Talking Point: The New Nintendo 3DS is Yet to Have a Real Chance to Revive the Portable Family

Well let's call it like it is. Nintendo sucks at promoting their products. For the rare time they do, it attracts the wrong people to the wrong games.

I haven't seen any advertising for the new 3DS (Canada here). I got one only because of a few games. I am happy with it, but wouldn't have bought it if my previous handheld wouldn't have been stolen. Same goes for my Wii U (stolen Wii).

Also, stupid decisions such as having to remove a screw to get to the sd card.

if they want sales maybe make new 3ds only games more? people would leap if it's a pokemon only on new 3ds, showing why it can only be on that version.

The new Nintendo 3DS is just a deluxe, much more comfortable 3DS, like the 2DS is a cheap, budget 3DS. I love my new Nintendo 3DS and could not go back to a standard one. Like the 2DS, it was never intended to put the charts on fire or to replace the old one. Not sure what there is to write about.

No mention of the price? 3DS launched 5 years ago at $249. A few months later it was $169. 4 1/2 years later it's still $169.
3DS XL launched at $199. It's still $199.
People who want to pay those prices for hardware did so years ago. People expect prices on old things to drop, not stay the same. Even w/ the new models they still should have lowered the price, maybe $149 and $169. They did drop the 2DS from $129 to $99 so they are familiar with the concept, but they don't do it often enough.

Same goes for Wii U, which Target said sold well Black Friday while it was on sale hut I haven't heard of it selling well since.

Well, there's not really any reason to upgrade if you've played Xenoblade.

I'm going to trade in my original 3DS for the Pokémon bundle, purely for cosmetic reasons.

@Mayoo but don't you think the Wii U is a substantial upgrade from the Wii ? To me the new 3ds is not a substantial upgrade from the original 3ds. But Wii u definitely was. Like the leap from ds to 3ds.

Because there's little reason to upgrade. The old 3DS works fine.

@Mayoo

It still freaking baffles me the decisions they decided to go with the smaller N3DS. The utterly stupid name,refusing to make the console more accessable then not bothering to promote the thing (come on,they literally could have made a killing on faceplates),etc.

It's like Nintendo is once again refusing to acknowledge their demographic outside of Japan which I hope is fixed when NX comes out.

Can we stop going on about the 3Ds install base please? It is much less than 50 million, as a quick trip to any second-hand shop and the vast number of 3DS consoles on offer shows how many are no longer used. That's in addition to those that are owned but clearly no longer played. It wouldn't surprise me if the number of active 3Ds consoles isn't much higher than that of the Wii U, and the software sales strongly suggest that too, as well as Nintendo's poor support. If they had 50 million consoles actively online, they'd have had their best developers at work on software for it, instead of last year's collection of spin-offs and ports.

The 3DS in general has slowed down for a pretty obvious reason: they've stopped making interesting new first party games for it. Most of the games announced are either very similar to something already released, a port, or just not particularly interesting.
All of the games I'm looking forward to fit into one of these catefories. Hyrule Warriors (port), Bravely Second (very similar to something already out), Fire Emblem (very similar to something already out), Dragon Quest 8 (port). I guess Dragon Quest 7 is half new and half port.

If you look at release dates for new handheld hardware of the last decade, you'll see that it's almost impossible for new hardware to not be in the works for this year. Either another 3DS revision, or a new system. The New 3DS launched in Japan in 2014.

Yet another DSi. I KNEW IT. I told everyone so. "No not this time, they got it this time, the 3DS is a success so this will work too!" okay because the DS wasn't more successful than this and the DSi was still pointless. The only reason it sells is because the old one is mostly sold off now. I'm more than happy to say this is a better system upgrade from 3DS to N3DS than DS/Lite to DSi would have been.

Honestly, I don't see any reason to upgrade my 2DS to a new Nintendo 3DS. I don't care about 3D, I don't own any amiibos, and only one of the exclusive games really interests me.

Meanwhile. everything else that I want to play like Dragon Quest VII, Dragon Quest VIII, Metroid Federation Force, and other games are all perfectly playable on my 2DS. I can still play virtual console games for the NES, Game Boy, and Game Gear.

My point is this, Nintendo has done nothing to make the New Nintendo 3DS appealing to me as an consumer, and I can't be alone on this.

Now, if Nintendo offered SNES and GBA games as New Nintendo 3DS exclusives, it might tempt me to upgrade. Of if they made an exclusive 3D Mario platformer that could only be played on the newer model.

But the fact is, the New Nintendo 3DS offers nothing but Xenoblade. And paying 200 bucks for that game alone is not worth it when my 2DS is still fully capable of playing all the other games I want to play.

Even the loss of Xenoblade it not as big of a blow given the number of top quality RPGs that are coming to the 3DS this year.

To be blunt, the New Nintendo 3DS offers virtually nothing to justify its price point.

I really wish NOA would release just the plain N3DS. I'm STILL running on an original 2011 model and I'd love an upgrade. But I like to carry a bunch of stuff in my pockets so none of the XL models have ever appealed to me. And I don't want to have to buy it in a bundle either. I want a black one, not a white one and I don't want to have to pay for a game I'll probably never play just to upgrade. Just release it already. It really can't hurt your cause at this point.

Even this article downplays just how under utilised the New3DS is:

Faster QUAD Core CPU and GPU
2X the RAM and VRAM

The New3DS is packing more than double the power of the 3DS line, the original has a dual core CPU and GPU with one core reserved for the OS and a single core for gaming. The New3DS has three cores available for gaming! That's without factoring in its more powerful GPU and extra memory.

Why is this never mentioned? I know Nintendo don't want to fracture the market, but seriously, Devs not taking advantage of New3DS are a joke! That's why I'm still sitting on the fence.

New 3DS has 2 major problems; Firstly there are almost no exclusive, 2 games is just sad. Secondly the name is confusing, at least dsi was understandable but new 3DS is a terrible name. It's Wii U all over again.

Holiday season 2015 was terrible for releases in North America. There were games for kids, but nothing that would entice core gamers to buy in. Releasing Tri- Force Heroes rather than a proper Zelda game on 3DS was a big missed opportunity for Nintendo. I don't understand why Mario and Luigi was delayed until the end of January here either. Nintendo was obviously banking on Animal Crossing and Yo-kai Watch to sell hardware and it didn't work.

Personally, I am happy to see lots of RPGs in the 2016 line-up, but it would be nice to have some big games in other genres as well. If E3 comes and Nintendo has nothing big to announce for the holiday season on 3DS, then the slide will continue.

I get that Nintendo are focused on the NX, but launching new hardware is risky and expensive. You can't just throw all of your best teams at the new system. You also need to ensure that your current bread-and-butter hardware is serviced with good games so that profits from those products can prop up the bottom line until the NX comes up to speed.

