Nintendo announces New 3DS with C-stick, extra buttons and NFC
But upped CPU means some new games won't work on old devices
Nintendo has revealed another new model in the 3DS line, somewhat confusingly officially named the New 3DS, during a Nintendo Direct broadcast this afternoon.
The handheld is slightly larger, in both its regular and LL configurations, and comes with some interface tweaks, too. The old SNES colour scheme has been adopted for the four face buttons, which are joined by a small "c-stick", a nub-like analogue controller reminiscent of the Gamecube's. On the back of the device are two new triggers , ZL and ZR, which are accommodated by the cartridge slot shifting to the bottom of the lower screen. Built in near field communications are also now standard, a clear preparation for Nintendo's Skylanders-esque Amiibo range.
More controversially, the CPU in the 3DS has been updated, and Nintendo has already announced a new Xenoblade Chronicles game which cannot be played on older 3DS devices. With that extra processing power on the table, it's hard to imagine developers declining to use it, especially if Nintendo leads the charge with first-party software.

The New 3DS will launch in Japan on October 11 and Europe and the US in 2015.
"Different territories make their own business decisions regarding individual products and timing," a Nintendo spokesperson told Eurogamer. "We plan to launch these products in Europe in 2015.
"We have a variety of compelling portable gaming options for consumers now and through the Christmas shopping season, including a variety of different Nintendo 2DS and Nintendo 3DS XL bundles at retail. We also have a strong library of hundreds of games for these systems that appeal to all kinds of players, with titles like Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire still on the way before the end of the year."
Just like the DSi/DSi XL, this latest model serves as a transition device before Nintendo releases their next generation handheld. It seems like they have finally fully addressed most of the issues that have plagued the system since it first launched, (mainly the lack of a 2nd analog) and added more customization features. However, they need to change that name "New" 3DS before it arrives in the west. It could create some confusion in the future once they decide to release a "3DS 2".
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Christopher Ashton Carlos on 29th August 2014 8:11pm
I have mixed feelings about this new system. I have no problem with them making another updated 3DS but I hope that not too many games take advantage of that extra power because that would mean I will have to miss out on playing them. I still perfer the original 3DS design so I'm not likely to be trading up anytime soon, especially if this is just a transitional system before they launch it's successor in the next 2-3 years.
P1:"Hey have you seen the "new 3DS"?.
P2:" You mean the old one?"
P1: "No the New one."
Calling it the "New 3DS" would only be really safe if they have planned to abandon the 3DS name for next gen, or they've come up with something else affixed to the Brand like how consoles were originally named like "3DS Mirai" , which I think is more effective.
Maybe we've finally gotten to the point where yearly iterations are a thing and as such the new features end up being an erratic smattering of "whatever was possible". Nintendo's lack of direction behind this new machine strikes me as similar to how TV makers and Smartphone giants have bloated their new machines with new features and just hoping something will stick.
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Shehzaan Abdulla on 30th August 2014 4:15am
Faster CPU
They also probably extended FCRAM from 128MB to 256MB, and doubled the VRAM as well.
This not only means better and bigger games in the future but also that the OS and web browsing experience will be faster and smoother.
Better 3D screen technology (viewing angle)
MicroSD-slot instead of normal-sized SD-slot. It still unknown if they've also increased the limit from 32GB
NFC support
Two circle-pads instead of one
Addition of New buttons, ZR and ZL
They've added customization features to the home screen as well as the ability to change the unit's casing.
Increased power doesn't necessarily mean shorter play time. They've also increased the battery life (+30 min)
If you're looking for a philosophy behind the improvements, it is probably that this system is the answer to all the rants people have been having with the previous iterations. "This is the 3DS that you've always wanted".
Other than that, I can see their next handheld using this design and hopefully, being in HD just so some recent mobile games stop looking better than a lot of current 3DS stuff. :P
Can't help noticing this now has approximately the same controls as the wiiU. Scope for a common platform there, although it would need an intermediate layer or dual binaries to get round the different architectures.
At best we might see the odd additional game mode exclusive that makes use of New 3DS but as it stands this is a hollow checkbox feature.
I don't recall hearing a single complaint about the web browser (no one uses it) on the system or the speed of downloads. And people wanted an actual second analogue stick, rather than this weird nub. A look at consumer sites shows that pretty close to no one sees this as a solution to any criticisms, it's at best a superficial display at addressing long-standing issues with a system that doesn't really please anyone.
Edited 2 times. Last edit by Shehzaan Abdulla on 30th August 2014 5:09pm
(I think that is a better version for that first line.)
Typical response in the media for a company that must not be liked for absolutely no reason at all.
- Fragmented market is a problem... hmmm... similar to mobile? PC?
- And of course, the ever present "Confusion" argument.
A bombardment of the word confusion in media does a great job to create just that.
Isn't the media supposed to help their readers NOT to be confused?
Or is it supposed to keep repeating 'confusion-confusion-this-does-not-compute!' until everyone starts repeating the same?
The name is terrible. They should have just gone for something simple like super 3ds.
Also they should have released the 2ds first, using the horse power to create better visuals, then release the 3ds years later along with the "super" release.
Thats because nobody played the Move so thats not even a fair comparison. Also, I never said this fragmented the hardware base. You are quoting others on that. I said that I hope the list of games that only supports the new 3DS hardware doesn't become very large.
Super gameboy
Gameboy color
Dsi
Only exception is the gba
We're not talking about a PC, or a mobile, its a console. You usually expect all games to work on the same generation platform. And with mobile and PC, at least the games scale backwards. Does it have to be an anti-nintendo opinion? You're not thinking logically.
Most would hope this is the rare case so that they don't have to purchase new hardware to continue playing new games. Logic dictates few developers will go down such a path.
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Adam Campbell on 1st September 2014 11:37am
At this stage it's a tough call and we might see another DSi scenario where everyone focuses on the older model.
Apparently you missed the part where I said nobody played the Move.
Edited 2 times. Last edit by Paul Jace on 2nd September 2014 12:01am
So that explains the long list of million seller Move games. Oh wait...
Edited 2 times. Last edit by Paul Jace on 2nd September 2014 9:20am
Go google the word "comparison" and then google the terms "perfect match" or "exact match". I'm sure this is going to blow your mind but I assure you the two are not mutually exclusive.
This will be the final iteration of the 3DS platform: the main question around this will be how many games will be "exclusive" for this platform, rather than which games just run better on this platform.
But its an obvious and smart move: apart from iterating the manufacturing process (this may have a higher profit margin, and use a cheaper internal design), this will help push the amiibo platform (which is critical to the short-term profits of Nintendo), and will no doubt boost HW sales.
And for those complaining - this is no different from the DSi model, which also had exclusive software (most of it was online only, no big profile app from memory).
Personally, I think Xeno should be the *only* big profile, exclusive title (likely to be due to extra memory usage) - and that it should be bundled for free with all new HW units.
If I had any complaint - it was that it still lacks the analog stick "clicks", so it still can't function as a secondary WiiU GamePad. But maybe they have other plans in that area...
It might be. If we're lucky it will be similiar to my N64 expansion pak comparison above, as in no more than a handful of games that require the new hardware. In that case I wouldn't mind as much, especially if I can literally count the number of games on one hand that require the new 3DS. And if we're really lucky it might even be games I'm not interested in, besides for Xenoblade Chronicles of course.
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Paul Jace on 4th September 2014 3:01am