Nintendo isn’t gonna let the holidays go by without giving consumers a new handheld — at least in Japan
The company introduced the New Nintendo 3DS today, which features a number of improvements over the hardware’s previous iterations. The system debuts Oct. 11 in Japan. With the latest revision, Nintendo is finally adding a built-in second analog nub to the controls of the 3DS. The company is also adding two new shoulder buttons, bigger screens, better battery life, and — most interestingly — a faster processor. Nintendo already confirmed that New 3DS (both standard and XL sizes) will get exclusive games that won’t work on its previous 3D portable systems.
[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":1540385,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"games,","session":"C"}']We’ve contacted Nintendo for more, and we’ll update this post with any new information. The company did say that the New 3DS won’t debut in North America this year.
The New 3DS also has other new changes including built-in near-field communications (NFC) to connect with the upcoming Amiibo figures from Nintendo (this is something the Wii U already has). Nintendo today confirmed that it will debut its line of interactive toys, which includes characters like Mario, Samus, and Donkey Kong, alongside the release of the four-player fighter Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. Players can use those figures to get extra content out of the game, and the built-in NFC on New 3DS means games won’t need to lug around any extra hardware to get the most out of Amiibo.
Nintendo is also switching from standard SD cards to MicroSD, and it is changing to a replaceable battery.
Above: The top and bottom of the New 3DS. Notice the new shoulder buttons.
With all these new buttons and controls, Nintendo could actually start porting more of its console games to the system, and it no doubt will. New 3DS will get Xenoblade Chronicles, a critically acclaimed role-playing game for the Wii. It will not come to 3DS or 3DS XL.