@shad0w-7 I do feel both are upgrades to their counterpart. But if you are not into gaming a lot, you can't know that. If they want to sell something they've got to advertise it and make the name clear that it's an upgrade.

Also, for the Wii U, it is an upgrade but we still don't have achievements (which is a must for today's industry) and we have an OS that makes us wait 40 seconds to get to the settings menu and that doesn't manage automatic daylight saving switch. Ok yeah it's minor, but can we have something that is not looking like it's been crafted straight outta 1997.

Nintendo can thank their franchises because it's the only thing keeping them alive. For anything else, I get the PC version over anything.

My impression at the time of release was that it was a panic move. 3DS sales have been declining since 2013. Nintendo had put out pretty much all of the big gun IPs on it, so what could they do to make new people buy a 3DS? They didn't know, so they went back to the tried and true Nintendo method of how can we make the current users buy another 3DS. I'm not sure they ever intended to support it with exclusive releases.

The New 3DS wasn't supposed to revive the 3DS family, it was supposed to extend it, and it did for the most part. It's a stop gap designed to give the platform another year of sales. That's it.

I just want a white new 3DS XL...

@ThomasBW84
'While our goal is to tackle this major year for Nintendo with optimism..'
Well, that lasted long 😄

For me, Monster Hunter 4 and hopefully Monster Hunter X (if and when it's localized), and the 3D not being a hassle to use, is enough of a reason to make my New 3DS XL worth it, but the reality of the situation is the "New 3DS" line has a stupid name, minimal software support, and is still really old technology despite being an upgrade from the 3DS in power.

I have no regrets about upgrading to the N3DS. The faster loading and nfc support made it worthwhile. I do wish there were more exclusive games for it. Hopefully that official Unity support will help.

I don't think the "New" 3DS was designed to jump start sales this late in the generation but to merely provide a stop gap until the inevitable NX portable releases. 2016 is probably the 3DS's last hurrah. Just look at the releases this year, it's jam packed with JRPG's that have been out in Japan for over a year or more. (Not Complaining) I'm perfectly Ok with this, I LOVE my 3DS & will play it for years to come due to my backlog but the market is ready for their next portable.

Nintendo make games, games sell consoles. Not the other way round. If you invest in a 3ds it is to play games. Unlike a Smartphone, that has many uses, gaming being a bi-product. The Smartphone is in everyone's pocket a 3ds isn't .
Nintendo need more games and a good selection of games. Every gamer does not want to play every game, but they do need a good selection.

The Smartphone has stolen the basic stylus type games. I can play Plants and Zombies, and loads of other games like this on my Smartphone for free. The 3ds needs to know what it does best and do it.

Also Nintendo has spent to much time with the game pad,as though it's another console. Most of the games released for the Wii U to be played on the gamepad should be released for the 3ds instead.

If the NX involves a portable screen and that screen is not the 3ds or a replacement for the 3ds. Then it is in competition with the 3ds.

The best way to leverage the n3ds is the worst thing for the consumer but its simple : make more n3ds only games. If the next monster hunter and zelda game only work on the new systems people have to adopt. ...They will complain as well.

However I still feel the n3ds is essentially like the dsi: a stopgap to float the brand along until the replacement comes out.

EDIT : That being said NFC integration alone is worth the price of entry for both of my n3dsXLs to me. (and the zelda facepaint) I physically can't use the 3d function and while I like the Cstick its not a deal breaker. But to play codename steam and smash without having an extra piece of plastic? Yep very much worth it for me. But at the same time I understand where people that own a perfectly working 3ds are coming from.

Drop the damn price. The 3DS has been heavily overpriced for years now. We've seen the Vita, Shield, and many other Android gaming devices (even the Chinese ones) that completely shame the 3DS hardware by a massive margin, all at the same price or much less.
Really, the ONLY reason the 3DS remains at such a high price is because Nintendo needs something that still sells well at a really price to offset the absolute failure that is the Wii U.

I want a New 3DS (probably XL, although it would be nice to have an option).

There just isn't enough justification to buy yet. My old 3DS is still working fine, and the price of a New 3DS is $230 CAD... which seems like a lot of scratch for hardware improvements that developers don't use or require.

The improved 3D is a big selling point for me. The speed boost is a nice bonus, even if it's something that isn't a visible improvement in most cases. And having a second analog nub built in would be awesome. But that's still not worth $230.

One day I'll grab one. But not until there is a reason to do so.

I'm still waiting for Nintendo to release the standard-sized (NA) N3DS in more colours. I already have my Micro SD card and a copy of Xenoblade Chronicles 3D set aside.

Just give me a Black/Blue/Red option (that will fit in my pocket) and I'm sold!

I'll tell you what Nintendo needs to stop doing though: Under-designing the first iterations of its handhelds just so it can sell us a new and tweaked version at some point down the line. What it should do is release the best possible and best looking product at the time, and only release new versions as it makes sense to do so (because the actual manufacturing techniques have advanced or whatever), rather than intentionally planning this into the crappy design of version 1.0.

Now, you could argue this isn't really happening, but if you actually think the first 3DS wasn't a blatant intentional step backwards in terms of hardware design from the likes of the DS Lite then you are blind. And the designer certainly isn't blind—this is the same guy that designed the Game Boy Advance SP, the Game Boy Micro, and the DS Lite—which tells me it was very much intentional to make the first 3DS look a bit cheap and rubbish, just so they could release a "New" and slicker version at a later date.

Give your hardware the best possible chance of total success right out the gate, and just trust that time will allow you to release newer and better stuff at a later date, without having to design issues into the original version just to justify a reason for the newer model existing.

To be honest, I wanted a New 3DS but the early shortages put me off. Not sure if I'm representative or not, but the thing that's going to get me to buy into a console is availability. I'm not going to preorder-camp for the five minutes it might be open, and I'm not buying from scalpers. It wasn't accessible during the early window, and I personally just lost interest and soon realized the 3DS XL was good enough until the next major console shift.

Maybe that's just me, but I wonder if sheer lack of availability initially soured some people on buying one.

In retrospect, I kinda wished they called it the "Super 3DS" with the beefed up processor and GPU... And give the American version the Fuchsia/Lavender button combination just like the SNES in the 90s. Good times...

Comparing the New 3DS to the DSi XL completely destroys any credibility this article had at putting across a point.

New 3DS: damned if you release it, and damned if you don't. Basically the only incentive one person can buy it for is Xenoblade Chronicles. Or, as it happened in my case, Super Smash Bros., which works considerably better on this redesigned 3DS; add the C-stick (great for avoiding Final Smashes wrecking the analog stick as well) and a superior processor (read: Miiverse posts! Yeah!) to the mix, and what you get is the second good reason to get a 3DS. Too bad that other than this, the New 3DS doesn't quite stand out.

