June 23rd, 2012

The technical specs for the 3DS XL

81 Comments

Nintendo has released the technical specs of the 3DS XL. There’s nothing too interesting, but if you want them all in a single place, you can find them after the break.

Size

  • 134mm × 74mm × vertical thickness horizontal 21mm (when folded)
  • (Including the battery pack stylus SD memory card) 235g

Top screen

  • (Approximately 16.77 million colors viewable) widescreen LCD with integrated Autostereoscopic
  • 240 dots vertical (horizontal) × 800 dots / (46.08mm vertical 76.8mm × horizontal) 3.53 type
  • can be assigned respectively to 400 dot 800 dot the right eye-left eye (horizontal three-dimensional representation is possible)

Bottom screen

  • (Approximately 16.77 million colors viewable) LCD with touch input feature
  • Type 240 3.02 × 320 dots vertical dots next to / (46.08mm 61.44mm × vertical horizontal)

Cameras

  • Two cameras inside / outside
  • Resolution (0.3 mega pixels) 640 × 480 both lenses: the number of effective pixels CMOS /:: imaging element / focal length of approximately 300,000 pixels

Communications

  • 2.4GHz communications passing between the play and play Nintendo 3DS available
  • via the wireless LAN access point can be connected to the Internet (supports IEEE802.11b / g Reinforcement (WPA / WPA2 ) security) within 30m distance recommended ambient communication (※ may be shortened by circumstances)

Game inputs

  • A / B / X / Y button, cross, L / R buttons, Start / Select button
  • (Possible 360-degree analog input) Slide pad
  • Touch screen
  • Built-in microphone
  • Camera
  • Motion sensor
  • Gyro sensor
  • System inputs
  • Game card slot
  • SD memory card slot
  • Charging terminal
  • AC adapter connection terminal
  • Headphone connection terminal (stereo output)
  • On the screen left and right stereo speakers (for surround pseudo-)
  • (10cm when fully extended about) possible expansion and contraction

Battery

  • If you want to play Nintendo software 3DS : about 3 hours to 6.5 hours
  • if you want to play the Nintendo DS software: about 5 hours to 8 hours
  • Battery life may vary depending on the brightness of the screen.
  • Tk

    battery life is the same as the 3DS?

    • OniCr0w

      Unless these specs are wrong, pretty much. It’s always said that the 3DS gets 5 hours… I really hope Nintendo didn’t just tell me that the battery life was improved by 1.5 hours ._.

    • DaveC

      The specs are wrong. Look at the size, that is the size of the current 3DS!

      Bad cut and paste job there.

    • Gaming net 101

      TK its 2 hours more!

    • Soeroah

      @Gaming No, it’s roughly the same. The 3DS doesn’t only have a 1 hour battery life in any circumstance unless the battery has been recharged too often.

      @Tk They made a bigger battery to handle the larger screen size and the larger backlight for the screens. The net effect is slightly longer battery life for the player. If the screens were smaller, the battery life would surely be a lot longer than we are used to.

    • LittleMofreaky

      This was probably tested with the 3D on…

    • critical

      Battery is better than original but still pales when compared to DS Lite. I mean the Lite last over 12 hours!

      Oh also, XL comes with 4GB SD card. No one seems to mention it here.

    • http://NintendoWorlds.net TurboPikachu

      @DaveC:

      I noticed. David should have looked closer at the spec sheet before pasting it.

  • Nintendude

    Hey david what was the wii based news and nintendo direct last night also since namco is helping with SSB4 do you think i will be released sooner?

    • Nintendude

      Sorry i mean at instead of and ^o^

    • ZeldaCrazed

      I was thinking the same thing.

  • chris

    Same amount of pixels as on the 3ds, so it will be stretched out and possibly fuzzy like on the dsi xl

    • DanteZX

      Fan friggin tastic. Quite honestly I could care less about the second analog stick (even though I do agree that it should be there), but I’m not gonna buy a system that lowers the resolution of a game.

    • Zack

      Did you expect them to increase the resolution? That would just make everything have to be upscaled unless all of the software for the 3DS was completely re-designed at a higher resolution for the 3DS XL

    • Porkins

      Imagine ds games on that.

    • X

      Since the screens are 90% bigger why can’t they just make 90% more pixels to keep the same resolution?

