Topic: Looking to make the plunge

Iv regretted getting rid of my original DS years ago and with the 3DS getting a killer line up and its low price i think im ready to make the plunge on purchasing one as there are not only great DS games i missed but great 3DS games i would like to play. So i have a few questions :

1) Any Notable difference between the normal and XL besides size?
2) Does the XL fit in your pocket?
3) Hows it feel comparatively to the normal 3DS in terms of how your hands rest?
4) Best Non Nintendo Games?

Also any deals anyone aware of?

just get one they are good to play in 2d

1) XL has a few other advantages over the original. Most people find the stylus placement in the XL more comfortable, it comes with 4GB card instead of 2GB (although you'll probably want to upgrade to something bigger either way) and doesn't have a screen scratching issue that is common in the original model... Battery life is also better but by how much depends on how you use it, Battery is bigger but the bigger screens also consume more power so at maximum settings, you don't see much of a difference but with lower brightness ect, the XL gives you more playtime.

2. Well it does on its own but personally I don't carry it on my pocket because I already have my cell phone there

3. don't have a normal 3ds so don't know

4. Zero Escape Virtue's Last Reward, Shin Megami Tensei IV, Project X Zone, Resident Evil Revelations, Kingdom Hearts 3D, Street Fighter IV 3d, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (although you may want to wait for the upcoming No. 4 for that one)... Good looking third party games to be releasing before the end of the year: Sonic Lost World, Ace Attorney Dual Destinies and if you are in europe (Bravely Default Flying Fairy)

1. The 3DS XL has better battery life and bigger screens than the 3DS.
2. I don't have big pockets so I can't comment on that since I just usually have it in my bag/purse.
3. I have both the 3DS and the 3DS XL. If you have big hands, the 3DS XL would be much more comfortable to play with. I got hand cramps often playing with my 3DS so I eventually upgraded to the 3DS XL.
4. Any Atlus game, especially the Etrian Odyssey series and SMT IV. Oh, there's also Rune Factory 4! There are also many upcoming games such as Bravely Default: Flying Fairy (2014 if in the US).

EDIT: Oh! Forgot to mention, Toys R Us is currently having a sale on 3DS (and Wii U) games up until 10/12. Buy one get one 40% off. I'm not aware of any 3DS/3DS XL sales at the moment however.

Get an XL. The price difference isn't bad, and it fits in my pockets. The screen is notably bigger.

The only major disadvantage the XL has compared to the original is that its max volume is lower for some reason. It does however have a decent resolution for DS games, unlike the original - so if you're going to be playing DS games I'd definitely say get the XL.

I only had a chance to try a co worker of mines 3DS which is why i asked as i found it a little cramped to play, good to know XL takes care of that problem (i have big hands, its why i prefer the old xbox controllers)..

I suppose the only question now is do i wait for a sale and what games to grab with it( i know il grab two; Ocarina 3D and Something )?

Even though I don't have an XL, I always recommend it to people who think they'd like it. If you think you'd like the original, go with that; if you think you'd like the 2DS, go with that... they're all good, just different people might want different models.

Oh , whats the average size of a 3DS game Download anywho?

Here are a few examples to give you an idea.
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/10/file_sizes_revealed_...

Sounds like a 64gb SD card will be plenty. Rather not have to carry games with me if i dont have to.

32 gb is the maximum for the 3DS.

For the physical aspects, comfort is the issue, does it fit well in your hand for extended play? If you can try them all in your hands, see how comfortable it is, then decide based on that. The other differences are almost negligible compared to the comfort. After playing for a short time, even the smallest discomfort can ruin the experience.

Small hands will have difficulty with the buttons on the XL, reaching greater distances to switch between the different direction pads, for example. But the larger touch screen is nice for all hand sizes. Larger hands will feel cramped with the classic 3DS, everything will feel cramped. The 2DS, I believe, is somewhere in the middle of the two, but lacks the parallax, which is a really cool part of the 3DS though not a requirement. Visually, the screen size will be nothing more than preference. Some people prefer not to see "pixel edges," which the smaller screen will hide better. Some people prefer to see more of the picture, thus the bigger screen is more important. The XL has a slightly longer battery life, though I doubt most people would really notice that much.

As for the memory card, they all have a 32 gb maximum, and I recommend you stick with class 10 and get the Lexar brand.

For portability, they all have really nice carrying cases, and tons of variety in those. Even purses designed for the 3DS and 3DS XL are available now. Target has backpacks designed for them now, and those are really cool looking, thinking of getting one for myself one day.

