New Nintendo 3DS XL backplate chipping

Man... This happened just this afternoon... I was even playing my New Nintendo 3DS XL this morning and I didn't see it. I have no idea why it's chipping away, looks like a top layer coating.

It's also starting on the other side, these are where my hands grip the console.

I think there's a quality control issue with whatever they used to coat the NN3DSxl. I've had this unit since launch.


Later
Don

Lego City Undercover

A couple weeks ago, I gathered up a big stack of mostly Wii games, a few DS and a PSP game, about 12 games in total... to trade in at EB Games. I ended up getting about $40.00 in credit which I put towards the purchase of one game: Lego City Undercover.

Lego City Undercover is basically Grand Theft Lego. Both this game and another game I'm playing right now, Infamous (PS3) are clearly heavily influenced by  the Grand Theft Auto games, but Lego City Undercover wears its influence on its sleeve. Instead of playing a car thief, you play a cop. But you do many of the same things as in GTA games: jack cars from their drivers at will, only you do it on "Police business!".... and many missions also ape the GTA ones, like having to evade police (even though you are one? Hanh?)

First off, the game gets off to a bad start: there's a loading screen just to get to the intro screen where you pick your profile (or create a new one) THEN after you pick your profile IT LOADS AGAIN.... so there are 2 loading screens in a row, each about 20-40 seconds. WHY did there need to be a loading screen just to get to the TITLE?? That was a colossal mistake by developer TT Games... they should have just made the title screen a static one if it saved having to do a  loading time. Most complaints about the game are the long, numerous loading screens. But most GTA open-world style games have long load times because the maps are so large. Still, they should be planned out so as to minimize them as much as possible.

The home base for the player in this game is the Police Station, this is where you buy/unlock characters and vehicles. It is a 3 floor building each floor accessible by elevator, and they ALL have loading screens when you go from one to the other. You HAVE to endure at least one loading screen because you always enter the building on the middle floor and all the unlock areas are in the basement. And of course there are loading screens every time you enter and exit the Police Station.

That said, the game is a lot of fun. The city map seems to be about 3 large sections, and there are so many cars you can drive. And boats, and helicopters... it's so fun to just travel around. I haven't really played a Lego game since Lego Star Wars & Lego Star Wars 2: The Original Saga (original Xbox) and Lego City Undercover is basically the same overall formula but showing refinements learned from each Lego game they've released. It skews on the easy side, make no mistake-- this game is (rightfully) aimed at kids but I am just having fun exploring such an open place and digging the corny yet endearing humour.

There are still some rough edges to the game, glitchy areas... like when they want you to go to a mission point, they give you a trail of green glowing Lego studs to follow, on one mission I was following it ad it took me right off a incomplete bridge. I fell from a high cliff into water, which didn't kill me, but I couldn't get back up because the cliffs around me were so high. The game eventually gave me an option to hold a button to return to land-- but when I do, it takes me to the point where my car is already in mid-air jumping off the bridge. I tried to jump out, anything to try to stay on land but it always just sends me back into the water. I had to just quit and resart the mission. And another mission I was on horseback following the studs to a castle, and inexplicably, instead of having the stud trail go *over* the bridge to the castle, it seemed to want me to somehow jump across  the gap *beside* it-- which I couldn't. I think as I get through the last third of the story mode, things get less polished like they didn't have the time to playtest everything.

The humour in Lego City Undercover is genteel and mostly plays to a younger audience, but there is an odd off-note in the Museum mission where there's an almost racist depiction of native indians.... it's a bit of a sour note, especially for a kid's game.

 I have mixed feelings about the Wii U gamepad integration. There are some times when I really enjoy it, like when using it to track footprints to find a hidden treasure. But using it to display the city map, it takes my eyes away from the screen where my attention wants to be.... and the touch interface is unwieldy, maybe because of the (crappy) resistive touch screen. If it was a capacitive touch screen I would likely enjoy it more. But I will talk about Nintendo's second screen philosophy in another post...

