The recent reveal of the New 3DS was an odd one indeed. In fact, cast your minds back to when the Circle Pad Pro was first shown and Nintendo insisted that there would not be a revision of the 3DS that would include a second circle pad, as they claimed it would fracture the market. Fast forward a few years and a hardware revision is announced that pretty much looks a 3DS with a Circle Pad Pro built into it. Confusing messaging? You bet.
Of course, revisions are not necessarily a bad idea, as their primary function is to extend the lifecycle of the console/handheld (although in the case of GBA, the GBA SP was absolutely necessary). But this is why the timing of the announcement is so bizarre; the 3DS is currently doing really well, and I’m not sure the New 3DS is completely needed right now, although I’m pretty sure adding the Amiibo function was the main reason for this iteration of 3DS hardware.
Well, I guess it saves buying an Amiibo reader.
Despite the odd timing of the announcement, I am excited to be able to play Xenoblade Chronicles on a handheld (assuming it gets localised and without the drama of Operation Rainfall), but I’m just not sure why a new system is needed, as enhanced Wii ports already run perfectly on 3DS (MH3U). Also, how many exclusive games are there going to be? The DSi had a grand total of four exclusive games. Four! There were also several DSi enhanced games that could still be played on previous versions of the DS.
What else will be exclusive for the system?
As you probably gathered, I have mixed feelings concerning the New 3DS (also, that is a pretty bad name), but I would like to hear your thoughts on the new system. Let me know what you think in the comments below!