Color selections are the biggest impact on personal tastes, but .... there are tons of skins and covers that alter the color anyway.

From what iv gathered from this post and others, since i have bigger hands the XL is the way to go then(leaning this way already after my experience with the normal) and il be getting the double black color. Im going to at the very least see if any sales crop up over the weekend before i make my purchase (Columbus weekend typically has sales going on everything).

Correct me if im wrong but from what i have looked up is that the 3DS is only limited to 32gb due to using Fat 32. Since higher size SD cards dont come as Fat 32 all that would be needed is a quick reformat .

Yep, FAT 32 is limited to 32 gb, at least on SD cards, and the 3DS only uses the standard SD card format, no alternative formatting options available ... yet. Also check the class when you buy it, faster cards do make a difference. Class 10 is the fastest available, the system comes with a class 4. Also, the brand doesn't always have an impact, however, there have been some people who had issues with Sandisk's higher capacity cards, 16 and 32 gb cards specifically. I believe they are still trying to figure out why, and the issues are hit and miss, many times the cards will work, but once in a while they won't, and it's always been Sandisk that has the problems. Thus I recommend sticking with Lexar, it's Nintendo's preferred brand and I have not found anyone with issues for that brand anywhere online. Some issues could be because of improper formatting, as I said, it has to be only SD card formatting, Nintendo even links a SD card formatting application for Windows to use, just in case. Linux and Mac should automatically format it correctly as long as you set it to FAT 32.

Yeah, I did a ton of research into the systems before buying mine, including the SD card issues. I normally buy Sandisk, so when I found all the issues that people had, I dug a bit deeper into my pocket for the Lexar this time just to be sure it worked. Also yeah, the DS lite is almost the same size as the 3DS classic, thus even I got the XL because of comfort and it's not too bad. A bit heavier than I am use to but the buttons are closer to my normal rest points.

I'm gonna backtrack on a point made earlier in this thread. You CAN use a 64GB SD Card (or any SDXC card, for that matter) in a 3DS, provided it's formatted to FAT32. HOWEVER, SDXC Cards formatted to FAT32 (from what I've heard) are prone to crashing, meaning you could possible lose/corrupt data. I'd just stick to a 32GB SDHC. I'm a fairly prolific 3DS user (had it since launch, have quite a few photos, all the demos, a few dozen eShop titles, etc.), and I've only filled up 12GB of my 32GB Card. Unless you download a ton of eShop retail titles from the eShop, you're not gonna fill up a 32GB card quickly.

I would rather just reformat the larger size and not have to worry about it being full as i most likely will go purely digital with my 3DS. Reformating a SD card takes about 2 mins at most and if i do run into issues il just use it for other things and snag a 32.

1) No screen scratching issue; better stylus placement; better d-pad placement; actual physical buttons for select, start, and home; better battery; etc. etc.

2) Pretty comfortably, although I like to keep it in a case.

3) Less comfortable for children or people with small hands. Much more comfortable for adult men or people with larger hands.

4) Action: Resident Evil: Revelations
RPGs: Shin Megami Tensei IV and Etrian Odyssey IV are, by far, the best.
Puzzle/Adventure: Virtue's Last Reward is the best puzzle/adventure game on the system by far. Also, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask is fantastic as well.

If you are talking about the screen marking issue from the original 3DS, the newer ones do not have that problem now. You should specify which you are talking about. Just to make it clearer.

I was in the same boat a week ago and decided honestly, I wouldn't bother getting the regular 3DS unless I could find a good deal on a used one on ebay with some decent games bundled with it. Unfortunately, I learned those auctions tend to run up to the price of a brand new 3DS XL so not much money to save going that route. What made my decision was holding the XL model my Gamestop had on display. The weight and the mold all felt completely right in my (adult) hands and after having a DS lite for so long I couldn't imagine having the stylus anywhere else than on the side so that was that. I've had my XL for a week now and am completely in love with it. Very comfortable, smooth finish, battery life is excellent, and I can't believe how quickly I'm become accustomed to both the larger screen size and 3D. I honestly can't speak for the regular 3DS since I've never even held one but I can certainly vouch that the XL is definitely worth it and you've made a good choice.

To clarify the volume issue relates off speaker volume, it does not affect you when playing with headphones, the reason is that the XL had 90% bigger screens but its not 90% bigger itself so something had to give and they used smaller speakers (according to Nintendo they used software boost to compensate for the lower speakers, but users report that they do notice the different in volume, I only have the XL myself so have not had the chance to compare them.)