Lego City Undercover is the first and only Wii U game that I'm really sinking my teeth into, making me think the Wii U might have been a worthwhile purchase. Unfortunately, I see little else on the horizon for the system, and considering I've had the console for about 6 (long) months without any real games to hook me on it... I honestly don't know if I should have bought the Wii U. If I knew it wouldn't sell out like the Wii frenzy of 2006-2007, I wouldn't have bought it at launch. At this point I'm waiting for Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition to price drop in Canada. Other than that game, not much else I can think of to pick up for Wii U.

Annoyingly, the 3DS also is looking tragically barren of games over the long run. But I am getting  psyched for Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins, the prequel to the Wii U game. It's coming out April 21, 2013.... very soon. Even though the early reviews are a bit tepid, I am aware of the limitations of the handheld and I still think I will buy it day 1.


later
don

Got my 3DS XL!

Sunday, August 19, 2012: The North American release date for the 3DS XL. Can be bought at major electronics retailers. Since I pre-ordered ONLY to get a $20.00 e-coupon, I have to wait.

Monday, August 20, 2012 10:11am: Canada Post delivers my red 3DS XL! Yay!

In a nutshell: it's a bigger 3DS. 'Nuff said!

But going more in depth, there;s obviously more to the system than that.




What's bizarre is that the 3DS XL box is smaller than the 3DS box. It is packed really tight. 

I was a bit... apprehensive when I noticed the box had been a bit scrunched. Luckily it was on the side that has only the manuals & paperwork. But that's another reason why I would rather be able to buy my system from a store, rather than be at the mercy of Canada Post.







The design is more simple than the 3DS, it feels more like a throwback to the DS Lite. It reminds me a lot of my red & black DS Lite that came in a Brain Age 2 bundle. There are only 2 tones to it, the outside is a flat red with a slight metallic sheen to it, it actually looks quite nice. But even though it's flat, it still picks up fingerprints & oil pretty badly. Only after a short time of owning it, it's gotten prints on it. Also it is a lot more slippery than it looks-- in fact even though the old 3DS has a more glossy body, the 3DS XL outer panels are MORE slippery than the 3DS!

 





The inside is a black matte that really reminds me a lot of my DS Lite. It seems more fingerprint resistant than the outside, and the gloss surface of the old 3DS. It also has a very minimalistic look.


















The hinge is very reminiscent of  the DS Lite.. so much so, that I'm a bit worried about the hinge crack issue that plagued that model... hope not....

I may be in the minority here, but I really liked the look of the original 3DS, sandwich tones and all. The original 3DS managed to straddle the line between the sophisticated look of a quality electronic gadget for adults and the toy-like colours of a fun game console for kids. While some could choose the black to give it a more adult look, I loved that contrast with the blue. But overall, the 3DS XL skews more towards the cheaper, toy-like feel that Nintendo consoles have traditionally had.

But the  rounded underside makes for a more ergonomic feel than perhaps any previous Nintendo handheld.Unfortunately the bubbly feel of the bottom shell also sorta feels hollowish... like you could put a dent in it if you pressed down hard enough. And the outer red plates aren't seamless, some areas on my 3DS XL they have a very slight gap where it meets the black part, marring the overall build quality and adding to the cheap, toy-like feel of the XL. it doesn't have as solid a feel as the original 3DS.





















Where it does improve, are the bottom corners....  they used to jab into my palms on the original 3DS and now they.... jab less on the 3DS XL. Yes, they still do jab into my palms but the corners are so large that it's not as bad. I will have to really put in a lot more gametime to see for sure. I can't feel the holes in the bottom corners for the straps when I hold the XL, even though they look huge in all the closeup pictures, in reality they are not that big.

The analogue nub feels more or less the same, though mine seems to have some excess plastic flashing along the bottom edge, which screams cheap build quality, though it doesn't affect gameplay in any way.



