3DS XL vs New 3DS XL, is it worth the upgrade?
You have a nice, good 3DS XL but everybody is telling you to upgrade. Read on to see if it is worth it. I will compare 3DS XL vs New 3DS XL, but most of what I write applies to differences between 3DS vs New 3DS too.
I have my 3DS XL for about one and half a year. Even though i am not touching it much lately, I really had a good time with it. About two weeks ago, i finally decided to upgrade to a New 3DS XL and here is my impressions.
First of all, main reason I upgraded was the heavily advertised Super-Stable 3D. Believe me, it really works. Back when i got my 3DS XL, I mainly bought it for the 3D. I played Super Mario 3D Land and I was like “wow, this is the best thing after Super Mario 64.” After that, Mario Kart 7 blew my mind. Normally I am not much of a 3D guy. My Samsung HDTV with active glasses hurt my eyes and I stopped watching 3d movies in theaters some time ago. But glassless 3d is something I really liked. I can easily play about 30 minutes non-stop with 3d setting at max.
Even though the 3D of 3DS XL is good, the main problem is I can easily lose the sweet spot when I move and I begin to get heavy crosstalk. After some time, it becomes really irritating to lose and try to find the sweetspot, I lose my concentration on the game. The situation is much worse if I am on a vehicle.
New 3DS XL solves this problem. With its face-tracking, it automatically finds the sweet spot whenever I move my head. I get some minor crosstalk for an instant, but it is a very minor annoyance. If you are in a dark environment, face-tracking still works via infrared, but the performance is worse at this case. The time it takes to auto-track you is longer and you get more crosstalk because of that.
If you love the 3D on 3DS or 3DS XL, buy the New 3DS XL. It is a great experience and it is what 3DS should be in the first place. If you are not into 3D, read on, you might want to consider the purchase.
Screen resolution and screen size of New 3DS XL is the same as the old 3DS XL. That is expected I guess. When we look at the hardware, New 3DS series is much powerful than the Old 3DS, menu is faster, downloads are faster etc. But still, it is not a game-changer. One of the major difference is New 3DS series now use a micro SD instead of the full size SD and it is impossible to eject the micro SD without unscrewing the backplate. A bright idea, right? To ease your pain, an application to access your New 3DS/XL micro SD via wireless is introduced. Right now, it only works on Windows 7 and 8.1, it is super slow (like 1 megabytes per sec for me) and it took me an hour to properly troubleshoot the connectivity problem. I would take an easily detachable SD card over problematic and slow wifi connection any day.
New 3DS/XL has a c-stick and an extra set of shoulder buttons. These additions are welcome. Though I should say a Circle Pad Pro XL for the Old 3DS XL is much better in my opinion. New c-stick is much smaller than the analog nub on the Circle Pad Pro XL. Also Circle Pad Pro XL acts as a nice grip too. New games like Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and Zelda Majora’s Mask support both c-stick and Circle Pad Pro/XL. I can only hope Nintendo continues this trend.
New 3DS/XL removes the wireless switch. You can now enable/disable the wifi from home menu. I am actually not sure if it is an advantage or not. I was happy with the switch in the old 3DS XL and I am now happy with enabling/disabling wifi from the home menu.
New 3DS/XL also gets a new brightness mode. It is adaptive, it increases/decreases backlight depending on the ambient light if you choose this mode. Even though it sounds good, it is not my cup of tea. Screen brightness changes in nearly every minute, I find it distracting.
New 3DS series have built-in amiibo support. I don’t have any and I don’t plan to buy one in near future, so I will pass on that.
Also there will be some games which are New 3DS exclusive. Recently released Xenoblade Chronicles 3DS is the first one. I am not sure if there will be many New 3DS exclusive games in the future. If Nintendo follows the DS/DSi trend, most games will be dual compatible with old 3DS series and New 3DS series.
New 3DS XL also has a longer battery time than my old 3DS XL. Unfortunately I can’t give you concrete numbers, but I can say I get about an extra hour.
If you want to hack your New 3DS/XL, it is a bit harder to do than old 3DS/XL. You will need to be at below or equal to 9.2 firmware. It is getting harder to have one since new stock comes with higher firmwares. You will also need a Cubic Ninja for most of the hacks out there. Though if you have the right firmware and you have the Cubic Ninja, you will be able to use most of the hacks old 3DS can use.
All in all, if 3D is important to you, upgrade is really worth the price. If not, i wouldn’t upgrade urgently and see if there will be worthy New 3DS exclusive games.
If you are in the market to buy your first 3DS, i would advise to buy the New 3DS/XL as the price is nearly the same with Old 3DS/XL and it is a bit more future-proof.
story bro. But seriously thanks for the info, I was debating purchasing this device.
pfft…
Ohhh don’t be a ***.
