Mario spots the update

If you haven't fired up your 3DS in the last 24 hours, a surprise may await — it's an all-new system update! Those cheeky scamps at Nintendo have once again been working on the following changes to your beloved handheld.

  • System stability improvements and other adjustments.

Further improvements to overall system stability and other minor adjustments have been made to enhance the user's experience.

Once downloaded this update takes seconds to install, and we sometimes wonder whether "system stability improvements and other adjustments" really means "closing loopholes that naughty hackers may stumble across". Either way, and a joking tone aside, it's good to see Nintendo keeping active in updating firmware, especially as the feature-set and performance of the 3DS has come a long way since its launch in March 2011.

The update doesn't have anything thrilling like Nintendo Network IDs and Miiverse for the 3DS, unfortunately, but that will hopefully still arrive in the coming weeks or months. We still await the next big Wii U update, of course, which promises new features and improved performance; it wouldn't surprise us if that contains some goodies worthy of a Nintendo Direct.

We shall see, but until then all 3DS owners can bask in the glow of stability improvements. Lovely, lovely stability.