The shoulder buttons, D-pad & face buttons feel exactly the same to me as my DS Lite. I'm HATING how all the reviews and first impressions are saying they are stiffer than the original 3DS..... gee, a new console right out of the box has STIFFER buttons than your 18-month-old console that has gone through hours and hours of gaming sessions... REALLY? DO TELL.Wow, I never would have thought that! Sheesh, what dumbasses.... the only way to properly compare that would take at least a few weeks of using the 3DS XL a lot, if not like 3 months of heavy use.

















The SELECT, HOME, START buttons are better.... but not what people might expect. Even though they look like regular physical "push straight down" buttons, I think they are hinged at the top, sorta like piano keys. They work great if you press them at the bottom edge of the button, but if you press in the center or top, they don't work as well. I am really growing to hate the membrane buttons on the original 3DS, so I'm fairly happy with the new ones.

Audio quality definitely took a hit with the 3DS XL. The speaker output is less than the 3DS, and sound is tinnier. The 3DS wasn't exactly known for having loud audio in the first place, and the XL is slightly worse. 

The headphones jack is moved to the bottom left corner. I thought I would like this, because it's more like the PSP, but I kinda wish it was a bit more like the Vita where it is to the side, but not too close to the corner.

The screen: If there ever was a reason to upgrade to the 3DS XL, it would be the larger screen(s). We all know about the lower pixel density, but the image quality is not bad, it is more or less the same 3DS on a larger screen. The 3-D is also more or less the same.... BUT... there are some issues. People have been complaining of a smaller sweet spot, and also black banding lines. I have encountered the banding lines, to me they are more like vertical shadows of pillars  across the screen, they don't obscure the image but kinda darken it in places.

This is a simulated photo of what they kinda look like:



 They are more like shadows across the screen or refractions of some sort.

I notice them more when I'm not wearing my glasses or contact lenses, but they are definitely more prominent when comparing the 3DS XL to the 3DS side by side. Maybe Nintendo was considering this screen size for the original 3DS but because of the "instability" of the image quality, perhaps that's why they went with such a small screen on the original? If this was what it was like on the original, the first mainstream exposure to glasses-free 3-D, I think I would have chocked it up to the new technology and still been grateful for having a dynamic experience with my first 3D gaming console. But seeing this after the original 3DS screen quality, it is disappointing, and again smacks of cheapness.

So basically, what I'm trying to say is that it isn't yet a dealbreaker for me, I'm going to keep playing my XL for awhile to see if my eyes adjust or if it becomes more tolerable. I almost always play my old 3DS with 3D on full all the time.

But the 3D itself does look really good, it is basically the same as the original 3DS only bigger. I'm playing Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D on it and I am amazed how much easier and smoother it is to play on a larger screen. I can pull off more precisely aimed shots than I can do on my original 3DS. It looks SO GOOD on the bigger screen.

Screen scratch issue-- is there (a new) one? I breathed a sigh of relief when I opened my 3DS XL and found the screens to be scratch-free. Also, when closed, I shone a flashlight through the center to see of there was a visable gap between the panels... yes, it appears so. I have heard of screen scratches-- odd little circle marks-- appearing on the top screen after owning a 3DS XL for awhile, but I can't figure out what would cause that. So only time will tell for sure... I hope it doesn't happen to me.

Unlike the original 3DS which was packed with a foam sheet to protect the screens, the XL didn't come with any sheet or anything protecting the screens, only the foam bag holding the system itself. Nintendo is either supremely confident they have the screen scratch problem fixed or they are super cheap...

There is another click setting for the screen angle, about 100 degrees, making the 3DS XL look like a laptop. At first I thought it might be really handy for watching Nintendo Video, but because of the black lines issue, if you are off the sweet spot they are very visible, and I personally see them when my XL screen is propped at that angle. I think this "feature" is more of an attract mode for stores and advertising to display the 3DS XL in a sexy way. Not very practical in real-world use.

On the bottom screen there is a strange gritty feel to it... I don't like it, but I think that it might be a coating to protect the touchscreen? I think it will wear off over time.