    • OniCr0w

      @Zack

      Would have been interesting if Nintendo started including two sets of resolutions on the 3DS cartridges and upped the power of the XL by a teeny bit to cope

    • http://www.psvitahub.com Husnain

      @Zack games don’t technically have to be upscaled if Nintendo increased to resolution to have the same DPI as the 3DS. But instead they were super cheap just like the DS XL. -_-

    • DaveC

      Actually it is the opposite. Since it has the same amount of pixels the graphics will display at 1:1 pixel mapping (1 3DS pixel=1 3DS XL pixel). This means it will remain sharp and not fuzzy. The only artifact is that the pixels themselves will be larger so it may look a bit more pixelly.

      If the resolution was different then they would need to stretch and fractionally scale (like original DS games on 3DS) then filter to get rid of the uneven pixels THIS would cause a fuzzy look.

    • dubYA

      Everyone needs to read what DaveC is saying. Unlike evrything that was said by those before, his post is actually intelligent.

      The 1:1 pixel ratio also bodes well for playing DS games on 3DS XL. When playing them at native resolution the images will be roughly as large as they were on DSi looking crisp and clean.

    • bob

      the dsi XL does not make the game look stretched out and fuzzy what the fuck are you talking about

    • critical

      Its time for Nintendo to use retina screen.

    • Matt

      The dpi of the screens will be similar to that of the ORIGINAL DSi, not the DSi XL. I’ve calculated it out.

  • http://youtube.com/the8guys Dylan

    cool I guess

  • b

    If only the 3DS XL was region free. I bet alot of people would jump ship then.

    • Stephen

      Has it been confirmed it is?

    • The dude

      We get all of the 3DS games in America & Europe & Australia anyways.

      So why would we need crappy Region Free, for a language most people don’t understand?

    • Aaron_m

      @The dude ? We certainly don’t get all games, there are plenty that aren’t being localized that I want. And I know quite a bit of Japanese so it interests me. If it was region free, then insta buy. But that won’t happen.

  • Eric

    Not much improvement

  • the pig

    ill prolly get it, since we’re not getting a redesign. i wonder how much itll be though. the only thing that i see bad is the battery life

    • The dude

      The Wireless Updates have benn the death of the redesign.

      And quite frankly, the Firmware Updates are way more better than crappy useless redesigns, anyways.

  • andy

    will DS games look normal now?!

    • Porkins

      Its larger.
      It would make them even worse.

    • zain

      I noticed since the last system update (the one that added folders) that if u turn power saving to OFF, ds games look great almost the same as on ds lite. Nintendo slide it in there without saying anything :P

    • Dragon Warrior

      tried that ^^^it dosnt work

    • dubYA

      @Porkins Actually, the 3DS XL will make it better. If you hold Start and Select when launching DS software on 3DS it displays at native resolution. However, due to the 3DS’s higher resolution screen it forces the image to shrink to look as sharp as it would on a regular DS.

      This is where the 3DS XL has the advantage. It’s screens are so large, that if you shrink the images of DS games to native resolution the pictures will be the same size as the DSi’s screens. It’s a win if you take the time to think about it.

    • TheUltimateKoopa

      It is more or less the same dpi…

      OK, the DSi screensize is 3.25 inches, and resolution is 256 x 192, and so if you know the whole a^2 + b^2 = c^2 thing, then the diagonal pixel length is 320.
      Therefore the pixel resolution is 320 pixels / 3.25 inches, which is 98.46 dpi.

      The 3DS bottom screen is 4.11 inches (it’s the same aspect ratio as the DS screens), and has a resolution of 320 x 240. The diagonal pixel length is 400. So that’s 400 pixels / 4.11 inches, which is 97.32 dpi,

      So, it’ll still be slightly worse but only by a mere 1.14 pixels per inch.

  • Holylifestar

    Why didn’t they put a second circle pad in it -_-….

    • Porkins

      Because everyone else who bought a 3DS would be extremely pissed off at nintendo.
      After they bought the circle pad pro.

    • MarioMaster 7

      The reasonbeing is that Circle pad pro has trigger buttons and it will be odd if they added it into the system. Also the circle pad pro runs on batteries and adding that into the 3DS XL will drain the battery life even more

    • Derrick

      They didn’t add a second circle pad because it would be completely pointless. There are at most 2 or 3 games total out right now that even support a second circle pad. There are far more games currently available and in development that don’t even have a second circle pad in mind. Adding on a peripheral that would get very little use is silly and a bad business decision.

    • Co-Wink-Key-Dink inc.

      The TRUE reason why is because the game communities directly worth the ir sensor for the right circle pad, and plus if there’s only about 5 or so games that work for it, why do people complain? The games arn’t that deep into gameplay to take advantage of it :(

    • ZeldaCrazed

      Because it is a resize not an update.