Oh, and there's The Binding Of Isaac, too, but with Tyrone Rodriguez's attitude towards the Wii U, I'm not counting that one.

Seeing as the "New 3DS" was just the "DSi" of this gen it's entire point was to prolong the "3DS's" life span one year then the NX Handheld will come out and take over as the 3DS successor.

I mainly got a 3DS since my old one was getting long in the tooth and I decided it was time for an upgrade. I dont really know where people are getting the idea the New 3DS was going to revive the 3DS it was likely intended as a stopgap until the 3DSs true successor comes out much like how the Game Boy Color was intended as a stopgap between the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance

@Kirk I totally agree with that, i bought a regular 3DS fairly early on, then sold it and got a 3DS XL because i have monkey hands and wonky eyes, and i'm very hesitant to do what basically amounts to buying the 3DS a third time, especially since we have no idea at all what the NX will and won't be, and how long the 3DS line will be supported...

Trying to "force" new 3DS sales by making new games new-only will more likely harm game-sales than boost new 3DS sales, so that is a pretty risky proposition.

TL-DR: Nintendo needs to tell us at least what kind of thing the NX is, i think lots of people are postponing buying decisions until things become a bit more clear.

The 3DS/New 3DS ARE NOT MASS MARKET PRICE FRIENDLY.

The Original GB didn't take off until it reached sub $100.
The GBC took off at it's launch price of $70 and was quick below $50
The GBA launched at $100 and was at $80 when GBA SP launched 8 months later.
The GBA quickly hit the $50 mark with bundled games.

DS launched at $150 and was quickly down to $120 when DS Lite launched.
DS Lite and DSi quickly reached sub $100.

3DS uses 3D screen technology and GPU built for the 3D effect.
Neither are price friendly causing the 3DS to remain pricy.

The mass market price is sub $100 for handhelds in the West as it always has been.

Though if you want the handheld to reach mass market pricing, you have to sacrifice specs.

(Before some yells smartphone prices, smartphones cost $650+ without subsidizes. Now in the U.S. you have to pay full price or spread it out over a set period).

Nintendo needs to focus on price over specs for the next handheld if they want to sell 80M+.
They need to get the price down fast like they did with GBA and GB and launch at $150 or less, and be down to $100 or less by the end of the first year.

On that note, I love my New 3DS XL.
I just wish multicore ARMs and the new screen technology was cheap when 3DS originally launched.

My standard red 3DS works perfectly fine, and Nintendo hasn't done enough with the N3DS for me to justify a purchase at this time. I would at least consider getting a standard N3DS if Nintendo would either release it standalone in NA, or bundle it with something I'm genuinely interested in (nothing against Animal Crossing fans, but the series isn't really my cup of tea). I know that the XL is more popular, but I prefer the standard size as it fits my hands perfectly and, as a portable device, is easier to carry around in my pockets. Furthermore, I would be one of those who invests in the cover plates.

Other than the plethora of reasons already mentioned above, I think another thing holding the N3DS systems back is the fact that you have to buy the charger separately. While that's a fairly normal standard in Japan, the West is used to having the chargers come included with Nintendo handhelds; some uninformed consumers feel cheated, as evidence from some product reviews that I've found online.

Count me among the ones who never felt any need to upgrade. I got the NFC portal (that I seldom use anyway), and everything else is playable in the old ones. Xenoblade and HW I have home versions of. I have a normal 3ds and a XL so the bigger screen is not incentive either.

@liveswired
Devs just don't see a reason why they should take a relatively big risk. Not many people own a New 3DS and not many would care to buy the same console again just for a few games they can't play on the older version. The numbers might look pretty this time around, but relative to the 3DS, the New 3DS is basically just another DSi. The power difference just isn't that big for most devs. If a dev wants more power for their portable game, they can just make the game for Vita, which is actually what many Japanese developers are doing nowadays.
Not only is the power gap between New 3DS and Vita absolutely ginormous, the Vita being a different platform means that no one has to worry about a split consumer base.

The best we can hope for with New 3DS are games that have marginal improvements in visuals and framerate when played on the New 3DS. Only problem is that it seems only Capcom and maybe Tecmo Koei are doing that. I don't count Super Smash Bros because its loading problems are sired from the fact that the old 3DS has to reboot into a low RAM mode before running the game.

This shouldn't come to a surprise to anyone. There's not enough exclusive games to entice casual players to invest in a New 3DS. Anyone that has bought Nintendo machines should know, they'll never bother to actually fully throw their support behind incremental changes in their hardware as they'll always need to cater to the larger install base.

It's a stopgap. It artificially prolongs the life of the console.

Nintendo still refuses to play to the markets expectations. By that I mean they don't discount hardware over time the way Sony and MS does. Also had they launched the standard model of the New 3ds in the States, along with a host of face plates, at the same time as the XL model they perhaps would have sold more as well. This combined with next to no software support for the New 3ds is why it's in the state it is. They have created a catch-22; they can't make exclusive games for it because the install base isn't there and they can't get the install base large enough because of the lack of compelling games.

I see too many people swear the 3DS is dead and the NX is "confirmed" to be the next gen portable, and they use this argument to try and discourage others from buying their first 3DS or a replacement model. Regardless of whatever the NX is exactly, the time is ripe for the next gen handheld.

Here's a thought Nintendo:
When a Majora's Mask and Monster Hunter 4U special edition 3DS sells out before Day 1, MAKE ANOTHER BATCH.

Nintendo needs to stop worrying about making things limited edition right now. Start off as limited edition, sure, but if it sells out, make more. Because if it sells out - guess what - there are more people to sell to.

Nintendo has done this for a long time. It took forever for them to start at least reproducing the stupid amiibo statues, and even know you still mostly just see the commons, but at least you can find the rare ones at maybe only 50% mark up vs before when it was like 400%.

@Mr_Zurkon The small version of the new 3DS did not sell well in Japan. XL sold way better. That was the correct decision. They should have never released the small version in the U.S., and with NX it better just start off the size of an XL at least and don't mess around with the small versions.

@Xenocity The Nintendo DS was $150 for a long time and was selling like crazy. And the old numbers you bring up are no longer relevant.

If people are willing to spend $200 on their phone, they'll pay more for a hand held device. But it needs games that are compelling. The games that were compelling to the masses on DS can now be played on smart phones. THAT'S THE PROBLEM.