 

It's really  nice to see my 3DS XL is about "equal" to my PS Vita... at least in physical size. but with both devices turned on, the Vita screen does put the 3DS XL to shame a little bit. But the Vita doesn't do 3D...



All the reviews basically say the same; the 3DS XL is nice, but not an essential replacement for the 3DS. And while I am liking it so far, if I had to stick with my 3DS, I'd be ok with that. The 3DS is not perfect, but it is still a nice portable system that has a quality build, although not as ergonomic as the 3DS XL. At this point, I haven't done a System Transfer of my data to my new XL... I will wait at least a week to check for any major problems. But I'm not sure what I will do with my 3DS if I switch to my XL. the old 3DS is nice and compact, the screen is sharper, and it is lighter.

I'm surprised how much of a difference it makes in game play. It feels easier to pull off moves in Resident Evil: The Mercenaries-- in fact, at first it felt like I was almost cheating(!) ... and Super Mario 3D Land looks and plays better on the larger screen too. Despite the more plasticy toy-like look to the 3DS XL, I think it is more of a focused-on-gaming machine.



later
don

Up yours, Future Shop

I finally got my e-coupon from Future Shop for pre-ordering the 3DS XL online. Rather than walking into a store and buying it the day it comes out, I had to wait an extra day because Canada Post doesn't deliver on Sunday. Fine. It's worth it because I get the $20.00 e-coupon... despite the last-minute in-store Future Shop  deal that gave $20.00 off any game in September.

Then I get my 3DS XL in the mail, the box is a little scrunched in the corner. It looks like a "first off the truck" SKU... but so far, my 3DS XL has no problems. But if I had bought in-store, I would have made the salesperson give me a undamaged box... in other words, I could choose. But at least I get the $20.00 e-coupon for pre-ordering, right?

So I just got my e-coupon, 2 days after my 3DS XL arrived, and... it's not vaild UNTIL September 7. I have to wait 2 1/2 weeks to be able to use it. Probably the same as if I had just gone into the store and bought it ON launch day, being able to pick an UNDAMAGED box, and could have been playing it right away like everyone else.

What's galling is that restriction was NOT listed in the original pre-order deal, and believe me, I read all the fine print they made available to me at the time. It was NOT there. Had I known, maybe I wouldn't have pre-ordered.

Future Shop, you are such colossal douchebags...


later
don

Pathetic 3DS games list for 2012

I am so angry, I want to smash something. The list of upcoming 3DS games is simply awful.

So much of this crap is shovelware that is based on crappy licensed properties like toys or movies. Being based on a toy or movie doesn't AUTOMATICALLY make a game crap. But you can tell that most of these are going to be half-hearted efforts where whoever is making them doesn't give a shit about making an actual good game.

There looks to be a few RPG titles there maybe, but I am not an RPG fan.

Why is Capcom nowhere to be found on the list? The only game I'm sort of interested in is the upcoming Castlevania game, and it's not even announced a release date yet?



Activision Publishing, Inc. - Angry Birds Trilogy - October
Activision Publishing, Inc. - Bratz: Fashion Boutique - October
Activision Publishing, Inc. - Lalaloopsy: Carnival of Friends - October
Activision Publishing, Inc. - Moshi Monsters Moshlings Theme Park - October
Activision Publishing, Inc. - Skylanders Giants - Oct. 21
Activision Publishing, Inc. - TRANSFORMERS PRIME - Oct. 30
Activision Publishing, Inc. - The Trash Pack - October
Activision Publishing, Inc. - Wipeout 3 - October
Activision Publishing, Inc. - Wreck It Ralph - October