I like my old 3ds but I still upgraded as I also like the head tracking and I will play Xenoblade chronicles. I never did finish that game on my Wii. The most disappointing aspect for me is the stiff c-stick. I want to smack the dumb *** at Nintendo who decided to make it that way. They really should have emulated the normal analog from the left. But that’s really my only gripe. I like it, it’s sexy, and has curves in all the right places. I’m gonna go play with it now…..
This post pretty much covers the most important features of the n3DS XL, however to counter and offer an alternative view, if you’re the type of person who really cares about the aesthetic of your device in term of a traditional colourful nitty experience compared to the mature, luxurious feel of the n3DS XL and you’re also willing to compromise screen quality and size, where playing MH4 and Xeno is pretty much going to look like garbage, then I would really think about and consider importing the basic n3DS model now that it has region unlocking support.
While the n3DS screen may be bigger than the original 3DS, it simply doesn’t compare to the XL models, it’s always hard going back to small shittier screens although personally, I don’t mind this too much as the size of the n3DS itself and the screen seems to accentuate it’s portability and makes for a nice overall cute handheld experience.
Bottom line is if you don’t mind paying ridiculous import tax and you like childish colourful *** like me, the true famicon buttons + faceplates will be a deal breaker for you but also keep in mind you can fully skin a n3DS XL with a texture feel which can even look better than the partial coverage of faceplates with it’s exposed gaps.
I see your point. I had the chance to try old 3DS and old 3DS XL, i chose 3DS XL and never looked back. So i bought the new 3DS XL without giving a second thought.
Of course some people like portability over screen size and it is great that we have choice. That is, unless you live in North America. Blame Nintendo i guess.
Nice review.
I was thinking just that. I have both a 3DS and 3DSXL so thinking if it’s really worth upgrading but for me it’s not. I’m already struggling with 2 accounts and both consoles are working fine so no need to replace either if them.
As we’ve stopped buying and playing games on 3DS it’s not worth the upgrade.
Maybe when some good games come out we might think about it.
And you can even import a non XL n3ds and region swap it. eshop currently doesn’t work, but its progressing.
If you want to play Xenoblade 3ds, it is.
As a 3DS user, I prefer to wait for the upgrade. Maybe wait until there’s a nice bundle deal or a special edition release. I’m still fine with my current 3DS XL and the new one is really too new and no games (except 1 only) that truly use its potential for now.
I got my N3Ds 1 month ago, and i enjoy playing on it i didnt own the O3Ds, the 3ds is good i didnt turn it on while playing Fantasy Life for straight 3 hours , and even a night where the only light is the 3ds screen it will adjust right away.
I think its nice and all, but exclusive games just for a new hardware revision of a console is not beyond stupid, is actually a slap in the face of early-adopters. One of the things that make consoles viable is exactly that: conformity and standardization.
Now that it has the C Nub, would love to see them start bringing the N64 VC to the N3DS. Could throw SM64, DK64, and a few other Games.
I would love that. But there is still no SNES VC on 3DS, so i doubt we will see N64 VC.
Guess have to go with BlargSnes and hope later on a N64 Emu happens.
Nobody has claimed first yet, so I guess tenth is noteworthy at this point.
LOL you have a Gateway inserted in that 3DS! 🙂
cough cough
I’m surprised you didn’t mention the fact that the New 3DS XL actually has an IPS panel (which no other 3DS/2DS ever had). That thing makes a huge difference in viewing angles and color reproduction.
Good point. After your comment and a tweet about it, I rechecked the screens. I generally never disable the 3D and i already told New 3DS XL is much, much better than the old one in 3D.
In 2D mode, i haven’t seen much difference when i look from the front (like i do while gaming). old 3DS XL is a bit more bright at the max setting, but it has a little yellow tint compared to new 3DS XL. I can say both is good.
But when i began to tilt my head, i noticed New 3DS XL has a much wider viewing angle than old 3DS XL. That is really good, though i should confess i don’t look at a handheld from extreme angles.
All in all, when i look at old 3DS XL and new 3DS XL from the front (the angle i use my handhelds), i can’t say one is better than the other in 2D mode.
Of course, personal taste and different manufacturers of the screens play major role in this.
People should be aware that some N3DS screens have IPS display and some other have TN displays, there’s no way to finding out which one your system has before you buy it.
And that the IPS displays have scanline issues that the TN displays don’t.
Idk I like the NewXL well I got the majoras mask one. only reason I got it and the head tracking so I can finally enjoy 3D (damn Nintendo) I just hope they tune smash and major as to use all the memory and such to make it better.(less laggy)