness…

Huhu
Co-Wink-Key-Dink inc

@Derp
Yup, baiscally
the translation

“So Ness can’t put is comment in french huh? Is he that fucking Bad?”

Michael M

I was right. Once a good review comes out. Everyone suddenly loves the system.

TheGZeus

I expected as much as well.

Arthur

Is this compatible with DS games?

TheGZeus

umm… Yes.
It’s a 3DS with larger screens. That’s about it.
http://nintendoglobe.com/ Timothy

Yes it sure is! It is absolutely the same in regards to playing the same games :D
Arthur

Will they look better?
http://nintendoglobe.com/ Timothy

I believe the DS and 3DS games are supposed to look better, here’s a better idea from another Nintendo site

http://mynintendonews.com/2012/06/26/nintendo-3ds-xl-impressions-appear-online/

That should hopefully answer your questions :)
Arthur

Ok :) thank you very much!

Elspeth

I wonder if we can play any games on 3DS XL? old ones from last year I mean? would 3Ds cards work on 3DS XL? I hope so

Adrian12369

Of course

Enzo

Bravely Default and Project X Zone are both going to be available in Japan on October 11th. Information is on andriasang
Linkx7

There is System update…

http://deathuriel.deviantart.com/ DeathUriel

Did you see any diference?
http://youtube.com/the8guys Dylan

they blocked R4

Tyler

Only thing I’m worried about is those hinges for the screen. They look exactly like the DS lite hinges which were notorious for breaking, as they did on mine.
http://deathuriel.deviantart.com/ DeathUriel

My 3DS got an update… Did anyone notice something diferent? I can’t figure if there is something new this time or just some inner improvements…

http://hybrilynx.net/ Hybrilynx

i dont feel like reading it but tell me what it was since i gave you a link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_3DS_system_software
BlueToad

I think on the eshop they added on the games (example:MK7) that they are availabe in stores near you where it used to say “not available in eshop” or something like that.
http://deathuriel.deviantart.com/ DeathUriel

@Hybrilynx
LOL, when did you see that page updated at the day of a update? It will probably only be updated after a month when obviously everyone will know what it was… .____.

Sincerely, a reader…
Co-Wink-Key-Dink inc.

apparantly, were soon going to be haveing rythem thief and an untitled Demo soon
http://hybrilynx.net/ Hybrilynx

i do believe you death person but now it says

Update for the Eshop channel.
Blocks some flash cartridges.

i believe you becuz ctrl f didnt show todays date when i went on it. but no, not a month. just alittle while. few hours maybe.
Co-Wink-Key-Dink inc

Instead of the eShop retail games saying it’s unavailable, it says you can buy it at retail
http://youtube.com/the8guys Dylan

Blocks some cartridges so yea they blocked r4
http://youtube.com/the8guys Dylan

flash cartridges were blocked
http://youtube.com/the8guys Dylan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Boy_Advance_flash_cartridge this is what they blocked

http://hybrilynx.net/ Hybrilynx

the 3ds xl looks ugly. it doesnt look shiny like crystal shiny, and the edges are round and ugly.

Csaw

It’s not shiny so that it’s not a fingerprint magnet like the 3ds was. And the corners are round so that it’s more comfortable to hold.
http://hybrilynx.net/ Hybrilynx

you just had to make perfect sense huh. i forgot about the fingerprints. but it always felt fine in my hand. maybe its becuz i rarely use it for anything though. besides nintendo video and looking for whats new in the eshop, i dont really use it.

pokemario

hat does the system update do?(I got one now)
jokergallagher

I am glad that its not a improved 3ds, just a larger one, that said their are SMALL improvements, the top screen dues not have a edge around it, so it wont collect dust in the edge, the key buttons well be easer to press, and the battery well be KIND of longer.

BUT it most likely dues not have a higher resolution with that larger screen, so you well just get larger pixels.

it also dues not feel like the colors well be as nice as the smaller 3ds
Joseph

Someone know what does the lastest update?, the update is: 4.2.0 -9U

AM

According to what I have been reading on the web the update improves and eShop’s security (if you want to access the eShop in the future you must get it) and it also improves overall system stability and performance (which really means blocks homebrew flash cartridges).

I checked all the applications the 3DS nothing seems to have changed.

TheKingofRedLions7

Better 3d would be cool
DaveC

Some things are of concern:

“More natural 3D that doesn’t strain eyes”?

Does that mean they toned down the depth so it isn’t as 3D as the original, more flat? If so that would suck I like the depth.

Also “looks soft, like there is a filter”

Does that mean they blurred out the graphics by overlaying a bi-linear filter or something similar? If so that will make it look less sharp and give a fuzzy look that loses detail.

Matt

I was hoping they’d add an option for something like Morphological Filtering, which is a pretty cheap post-processing anti-aliasing effect.
Lene

You are the one who decide of the depth with the Depthslider. They won’t change anything about that. There probably are small improvements to the screen(s) itself, but the fact it is bigger should help too.

I don’t think the picture will be blurry. It seems they changed for a better screen. The review says the pixels look closer together and the whole screen gives a better looking picture. If you are still worried, just wait to try it by yourself. It probably is the better thing to do.
DaveC

@Lene

I don’t think you know about how lenticular screens work. Yes there is a depth slider but at max depth one may still not be as deep as the other. There is a limit and since I play with the slider maxed out if the new one had less depth maxed out then that would suck.

Also viewing angle and depth are related, lenticular screens with better viewing angles usually have less depth (they said this had a better viewing angle). It depends on how the lenticular lenses are made.

Derrick

I would consider trading up but I don’t want to lose my downloads and Ambassador games. Gamestop’s promo ends a month before the system even comes here so I don’t see how I could transfer my stuff and I’d have to do it in the store, if they’d let me.

Taylor

mmm scrap that.but what id suggest is keeping the sd card.when i traded in my vomit 3ds too the vultures at eb games they didn’t check for the styles or sd card which i felt bad i didn’t keep.so keep sd card trAnsfer everything onto it if u can then get the new 3ds and maybe Ull figure something out.

Ty

Kind of want this. The more I read about it, the more appealing it gets. May have to pick one up- I like the way it looks a lot better than the original 3DS- except North America’s colors suck. I WANT THE SILVER ONE!!!

As for it not fitting in pockets, the original 3DS doesn’t fit in any of my pockets- maybe coat pockets (the XL would fit in there too) but I don’t use ‘em.

Also, not sure about the Wii U yet, so I wouldn’t mind putting my money here. The only interesting Wii U games I’ve seen so far are Zombi U and Pikmin 3. Everything else is stuff I can get on my other consoles. If they announced Zelda or Metroid (as long as Sakamoto and Team Ninja aren’t involved) for the Wii U, then I’ll gladly pick one up. Mario is NOT enough for me to buy a console- it’s an okay franchise (Super Mario Sunshine is the exception though).

The only thing I really wonder about is whether I’d actually use it. Haven’t been using my current 3DS much lately since I got my Vita, and no good games have come out lately.

DaveC

Vita sux, all it is is a higher res PSP with a gimmicky touchpad on the back.

Matthew

Anyone know what the 3ds update was about? I went to the eShop and it was updated.
http://youtube.com/the8guys Dylan

I might be able to handle that all of the systems inside colors are black :/
Taylor

it looks cheaper without the green light on the 3d slider

WingedOne

Way to nit-pick, dude.

http://hybrilynx.net/ Hybrilynx

how big is the stylus? it doesnt look like it extends. which is good becuz the metal stylus had terrible grip to it. i bet they only used it to show off though. 3ds was not made for metroid prime hunters.

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