Aksys Games Localization, Inc. - Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward - Oct. 23
ATLUS (Index Digital Media, Inc.) - Code of Princess - Oct. 9
D3Publisher - Rise of the Guardians: The Video Game - Nov. 20
D3Publisher - Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why’d You Steal Our Garbage?! - Fall
D3Publisher - Ben 10: Omniverse - Fall
Disney Interactive - Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion - Nov. 18
Disney Interactive - Disney·Pixar Finding Nemo - September
Disney Interactive - Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure - September
Electronic Arts - FIFA 13 - September
GameMill Entertainment - Hotel Transylvania - Sept. 18
Majesco Entertainment - Hello Kitty Picnic - October
Maximum Games - 50 Classic Games - October
Maximum Games - American Mensa Academy - October
Maximum Games - Junior Classic Games - October
Maximum Games - Jett Tailfin - November
Natsume Inc. - Harvest Moon: A New Beginning - Q4
Nintendo - New Super Mario Bros. 2 - Aug. 19
Nintendo - Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone! - Oct. 1
Nintendo - Crosswords Plus - Oct. 1
Nintendo - Style Savvy: Trendsetters - Oct. 22
Nintendo - Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask - Oct. 28
Nintendo - Freakyforms Deluxe: Your Creations, Alive! - Nov. 5
Nintendo - Paper Mario: Sticker Star - Nov. 11
SEGA - Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed - Nov. 20
Storm City Entertainment - Chevrolet Camaro Wild Ride - August
Storm City Entertainment - Old Skool Classics - September
Storm City Entertainment - Word Wizard 3D - September
Telegames, Inc. - Classic Games Overload: Card and Puzzle Edition - November
Ubisoft - Rayman Origins - Q3 (probably meant to be Rayman Legends, not Origins... got this list from NintendoLife)
Ubisoft - Imagine Babyz - Oct. 23
Ubisoft - Imagine Fashion Life - Oct. 23
Ubisoft - Petz Countryside - Nov. 6
Ubisoft - Rabbids Rumble - Holiday
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment - LEGO The Lord of the Rings - Fall
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment - Spy Hunter - Fall
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment - Scribblenauts Unlimited - Holiday
XSEED Games - Unchained Blades - Summer



About the only games that show any hint of being good are:

Spy Hunter
Scribblenauts Unlimited
Rayman Legends

And of those 3, only Spy Hunter sounds vaguely like something I really want to play. I've played Super Scribblenauts (DS) and Rayman Origins (Wii) and both were... meh.

So out of this entire crappy list... ONE game that MIGHT show promise. It could just as easily turn out to be another Driver Renegade 3DS disaster. At this point, who knows?

"Awesome"... from right now, August, to December 2012-- I have about ONE game to look forward to... if only they announced that EX troopers game for North America, at least that would give me some hope.

How can the 3DS not be in trouble with a shitty game list like this?



later
don

Preordered the 3DS XL

Lord help me, I just put in a preorder for a red 3DS XL.... I've been reading some of the comments from early adopters who got the 3DS LL in other regions already. There are some issues of note:

-Speakers are not as good as the 3DS, and may have crackling at high volume.

-Screens are yellow-tinged.

-There may be a NEW screen scratch issue(!)

-The 3D sweet spot may actually be SMALLER rather than larger than the original 3DS.


Despite these issues, I still preordered from Future Shop online, they offer a $20.00 E-coupon with purchase if preordering.

The bottom line is I'm just a handheld nut. I'm really hoping a lot of the issues only affect a small minority of owners or have been corrected for the North America release of the console.

What I really like is that the 3DS XL looks... equal to the PS Vita. When I have my Vita laying next to my 3DS, even though these are both current gen consoles, the 3DS does not look right.... y'know? And especially after playing my Vita tons, going back to the small 3DS screens is difficult. Even though the resolution is still lower, having the 3DS XL screen being almost the same size as the Vita will look more proper to me. And I am so looking forward to the more rounded edges, despite my liking the overall look of the 3DS, the current 3DS corners stab into my hands, making for very uncomfortable extended gameplay sessions.


A bit over 7 days before the 3DS XL comes out.... I absolutely cannot wait to play Resident Evil The Mercenaries 3D on it... and a reminder-- my online handle is HndhldAdct....


later
don

What's missing from all the 3DS XL reviews

Some points that keep getting overlooked from all the 3DS XL reviews out there:

-What does the inside panel feel like? It looks matte?