  • Canthia

    You guys are not too bright how can it be the same pixel problem as the dsi xl when the Nintendo 3ds top resolutions is 800x 240 I am sure it will not have bad pixel due to that higher resolution

    • Canthia

      Still it is a waste of money no second an along stick the camera is the same quility no excuse should be at least 5 megapixal is soooo cheap now.

    • Lene

      Yes and it should be able to record 1440p videos with 7.1 True HD sound and make coffee =)

    • kingdom

      if you want better hardware, you’ll have to pay for it otherwise nintendo will lose money then they won’t make more!

    • Matt

      Canthia, this obviously wasn’t released for you, seeing as you already have a 3DS! Nintendo is just trying to give any of the many millions of consumers who have yet to own a 3ds another reason to buy one!

    • The dude

      The 3DS microphone already records 7.1 Surround Sound.

      I know from accident…….I was recording a 3D Video and when I played the 3D Video back at home with my 7.1 Surround Sound Headphones “PLANTRONICS GAMECOM 777″, I could hear my cell phone playing a loud ass MP3 right behind me….which is we’re I had my cell phone during recording.

      So the built-in microphone has always recorded sound in 7.1 Surround Sound……which must mean that it is cheap to built in such a microphone in 2010.

      I love the 3DS.

      1080p camera’s are something to use in the next generation with 1080p by 3840i resolution pixel count for the next generation Handheld.

      And 4K HD (4 times 1080p) for the Wii 3.

  • gamerjjxl

    We need some smart specs people that can compare the specs of the 3ds and 3ds xl, and describe it in a visual manner….then comment.

    Not people who just stare at the 3ds xl picture for two seconds and make their own guess about the specs. Because there short attention spam can’t keep up with “many words description” -_-
    (Congrats! If you read through all of this, you qualify for a longer attention spam then most people xD

    • Lene

      If you were hopping for superior graphics or anything like that, then no, the specs are roughly the same. It is a bigger 3DS (but if you ask, I suppose you already knew that).

      BUT !
      -the shape makes it look more comfortable to hold
      -the sound should be much better and louder (more room for better speakers and bigger sound boxes, like for the DSiLL)
      -the top screen does not have a shiny surface, it is closer to the DS lite/i design
      -the top screen does not touch the lower screen sides (look at the 2 little bumpers on top)
      -more room for people with huuuuuuge hands :3
      -slightly better battery life
      -traditional menu buttons
      -heavy enough to be used as a weapon if you meet a robber
      -no 2nd CP because it actually is another 3DS, not a 3DSSAPSE (3DS second analog pad special edition)

      What disappointed me:
      -a little bit to big, but I really thiink this is aimed at the Japanese audience (have a look at DSiLL sales)
      -I don’t like the place where the mic is >.>”
      -better main cameras would have been interesting (1~2 Mpixel cameras would have been enough), difficult to make use of the 3D camera, a shame, really
      -we may need more memory than 34~36 GB (I didn’t understand if it had a 2 or 4 GB internal memory) with all these download-able games coming in the future
      -”it suxx motherµker nitnendo is for kidz lolilol nafzoeh basstrads go to hell chit mario nanananana!”
      et cetera… The traditional hatred.

    • invictus4000

      @Lene:
      I didn’t notice those bumpers on top that would stop the screens from touching and giving that horrendous line mark! 3DSXL is worth getting just for that reason alone.
      Also…yes to the robber reason for liking 3DSXL. I will most definitely hit people with it.

    • http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/16a07c1e06c4010a42f31cc4d1a0702d.png ABEzilla116

      @invictus that’s the same thing I thought when i saw it but I keep a cloth between the screens so It doesn’t get marks on the screen.

    • invictus4000

      NICE Abezilla! I never thought to do that. I will initiate this practice immediately. lol

    • DanDroid

      @Abezilla WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT!?!? I have the perfect cloth too! The one that was given out with preorders of Pokemon B and W in toysrus (US) I’m sorry I don’t know why I’m screaming but I seriously never thought of that!

  • Hank

    I might get it, just because it has a cleaner design. The 3DS doesn’t look bad, but the DSi was so clean looking and solid feeling. The 3DS seems like it has too many parts and pieces, too complicated hardware-wise. The XL just seems coherent, something the original wasn’t.

    • http://dt16blog.webs.com Dusktail16

      i actually disagree entirely. how was the 3ds complicated at all? and i think the 3ds xl is actually very ugly.

      just IMO

    • the psvita is better

      @dusktall16
      i agree, it does look pretty bad

    • invictus4000

      @Hank:
      That’s sort of what I am thinking too. If the difference with the 3DS and 3DS XL is like the difference I felt with the DS Lite and DSi XL, this should be great. The DSi XL was just so much more “solid” for lack of better words. I’m hoping that’s how this feels too.
      I love my 3DS, but yeah…it does feel a bit cheap to me with too many shifting parts, weak 3D depth slider piece, etc. Anyway, now I’m just rambling. I just want the 3DS XL to be more solid.