Problem is that the 3DS blew through its biggest games by 2014, we already had a 3D Mario AND a 2D Mario, Mario Kart, a main series Zelda game, Smash, and the system's first Pokemon game. Since then we've gotten primarily third party JRPGs and a bunch of other niche stuff. What is even left for the system to boost sales? I think at this point the 3DS' sales are just going to taper off, they probably don't have a lot of big projects lined up for it since they're getting ready to release the NX. I think it's highly unlikely that the next Pokemon game is an NX launch title since they seem like they have unfinished business with 6th gen (we're probably going to get some kind of followup to XY, whether it's Z, XY2, or what have you before they'll even think of releasing an NX main series Pokemon game), so at least there's that, but beyond that I don't think there will be much to be excited for on the 3DS unless you want more of the anime style JRPGs we've been getting lately.

I think Nintendo would have been better making the 3DS without the cameras and gyro extras which all add extra to the cost. Also, the bundled software such as AR games and Faceraiders add to the price.
Here's hoping the next handheld cuts out the gimmicks and gives us a decent console at a reasonable price point. Most people already have tablets and smartphones for the gimmicky stuff.

I am planning to get a NEW 3ds but have pretty much just been saving for up it. It is a system that really has done nothing to prove itself as a next Gen 3ds other than the release of Xenoblade. Personally I'm kind of glad for that. But just the fact that the 3D tracks better is really why I want it. But hopefully they will make some more games in the future that take advantage of that power. I can't wait to get one in my grubby hands. 2016 looks awesome though. They are unleashing some really good RPG's. For those of us in it for the RPG's it's going to be the best year yet for 3ds.

@Xenocity
"(Before some yells smartphone prices, smartphones cost $650+ without subsidizes. Now in the U.S. you have to pay full price or spread it out over a set period)."

Except even older, much cheaper devices can be bought for less than a New 3DS XL and have FAR more power.
Heck, Chinese devices like the GPD XD that even NintendoLife has decided to cover can be bought for around $140 (for the 16 GB model;also free shipping ) and they're FAAAAAAAARRRRRR more powerful than the 3DS. The XD even outclasses the Vita in raw performance.
Also, the 3DS's GPU isn't all that special at all; it's just obscure. Most mobile GPUs nowadays (and even those from a few years ago) can do the same things as the PICA200 series and can do them far better for the same or lower price. Besides, 3D is heavier on CPU, which again the 3DS has been extremely outclassed in in both performance and price.
The 3DS is only staying at the price it is now simply because Nintendo can keep selling them at that price. Well, also because of the 3D technology that less than half of 3DS owners even use.

@Dezzy comments like this can be applied to any console. My ps4 isn't getting a lot of use since it's just killszone 4, uncharted ports, and bloodborne which is bayonetta meets dark souls. Nothing new here either. Bottom line, just enjoy great games. And you need multiple consoles to do this.
My n3ds has over 150 games installed on it. Not cpunting the ds and 3ds carts I have. I've been using it for what, 4-5 years and it's prob my main gaming console as In the most time I spend with it. My wii u is over 300 games now, while my PS3/4 combined all games probably total 30. To each their own.

@Bolt_Strike
They can still make a Soma Bringer 2....and never bring it west....cries

Had the black, smaller new 3DS come out in the US, I'd have bought it on launch to replace my smaller 3DS, but I never wanted the XL and so stuck with mine instead...at this point, it might be too late, esp since they don't seem to want to release the smaller new3DS other than in white in combos.

I upgraded from 3ds to new 3ds xl ,no regrets but it was expensive and not enough colour options at the time there's maybe more now I'm not sure I got black one. The 3d is a vast improvement. Reminds me of the Gameboy advance sp that didn't do anything more than standard advance apart from backlight but was better to use in my opinion

I love my N3DS. I upgraded from the original, and I feel that it enhances enough of my existing games, and Xenoblade is AMAZING, so I'm very satisfied with my purchase. That being said, I can understand why others are not so satisfied.

@AVahne Soma what? Is that another third party JRPG? That's exactly my point, for the last 2 years 3DS has had almost nothing going for it except for third party JRPGs.

EDIT: Okay, it's not third party, but still, my point still stands. JRPGs are slowly becoming to the 3DS what gritty COD-esque shooters are on Xbox and Playstation.

@XCWarrior

The ds was $150 for a year. Psp released 4 months after it and was outselling the ds prior to the ds dropping price.

Also the market has changed dramatically. Gaming systems used to be the thing you'd buy kids to kill time. Now it's either a phone or tablet. To get parents to also buy their kids a gaming system it needs to be cheap. Parents are buying the tablet/phone anyway for their kids so whats the compelling reason to buy a handheld?

If the nx handheld releases at $200 I think thats a big mistake. Sony has proven that high quality handheld hardware is a tough sale. Also, I only buy Nintendo handhelds for the exclusives. If the NX handheld games play on the home console as expected then I wont buy any NX handhelds. I bought 6 members of the 3ds line.

@BinaryFragger SUPER excited to buy Paper Jam. Also DQ looks tempting.

@KTT Gotta agree the EU situation is far worse. I wonder why it's like that. I'm sure there are legal reason behind it ... but still ... Nintendo, work on those with the authorities! And if it's not reasons like that, then shame on you Nintendo.

What they need to do:
1.take all except for the 2ds and new 3ds xl only one color of each like what the club stores do(Sam's club etc.)
2.lower price to 169.99 for new 3ds
3.fire the person who thought no charger is a good idea
4.put out more games that are new 3ds only
Like SNES vc and more Wii ports and new ideas
Change name to super 3ds or something like that.

There are a lot of things Nintendo can do in software to bolster the New 3DS:

• Market re-release of Circle Pad Pro compatible titles as "Classics/Works on New 3DS" line;
• Rework or promote fighting games that take advantage of the extra ZL/ZR buttons;
• Work with Nicalis on getting The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth to run on New 3DS to add sales to that game;
• Give Virtual Console some SNES & GBA ... heck, get some more N64 remakes to it. A Pokemon Snap remake on New 3DS is the perfect system-seller!
• Get New 3DS "killer apps" out!

There are so many ways Nintendo could be making money off this system, it's just up to them to capitalize on them.

It feels like I paid $240.00 to play Xenoblade on the go. I have purchased Majora Mask, Shantae: Pirate Curse, Legend of Legacy, and Stella Glow last year. I could of played all those games on my original 3DS except Xenoblade. What the heck is the N3DS anyway? A one game exclusive. Majora and Monster Hunter does not count. Isaac is a whatever(for Me). So maybe two exclusive and the NX is coming out this year. I know I shouldn't feel cheated but I kinda of do. I know I will purchase the NX but I'm not sure I'm going to get it at launch.

Best handheld system I've had so far. MH3U and 4U would be unplayable without the N3DS features. To me, it was worth it, I got it on launch day and replaced my old XL and the clunky CPP. Been playing daily since then, many games that support CPP are great experiences with better portability... they really should make a way to calibrate the C-Stick sensitivity though.