-They say the corners are more rounded so they don't jam into your palms the way the 3DS does (I find it very painful myself) but what about those holes for the lanyard strap? Since they are on the corners, will they push into our hands during marathon gaming sessions?

-Does the circle pad feel too high up on the body?

-A big one: What about the screen scratch issue? This has NEVER been addressed, even though it's a major problem almost as bad as the notorious dead pixel issue that plagued the first generation PSP. A site called ONM even has a noticeably scratched 3DS in its review video (skip to 1:15 to see it) yet they fail to acknowledge it. I took some screenshots:











The 3DS XL has 2 round pads above the top screen, what looks good is that they seem to line up so they lay against the raised part of the bottom screen-- on paper, that should mean that it's impossible for that raised part to mark the top screen like it does on the 3DS-- in theory, anyway....

-How much space does the new battery take up? Any reviewers thought of taking a screw driver to the back? Have any reviews even MENTIONED if the battery is user replaceable?

At least Engadget posted a size comparison to the Vita (finally...)




It's not that big when you see it in scale with the PS Vita. The Vita doesn't feel too large (at least not after me using it almost daily) and I think that tablets have accustomed us to the larger form factor-- compared to a 10" tablet, the Vita & I imagine the 3DS XL wouldn't feel that big.

-How does DS  & older software look on it? How do touchscreen based games play on it? I'm really curious about Steel Diver, one of my favourite 3DS games-- I think it may be more difficult to play on a larger screen because the controls are farther apart, and Kirby Mass Attack which may be easier to play because there's more space to control the Kirbys.


Some points that have been forgotten or ignored by tech reviewers so far. If and when I get a 3DS XL, I will try to cover some of them.



later
don

Summer of Handheld Gaming Discontent

Wow. No doubt about it now-- we are in the handheld gaming dark ages.

I ranted about a handheld gaming drought of early 2012 back in April... better revise that to drought of mid 2012 now.

The 3DS has been out for a year and a half now, and even though I have a bunch of games, I only play ONE  game on it regularly, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries.

The Playstation Vita has only been out since February, and I have a few games for it, only ONE of which I play on it regularly, Unit 13.

One game for each system is not enough, as much as I played the hell out of them, they are starting to wear out their welcome.

What's worse, there's practically nothing coming for these systems in the future. I haven't heard about ANY upcoming titles for PS Vita, and 3DS only has a VERY FEW games of note. The most anticipated title, hell I think it may be my most anticipated title of this year, Heroes of Ruin will finally drop in North America in mid-July. Other than that there's Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, and maybe the Castlevania game. That's all I see on the horizon at this point. Don't get me started on New Super Mario Bro 2. At this point, I've given up on Mario. I'm done with that franchise.

The PS Vita looks completely abandoned. Did Sony or anybody announce *ANY* new Vita games at E3 2012?

This does feel like the dying days of dedicated handheld gaming consoles. If I was being optimistic, I might equate the dedicated handheld gaming market to the blockbuster movie: big established studios pour a lot of $$$ and resources into making a few big-budget event movies, while smaller independent studios use little money & resources to put out much smaller movies. It's not a great analogy, but it's about as close a comparison as I can get to Sony & Nintendo handheld games that cost $40.00+, compared to a slew of iOS & Android games that cost 1/10th that price.

Before the iPhone, handheld gamers could only expect maybe 6-12 big game titles a year. Even though the vast majority of iOS games are derivative rip-offs of not only bigger console games but mostly each other(!), most handheld gaming is done on smart phones. So are we seeing the death of even the 6-12 blockbuster titles per year? I am really pissed about this. It feels like third-party studios and even Sony itself has abandoned the PS Vita, not even 6 months after its release! Why did Sony even release the Vita? It feels like they don't care much about handheld gaming other than to say, "hey, we do it". Like it looks good on their resume or something.