  • WiLuigi

    Battery it 3.5 – 6.5

  • invictus4000

    This is kinda a weird picky thing…but is anyone else hoping the 3D depth slider isn’t as cheap feeling as the current 3DS’?

    • mason

      i agree. execept they got rid of the cool 3d light ;(

    • DanDroid

      Really? I always hated that light, you could see it on even when the 3DS is closed, shining right through the hardware! That always made it feel cheap to me.

  • Michael M

    What really annoys the shit out of me is all of the complaining. We’ve only seen artwork of it people. Artwork. So stop complaining that it looks bad. Once you see a picture of the actual thing in the real world you’re going to be like. “Oh that actually looks pretty good.” The same thing happened with the Circle Pad Pro. Everyone complained until they saw a real picture of it and not just artwork. Trust me I’m going to be right. Just like I was with the circle pad pro.

    • invictus4000

      Amen.

    • Mariopro1

      u idiot, dont u watch nintendo direct on n’s site? thats the real deal. f#@k u man.

  • DaveC

    And as usual America gets it LAST!

    • http://www.csfgpapercraft.com/wp Seb

      You get almost every game first, and you complain about this? Seriously??

  • DaveC

    “Size
    •134mm × 74mm × vertical thickness horizontal 21mm (when folded)”

    So this is the same size as the current 3DS?

    No, these specs are cut and pasted from 3DS specs and WRONG, someone needs to update…

  • zakiemon

    I still don’t have a 3DS so I guess I should get this. I just don’t like the color choices for US. I want a Black one…. Should it be assumed that it will come with the same AR cards as the 3DS?

    • baka

      It is coming out in black in the US, isn’t it? I thought they were holding back white like the original 3DS (which really makes me pissed).

    • invictus4000

      That’s actually a really good question. Not sure if it comes with AR cards or not but I assume it will (almost positive, actually). That would be WAY gay if it didn’t but in the worst case you could always print out AR cards from online, right?

  • AM

    I think a lot of people are getting confused that this is meant to replace the current 3DS. This is just another variation to the 3DS. I will personally not be buying this because I want my system to fit in my pocket, but there are people who I know who like the 3DS but they want a larger screen. My mother for example has to always get her glasses when she is looking at the regular 3DS or DSi screen but with the DSi XL she can easily see everything without her glasses, and that is where I feel the 3DS XL will be useful.

    I feel Nintendo has a good hardware line up for the future with 3DS, 3DS XL, and the upcoming Wii U. But we need much more from them software wise. We have a lot of great games coming, but we need more virtual console (of different variety like SNES, GBA, Genesis, Neo Geo, Neo Geo Pocket, etc), we need more non-gaming applications (Youtube, e-reader, some integrated social networking, better music player, proper video player with no 10 minute limit and standard codec support). Nintendo’s primary focus should now be on brining the software features I listed above to all of its current generation platforms.

  • Tyler

    I actually think the 3ds xl looks cheap, I mean I know they had to cut costs but the materials looke cheap. The first 3ds looked premium with the gloss and stuff. I mean look at the 3d switch thing it doesn’t even light up anymore it’s just indented into the plastic. If they would make it glossy and fix the switch I would consider getting one

    • The dude

      Actually the glossy in our 3DS is because it is a special microfiber, because the regular 3DS absorbs more impact with its shape & form when closed.

      But the 3DS XL is design more like the original DS, to absorb less impact, so they didn’t need a expensive special microfiber for the 3DS XL…….which just would have been useless on the 3DS XL.

  • sum_random_guy

    This info is wrong. This is for the ORIGINAL 3DS(Look at the size number, it’s the same as the original size)

  • NinjafrR

    So as I understand bigger screen, same resolution? So 90% bigger pixels. Thats a No No. Nintendo.

  • Jgx3

    Is it just me or does this 3ds xl look ugly, maybe it’s just the color for me.

  • Mariopro1

    Great, if u want a ugly chunky monkey for a system and not as good of graphics. not worth the xtra 30$. srry, big N.

  • ET

    How many ppi is it with 3D and without 3D on the top screen and the bottom one?

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/dconan12a Dconan12a

    David is wrong I just draw the size and the top screen and I get same results for a normal 3ds this is not the 3ds xl.