Hardly surprising... Fragmentation rarely works.... Wii tons of games... Motion plus just a handful. Ps3 tons of games... PS Move a handful. Xbox 360... Kinect etc etc. New 3ds just the same... 1 exclusive game in a year! Same will happen with VR unless a console is released where a VR headset is compulsory. On the plus side my new 3ds has complete Snes/Genesis/Master System/GameGear/GBA/PS Engine romsets and the retroarch emulators (particularly SNES) are incredible.. . worth the upgrade cost alone.

@Michael_JF They did, in the AC Happy Home Designer bundle.

The only thing they "need" to do with the 3DS is REPLACE IT. Retire the 3DS family. Sales will just continue to decline from here on out. The platform has reached the end of it's life cycle.

This is exactly the same as Nintendo DSi, great and late.

Well, to be fair I bought the system because of the enhanced 3D, c-stick, and bigger screen. (I've been using a day one launch 3DS for years.) I didn't really expect a huge assortment of new games to go with it too. In that sense, I have no reason to be disappointed.

only reason I got a new 3DS is because my 3DSXL had a dodgy wifi slider. I do like it, but so much potential not used. But its also like my DSi again, I feel like a right muppet some times lol. Kerching Nintendo!

"A sloppy release strategy and underperforming games have undermined it." Do you mean they Nintendo'd it? Yeah.... There are too many examples of this in the company's history. Great ideas with poor execution. I love my Nintendo games, but I try not to let them lead me on with the promise of potential.

I haven't felt the need to upgrade, despite my second 3DS suffering dodgy shoulder buttons (stupid dust.)
If only they'd release a Wario XL or face plate...

@Sir420 It's not as if the tools aren't in place for New 3DS to be useful:

• It does save one from buying a Circle Pad Pro separately anymore;
• With the Unity support, developers will more readily integrate the performance, extra buttons, and C-Stick/2nd Pad;
• SmileBASIC 3DS already supports the extra buttons & stick via Circle Pad Pro support, so that's one community to also watch for additional New 3DS-capable games, or to create your own;
• There are also a good number of excellent past games that are easier with (or really need) the additional stick & buttons, like Kid Icarus: Uprising, Metal Gear Solid 3D, Monster Hunters 3 & 4, and the Zelda 3D remakes.

So, the execution has been there, but the Circle Pad Pro was always an imperfect solution that they finally integrated into one unit. I agree, though, that they just need to take those next steps in supporting future potential.

I just feel like if they had the standard new 3ds in NA it would have made Nintendo sell more because not everyone wants the xl. I'm just waiting for the standard to come out without a game that I won't play and with better faceplates

It's a stop-gap if there ever was one. Very few games make use of it's features, and there's only two games that you need it to play. Overall, it looks like Nintendo is just about done with the 3ds, and it wouldn't surprise me if it gets replaced in the near future.

New 3DS had a great start, but the 3DS's underwhelming 2015 holiday lineup killed off any momentum.

@IceClimbers yep and why it's vital Nintendo release NX handheld this year. 3DS needs to be replaced.

I figured a beefed up NN3DS that could run Unity3d was the end of life strategy to cover them the next few years before its successor came out. Get a bunch of indies like the Vita has to act as filler between a few 1st party titles. But when everything went really quiet after last summer on the Unity front I wondered if they'd dropped the plan altogether. Especially since I think part of the reason Sony dropped PSM was that they baulked at the cost of upgrading PSM Unity to Unity 5. Seems though that Nintendo stuck it out with NN3DS. Guess I should have had more faith!

@BinaryFragger Also, and more obvious than all of that, the original was just fugly, and it was clearly done deliberately so imo (with Nintendo knowing it would make people want to fork out for the better looking model later on), given a few of the stunning handheld hardware designs that preceded it.

I love my New Nintendo 3DS myself but I can definitely see how it is pretty much like the DSi all over again. The problem is that if they create too many games with just the New handheld in mind then they will be alienating a ton of the fanbase, but in not doing so they give people little reason to upgrade. It is basically a catch 22. At this point I would argue it is too late anyway with the NX on the not so distant horizon, assuming there is a portable element to the system.

I'd buy a New 3ds if they would just release the blue one in NA

Sold my New 3ds as I was just not getting the millage out of it. Nintendo is currently doing the same thing they did last gen - release an updated model to spark interest DSi/NEW 3DS, then localise a bunch of JRPGS to block out the schedule. 3ds has some good games left in the pipeline, most notably Fire Emblem. But that too me is the last big hitter we will see. No more Marios, Zeldas, Donkey Kongs etc. Everyone is turning their head towards the NX, it is all anyone on these sites mentions. People are in my opinion holding off. Why spend £150 on a NEW 3DS when a new console appears to be close at hand.

"especially if - and it's a big 'if' - the NX hardware has a portable aspect to potentially 'replace' it"

Is it still a "big if" at this point? I mean a few months ago it was 50:50, arguments on both sides. You could have been forgiven for thinking it was 100% a home console based on the way the media talked about it. But now that the leaks are starting to come out. It's surely more likely that it is a portable is it not?

Infact this whole bit about being surprised the New 3DS is just a stop-gap. That the 3DS decline that started before the New 3DS launch has continued. Wasn't this obvious a year ago? I'm pretty sure Nintendo knew this given how they rushed the New 3DS out the door in Japan first. The way they've handled the New 3DS isn't the cause of these troubles, it's them trying to paper over it.

I still love the original DS , forget the n3ds it's a chump , also when nintendo stop releasing RPGS i might be interested in the 3ds again.

@JohnnyC That could be applied to any console. Look at the 360 from last gen, half of its sales would have been people buying a replacement console. There aren't many 2nd hand 3DS's in my neck of the woods.

Regardless Western 3rd parties have no interest in developing on Nintendo platforms which to me says more about their relationship with the big N...

@AVahne Power doesn't really come into it though...Most KIDS mobile games are 2D touch screen tapping that could easily run on a 3DS. Even the more demanding 3D games could run on 3DS considering most are very linear and designed to scale to suit hardware requirements like on PC.

The problem lies in business models. I don't believe Nintendo's current setup could support free to play games bombarding users with Advertisements. Personally I feel Nintendo are better off missing out.

Am I the only one that upgraded just because its the best version of the handheld yet? I don't even own any of the >New< only games ¯_(ツ)_/¯ The eye-tracking 3D and improved speakers were enough for me to upgrade day1 since I game on the 3DS a lot.

Even bought one for my pops now that the "Super-stable 3D" eye-tracking lets people with glasses finally enjoy the 3D hassle-free.

@Kirk That is Nintendo all round. Everybody screamed two sticks for years before they added even one. Even Super Mario 64 DS was clear slider stick material. Apple could be accused of the same, but atleast their devices look slick from day 0.