As nice as a larger 3D screen would be with the 3DS XL, why buy one if there are no games to play on it? What would be the point?

Maybe I'm expecting too much, handheld games should only come out once every few months? But it has been 6 months since I bought any newly released games, and there isn't much left in the 3DS & Vita back catalogue to pick up.



later
don

3DS XL coming August 19

Nintendo has announced the 3DS XL will launch in the U.S. on August 19, 2012, with a MSRP of $199.99.

Some brief specs:

top screen - 4.88 inches
bottom screen - 4.18 inches

battery life:

3DS XL - 3.5 to 6 hours

3DS - 3 to 5 hours

3DS XL will come with a 4GB SD card.

Hmmm. We can't say too that a 3DS "refresh" comes as too much of a surprise, can we? This is pretty much in line with Nintendo's business practice with the DS, and Gameboy handheld consoles. But it is a bit, I dunno, disappointing that they didn't add a 2nd analogue nub? This is the exact same rabbit hole/slippery slope that Sony fell into with the PSP. Maybe they are as stubbornly going to stick to their course with the 3DS as Sony did with the PSP, refusing to add a 2nd nub. And unless Nintendo makes a Circle Pad Pro XL, so much for using that accessory with it....

I know that there are very few games that are even Circle Pad Pro compatible. But if Nintendo had built a 2nd analogue nub into this 3DS "hardware refresh", they would be telling developers to port or make new 3DS games that are truly 2nd analogue stick compatible. If you wanted to play those games on an old 3DS, get the Circle Pad Pro. It's not an ideal solution but it's better than this: doing NOTHING.


At this point, I'm most concerned about the top screen line scratch issue. There appear to be only 2 *small* bumps at the top of the top panel that are supposed to keep the top screen from touching the bottom screen border. Small being the key word. I *pray* that Nintendo actually REAL WORLD TESTED the bump height to confirm that it's enough to keep the screens from touching. I don't have that much faith in Nintendo's designers.

I'm surprised the analogue nub & buttons placement looks exactly the same distance from the middle hinge as the smaller 3DS. I'm worried that reaching the analogue nub might be harder with the larger size of the console. The bottom left corner of my regular 3DS jams into my palm while I hold it, but with a larger size console, I don't know how my reach would be, or if during real-world use, it will be an issue at all. It just seems like they should have moved the nub, D pad & face buttons down a little bit, since there is all that extra space there.

Looks like the headphone jack has been moved to the bottom left corner, like the original PSP placement.

The 3 bottom screen buttons look better, we'll have to see.

Ok, I'm going to call out the BIG LIE right here and now: Nintendo has said that the 3DS XL will have "slightly better" battery life. People are going to run with this throwaway statement and assume the battery life will be significantly better. I'm going to just call that out as a LIE. I'm betting the difference will be either minimal or NONE. This is one of those gaming industry lies that are so obvious even the company saying it doesn't really believe it, yet it gets passed along as truth. There, I said it.

When Nintendo announced the DSiXL, I was pretty much baffled. hell, at first I literally thought it was a joke. But I have changed my tune somewhat since then... I can understand why people would want it-- not just really old people either, as I originally surmised, hehe-- but gamers who want a bigger console to grip as well as the larger screens. Some people are huge fans of the DSiXL size.

And one of my issues with the 3DS is the screen size, it should have been larger. It looks so small compared to even my PSPgo screen which is larger! It doesn't help that the 3DS black bezel is so huge around the screen. So the 3DS XL is a big improvement on that front.

I don't love the rounded top panel, but it's not a dealbreaker. Another thing people get wrong is assuming these white background pictures are how the console looks like in real life. These are NOT actual photos.... they are so touched-up that they're more like illustration than an actual real life picture. That includes colour tints, the actual colours will look quite different than what's seen on these illustrations.

So the screen size is the biggest draw for me, I will have to see it on display before I can make up my mind about it. Even with the original resolution, that screen could be gorgeous.

At this point, I kinda want one, but I think I'll wait for a price drop?



later
don