[Windy's Insight] No Normal Size, XL Only, New 3DS in US.

Image Source: Nintendo YouTube channel

About 4 months ago, I was writing how the unique and exclusive gimmick of New 3DS and New 3DS XL can be confusing (you can check that blog entry here), because the usual-sized New 3DS have the replaceable Kisekae (fashionable) faceplate gimmick, which means more customization and more money to buy them, and New 3DS XL, which is what do you expect, bigger screens, more battery life and all. And now, when I watched the latest Nintendo stream directly (insert Satoru Iwata's gesture here), I found out that apparently, Nintendo in the US will market only New Nintendo 3DS XL at the moment (and no news about its smaller counterpart so far), which means the normal-sized New Nintendo 3DS will be exclusive to Japan, Australia and Europe.

I have mixed feelings about this. Despite that I'm glad that means New Nintendo 3DS XL will be my only choice if it comes to buying the new handheld game console (considering that the 3DS in my country are imported from the US), I personally think that some of us might like customization at its best, like when Nokia was introducing the replaceable phone case skins in many colors in about one or two decades ago, which is no longer present in its most recent phones. But then, if I use the money to buy some faceplates for the New 3DS, that means I'll spend most of my money, even more than buying just one New 3DS XL, and I'm not sure if anyone (myself included) will be able to afford to buy and collect 'em all.

Besides, I personally think even New 3DS will sell well if they have varieties. Imagine if some children would want to get the new 3DS handheld, and they thought that the New 3DS XL will be too heavy for them to handle, so they have to resort to the smaller version for size, only to find out that option is unavailable. So that means they have to be forced to rely on big New 3DS XL for more gaming compatibilities (considering Xenoblade Chronicles remake will be exclusive to New 3DS) and faster experience, or not at all, which means they have to use regular sized (old) 3DS, or even 2DS.

Anyway, I hope that Nintendo knows what's best for us customers, and what's best for gaming, Nintendo way, wherever we are.

There's an actual reason why the smaller New 3DS systems aren't coming here in the U.S.: http://playeressence.com/nintendo-c...ing-the-new-nintendo-3ds-xl-to-north-america/


Might as well blame the "silent majority" of the U.S. market.