I was never impressed by how Nintendo managed to turn the slick, minimalist DS lite design back into a protoype - it's almost as if they decided to regress in product design stakes again with every iteration starting with DSi. I also initially struggled to comprehend why big N just didn't use two widescreen LCD's in 3DS, the design was unbalanced, and if you look closer, the top screen is slightly off set. Atleast in my model.

As an adopter I would certainly love to see more exclusive games. BUT Nintendo is in an impossible situation. They simply can't do it. Parents would be so confused. They blew it by naming it it the New 3DS just like they blew it with the Wii U.

Stable 3D and speedier menus have me sold on the New 3DS in concept, but yep, NoA can't be bothered to offer the model I need to see here. It's so tragic to see a big company like this develop an acute allergy to money like they have.

The real issue here is the same as always: Nintendo not putting out enough incentives for people to finally do the upgrade (myself included); I mean, Fire Emblem Fates, the game that will sell like crazy and that I've been expecting for months can be played on my ol' regular Zelda 3DS, so, there is no immediate reason for me to buy the new 3DS. Hyrule Warriors Legends stability and improved gameplay on the new 3DS isn't enough for me to acquire it since I will be very busy with the 3 Fire Emblem paths.

@Zetro You have a valid reason for upgrading since you wear glasses and the new 3ds offers you an option to enjoy it as it was originally intended, but I don't wear glasses, so I don't have a valid reason for the upgrade. The only reason I am gonna upgrade is if Nintendo launches more 1st party exclusive titles for the system. Period.

"Revive?" That implies this was meant to be anything more than a stop gap to get existing users to buy another 'best version' of the same handheld. Everything about this-- even the timing of it's release screamed DSi 2.0. Not shocked in the least at the way it's been handled.

Anyway, they missed selling me on this upgrade with that 'XL only' stunt they pulled for NA. In the time since, I've been sold on too many other games and a new system to be spending $200 on a purely cosmetic upgrade.

I almost never buy hardware revisions. It's simply just too much money for me to spend for (roughly) the same game catalog. Aside from me, I do realize that Nintendo didn't release the New 3DS the best way possible. Very few games are built for it, the c-stick is only useless for a handful of titles, and Nintendo didn't really advertise it too much. It's a cool system, just not practical for everyone.

Funny how nobody reflects at the GBA sales and yet they talk about the 3DS not selling well. Its obvious that if you don't have more software, you can't sell more hardware.

Last year....come on. Be cheerful. Sure, its not the best year for Nintendo but at the same time, its definitely not the worst like how everyone claims.

Fates is my anticipated game for the system and I can't wait to get both versions of the game.

Why are people complaining about hardware revisions? Sony and MS do the same thing. I went through 7 xbox360s before I got one that just fricken worked. Nobody comes out with the best version of their hardware on day one. Nobody. Sometimes the tech is too expensive (vita oled screen), sometimes it just doesn't work (looking at you 360), sometimes they underestimate how much people will pay for the kitchen sink (How many ps3 skus are there now?) it is unrealistic to expect any company to get it perfect on the first go round...heck even the older systems had revisions and extensions (n64 expansion pack, that tower of mess you could latch onto the sega genesis...sorry still bitter about that one.)

For me, the New was just a good excuse to bump up to an XL that had a 2nd analog stick built into the unit and better 3D. That's exactly what I got. I didn't expect them to release much New-exclusive software for fear of alienating some of their install base.

To be honest, my original 3ds works fine, so why upgrade...not just for Xenoblade, and not at that price. To upgrade, I would need a price drop, or a stonking set of exclusives.

Regarding software sales, I only bought two retail titles in 2015; Majoras's Mask and Yoshi's New Island (as it was highly discounted). That doesn't mean I've stopped playing my 3ds. Far from it, as now I'm catching up on all the great DS games I missed. In fact, I bought Okamiden for myself this Christmas instead of a 3ds game.

Once Fire Emblem and DQ comes out in Europe (ahem) I'll go back to buying 3ds titles. But for the moment, I'm enjoying catch up time with the DS library!

As an O3DS owner the only incentive for me to get an N3DS would be if the old one died suddenly. Or if I got up one morning and said "SNES and Megadrive emulation is not enough for me, that PSOne emulation is to die for!", which isn't as likely as you think.

And I am a DSi owner.

@Ryu_Niiyama

...heck even the older systems had revisions and extensions (n64 expansion pack, that tower of mess you could latch onto the sega genesis...sorry still bitter about that one.)

... and now I need to watch the AVGN Sega CD/32X episodes. X-D Thanks for the inspiration my fellow Dream Fighter.

DSi was great. New 3DS is a muddled mess of a product. It confuses the marketplace and potential "3DS family" buyers. The New 3DS models should not have been made.

I have Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, the Xenoblade face plates, and a shiny new memory card all hanging out in my house just waiting to be put to use... but MAN, Nintendo really isn't giving me a lot of incentive to shell out a ton of cash for the New 3DS.

@Xenocity A New 3DS under 100? That will never happen.

You are getting a lot of machine. Still, perception is everything, and many will welcome a 150-160 price tag for the New 3DS XL, 120 for the New 3DS, as well as 120 for the older 3DS XL. These are the prices that will make many of my friends upgrade. Many thought that the holiday 3DSXL bundle with Super Mario 3D Land was very enticing, as it sold out everywhere (was 130 bucks).
Help developers make new interesting games for the 3DS. Terraria should have given a huge bump to the system, as well as the Binding of Isaac. A lite version of Minecraft should have made it to the system already. A Mario-like Galaxy game could be very enticing, since many people just don't play the Mario & Luigi RPG's.

Also, make really good games. There's been a lack of 9+ games lately on the 3DS (maybe 3 in the last year, counting Majora's Mask), but Yokai Watch wasn't as enticing, and Hyrule Warriors shipped in Japan with a very underwhelming performance.

I am absolutely not interested in buying the New 3DS. The 3DS is probably one of my favourite platforms of all time. I don't see the point of getting the "New". I live in Mexico, so I have the NoA version of things.

I got Xenoblade Chronicles for Wii and played it on my Wii U. I thought that was the better experience, it is not a game for handhelds as many reviewers pointed out.

I am happy with my regular 3DS XL, I think I will keep playing this games forever: FE Awakening, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, Star Fox 3D, Super Mario 3D Land, Monster Hunter 4, Zelda A Link Between Worlds, Steam World Dig, and yes Code Name S.T.E.A.M.

I doubt there will be a New 3DS exclusive that will motivate to spend that money on it.

Well, I was mistaken. In the last year there has been 6- 9+ games on the 3DS, but 4 of them have been rpg's, 3 of them have been ports, 3 have been sequels, so there is a huge lack of anything remotely enticing for anyone to upgrade.

