During the Nintendo Direct broadcast last night, IGN broke news confirming the rumors behind a brand new installment in the 3DS line: the 3DS Big Mac XL!
Differences between the 3DS XL and the original 3DS include:
- 90% larger screens on both the top lid and bottom
- Increased battery life (3.5-6 hours compared to the 3DS’ 3-5 hours)
- Two colors in the United States, red and blue.
- Comes with an AC adapter and a 4GB SD card
It costs $30 more than the original 3DS.
As a current 3DS owner, all I can say is that…I’m confused.
When rumors of this sucker popped up, people figured it would rock both a better battery life (something the current 3DS sorely needs) and a second analog stick. The former is there and the latter is not.
I’m personally confused as to what the impetus for buying this would be. There aren’t enough changes to warrant current 3DS owners buying one, and being larger and more expensive probably won’t appeal to people who haven’t jumped into the 3DS party yet.
In fact, being that much larger really seems like an inconvenience. Would that sucker even be portable? Does it fit into a pocket without forcing all its other inhabitants out? Does it come with a fanny-pack?
On the flipside, the price is pretty reasonable. Only $30 more for an SD card, better battery life, and an AC adapter? Heck, I’d pay $30 more just for a battery life increase on my own 3DS.
Hopefully I’m just ignorant and crazy and this thing will be a wild success. Even though I do find it odd that this announcement didn’t happen just a few weeks ago at E3…
Gamenomics & Comicology 