It's obvious the New 3DS and its XL counterpart will not be getting any relevant support anymore, but that goes for the entire 3DS family as well as Wii U as a whole. Nintendo have internally moved on to NX development, and they have had to. Developing a new system and games for it just takes too many resources, they can't do that and focus on the older systems as well.

Anyone expecting any sort of relevant support for 3DS/Wii U from Nintendo after NX launches is just delusional.

@CB85 dude, ofc 3DS will get support. Nyx and 3DS has nothing to do with one another. two platforms. Nyx compared to Wii U, there I agree.

@CB85 I meant NX not nyx. my bad

@Varathius NX will replace both 3DS and Wii U, everyone knows this, it's not even up for discussion. Nintendo have been leveling off support since last year. Basically nothing noteworthy has been announced for either 3DS/ Wii U, apart from some games which have been in development for a long time. Sales are massively down, even if they wanted to and they put out a brand new mainline Pokémon game tomorrow, there's zero chance they could ride it out beyond the end of this year and have any sort of meaningful sales numbers/profits. Nintendo is a company, not some arbitrary charity.

If they just released updates to improve older games for the new 3DS, instead of stability updates, the new 3DS would actually increase in value. For example fix the lag in pokemon XY/ORAS that is caused while playing in 3D

New Nintendo 3DS is just what it is: A complete pointless device. Very soon there will be a true 3DS succesor, you can bet on that! Whether that will be the NX has yet to be seen though, but it could be.

Nintendo's marketing strategy is a mess imo...

At release, I thought about getting the New 3DS for the better 3D viewing angles. I decided that it wasn't enough to dish out the cash for however. If it had more good exclusive games for it, then I would have bought it. Now I'm waiting to see what the mobile component of the NX is gonna be. If it supports 3DS games, than I'm certainly not going to buy a New 3DS anymore. If it doesn't than prices for the New 3DS will come down I think. Maybe then. We'll see.

@JohnnyC 'Can we stop going on about the 3Ds install base please? It is much less than 50 million, as a quick trip to any second-hand shop and the vast number of 3DS consoles on offer shows how many are no longer used. That's in addition to those that are owned but clearly no longer played. It wouldn't surprise me if the number of active 3Ds consoles isn't much higher than that of the Wii U, and the software sales strongly suggest that too, as well as Nintendo's poor support. If they had 50 million consoles actively online, they'd have had their best developers at work on software for it, instead of last year's collection of spin-offs and ports.'

Totally agreed on this!!!

Was only talking to a friend about this last night and it goes for every system out in the wild. Say ps3, 80mollion sold, I would think about 40 to 50 million are still in people's homes, how many of them are plugged in and used now is prob much less.

With the 3ds, I know people who have 5 or 6 versions of the 3ds over the years, special editions etc that are sealed and boxed away, and they still use their launch 3ds system. So that 50 odd million 3ds systems being used is a lie (aka 50 million people are using a 3ds now). I would think there could be 20million 'actively' in use 3ds's right now, with the rest being broken, traded on for a new model in a shop, or boxed away in someone's big collection, or in a dump somewhere. I never trust those numbers. Those numbers are for the shareholders, shows how much money is being made in new system sales, not second hand or anything like that.

Life time sales are just that, life time sales. Not the amount of people who own and use a system.

It's a weird one.

I bought the New 3DS because the game cart slot is in the front. Makes changing game so much more convenient.

@CB85 How can a console that you hook up onto a damn tv replace a 3ds ? So can I take the Nx into an airplane and play it? Can I play it in a hotel room laying on my bed in my holidays when my wife is taking her 2-3 hours to prepare herself in the bathroom for dinner? Can I play the Nx on the train? Or when waiting for an hour for the doctor to arrive late? The 3Ds platform has nothing to do with the Nx, Zero. Different games, different equipment, etc... 3DS is a on-the-go platform... it was meant to be plaid on-the go, and not as a main console in your own home... if people use a 3DS as a main console and don't use a PC, or other more higher end-consoles, then they are doing it wrong in Nintendo's perspective. 3DS is a mobile gaming platform, not a stationary like the Nx. Two different ideas behind it.

They already had their bases covered by the time they released the N3DS. 2ds came out right around the time the old 3ds systems were loosing steam and breaking down. Anyone with a launch 3ds will know those things were built like single sheet toilet paper. When a cheap $120 replacement came around it was a done deal, with the 3DS XL being billed as a 3ds but bigger, the 2DS was the 3ds but cheaper. It was doing everything the old system could for less and what people preferred if they weren't geting the XL, which was cheaper than the OG 3ds was at launch.

By the time n3ds came out there wasn't much else they could grab out of the 3ds lovers. Anyone whose 3ds breaks down now will either settle for a 2ds or wait for what's coming next rather than spend 200 on aging hardware. And I love my n3ds. I'll never be able to go back to the older model systems because of how snappy the UI is and how much better the screens and processing is but even I know that will be rendered mute point if the NX is portable and has a backwards compatibility feature.

Honestly, looking over all that the n3ds is, it seems more like a proof of concept for what their next device could be capable of more than anything else. Much like the DSi line was proof they could make a multimedia handheld with digital games, the n3ds is proof they can make a system with two analog sticks and NFC functionality without substantially sacrificing form factor or battery life.

New Nintendo 3DS and XL are the best damn portables ever made. I don't care about their replacement, and I truly doubt anything new has a smitten of a chance of improving my gaming experience. If the NX has 3D, I might think about it, if not, I'll skip the generation (or come in at the end of it).

This article is left of the point, the New 3DS represents the end of the product life cycle, its ability to reinvigorate is extremely limited by this simple fact, regardless of what could of been done better.

See the product extension part? That's the New 3DS in the 3DS product life cycle, at best it drags out the inevitable but it can't replace a new product.

@JohnnyC You can do that with any console at any stage in it's life. It only shows the number of consoles that have been sold by users or refurbished. The previous owner could have just as easily sold the old console for a new version as selling the old console to completely get rid of it. Assumptions, you know.

@Varathius @CB85

Yes, yes you can. Supposedly.

The concept behind the NX is to evolve the ground breaking idea of the Wii U and replace both he Wii U and the 3DS.

The "New" 3DS is still a 3DS and is now 5 years old. It's old new. 3DS had it's resurgence part way through and had an incredible year during software such as Luigi's Mansion 2, Fire Emblem Awakening and Pokémon X/Y and is now all but done.

The NX sounds like it may be intended that a portable device (3DS successor) is to function the same as the Wii U Gamepad but have full portable functionality of the 3DS, with the Next Gen base unit running the show on the big screen.

This idea is already employed on the PS4/Vita set up and was a natural progression from what was Nintendo's innovative idea.

Another obstacle for the Wii U is that you can only connect 1 gamepad, meaning all the great functionality of the Gamepad cannot be transposed into local multiplayer games as all other players are demoted to using whatever other Wii compatible devices they can find to join the fun.

Now, you have an NX, you're brother has an NX, his best friend has one and you all go to a friends house gaming on Pokémon Z on your Portable node of NX on the way there. You arrive at the friends house and all of your portable node of NX can now partner to the friends NX base unit for a party session on Battlefield 5 (hopefully) all in one squad, communicating fully and all have the full functionality intended in your dual screen NX/(3DS/Wii U style gamepad).
You then wait for a bus to go home and then continue to play the game being streamed from your home NX base unit in full HD on your portable node of NX.

This is very probable solution that Nintendo may be about to launch, but we'll have to wait and see.

@Varathius It's apparent you haven't been following the news the last few months. NX is supposed to be a hybrid system with a home console and a handheld aspect to it. Recent leaks and rumours suggest it may actually be 2 separate devices, with the handheld one launching this year, and the home console version later. So yes, NX will very much be replacing 3DS and yes, you will be able to do all those things you mentioned, because it will be portable.

I don't think that the "handheld" market was ever dead to be revived, rather that it was dying, (or going through a tough period), and that it needs boosting back to the old sales.
(Now to wait as people forget about this comment )

Part of the problem is that the New 3DS simply came out after Nintendo finished releasing three years of big hits for their portables. Even without exclusives, a few extra features like those in Majora's Mask 3D would have made a big difference. It could be as simple as a more constant 3D effect in Pokemon. I'll give credit for making Xenoblade 3D as an exclusive, but that game's appeal is limited.

Another factor to consider is that the New 3DS sort of sabotages itself by making a lucrative used market. People who buy the New model will typically trade in their original system. Potential buyers can thus easily find a used original 3DS for about 60% of the usual price. That wouldn't hurt game sales too much, but does slow hardware sales.

Nintendo did not give the New 3DS the same love they gave for the Game Boy Color. That sums up Nintendo's failure in a nutshell. The New 3DS probably could have helped with online performance for games, too. There were many online DS games that could have used a processing boost. (Phantasy Star Zero comes to mind for me.)

Nintendo is clearly just trying to push as many units as possible until NX is released. Too bad, a lot of people like it for what it is. But hey, if Nintendo doesn't want to support and advertise their own system like they should be doing, that's on them.

I wouldn't want to "upgrade" to New 3DS for a couple of reasons: First, the battery life still sucks, especially with a 3rd party battery containing a whole day's worth of power for the regular 3DS. Second, I've taken the 3DS with me through storms and inclement weather while traveling and hiking for so long now, with millions of steps taken; it's broken my fall when I tripped once before (had to send it in for repairs); and I've repaired the R button switch myself once already. I feel like if I gave it up, I would be abandoning it for some pretty young thing. I've not done that with any portable console since the GBA, why would I start now?

@Ryu_Niiyama There was a relatively easy fix to the X clamp in the earlier 360 models that was a fundamental design flaw, contributing to or causing the high failure rate. So I wouldn't use the fundamentally flawed 360 design and initially shady replacement policy as a bearer of the statement "no one gets it right on the first try", especially when hobbyist hardware tinkerers figured out the problem before Microsoft. (Unless Microsoft knew about, and sold it anyways.)

@cleveland124 I get what you're saying, but if NX is both a handheld and a console, $200 would be amazing. But we'll see what it is, all speculation for now.

Things would also help if my generation of parents would give their kids like a 2DS (which is $99 btw and sells horribly) rather than a tablet. once my son is a year or 2 older, that's my plan or we'll see what NX is.

@ShinjiODA
Agreed, and the same shops stock used ps4s and Xbones. However, is it more likely that there are c.50,000,000 regular, active 3Ds users or, based on the software sales for the last year and the simple fact that you don't see many people playing on the things, that a significant number of these consoles are either gathering dust or sitting in a second-hand shop. Figures are unlikely to be ever made available re current active owners, but I stand by the theory that Nintendo's lack of support of the past year has resulted in the 3Ds active userbase being closer to the Wii U than the PS4. Agreed, this is based on assumptions, but reasonable ones based on the recently released figures. All this is said as a late adopter, who is very much enjoying the 2Ds back-catalogue, but hasn't felt compelled to buy a new title since Majora's Mask last year.

If I didn't had the XL before I probably would not have upgraded to the new 3DS, but since i had the orignal 3DS and wanted an XL and got the oh so sexy Majora's Mask one if not for that I would not have upgraded to the new 3DS for just the one game they've made exclusive. I already have Binding of Isaac on PC so no need for that even if it's exclusive.

@rjejr I bought the new 3ds xl for $175 at gamestop.

@PlywoodStick Considering the number of them I've bought I'm not giving them a pass, but I doubt that microsoft r & d members were twirling their mustaches about the 360 issues (and the majority of mine weren't red rings btw) as it cost MS money. But they still had to redesign the system multiple times.

Many of the comments are from Nintendo owners who say they won't 'upgrade'. Such reactions are unimportant, in many ways, because you are already buying Nintendo games, What Nintendo really needs is new customers. They have shown they recognize that with the advert featuring the little girl whose dad gives her a Link costume. But the add did not show her happily going to bed with her New 3DS or even a 2DS. When I travel with my 3DS, I am often asked by kids who are the age that was once the once prime Nintendo audience what I have. In the US at least, when the New 3DS XL was introduced, the adverts all said 'Have you seen it?'. The answer, mostly, is no. I was on a bus last week in Seattle with a kid who had the only other New 3DS I've seen in the wild besides my own.

@LoveSugoi LOL you are very welcome. What were your thoughts on Star Train? Personally I love how both nostalgic and determined for a future together the song expresses and the video...Everytime I see the NYC footage I'm a mess. All I can think is "I was there. I shared in that moment and I'm a richer person for it".

@Ryu_Niiyama Ahhhh so lucky. I wasn't able to go so I'm desperately hoping there's a 4th World Tour. The MV is very beautiful and touching. I got that sense of reflective-ness as well before entering a new chapter in their lives. The girls looked absolutely gorgeous (well, they always do but even more than usual). The song reminds me of Spending all my time in the sense that it sounds more like the current western music scene than their usual mix of old school melodies with electronic "futuristic" pop. The solos are everything. <3

I just hope for Nintendo's sake that developers can quickly develop decent Unity-powered games to upload onto the eShop and give the New 3DS some more exclusives. Plus, why not just publish Flipnote Studio 3D worldwide but as a New 3DS exclusive? There's enough fans of Flipnote so I'm pretty sure that could be the catalyst for some gamers to upgrade!