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New Nintendo 3DS XL seemingly on its way out (Europe)

Shiggy

Member
Before people are surprised not to find the New Nintendo 3DS XL in stores anymore as it happened with the New Nintendo 3DS, it's probably nice to have an early warning this time. While retail channels are still stocked with the model in different colours and the Animal Crossing bundle, Nintendo of Europe is no longer supplying the New Nintendo 3DS XL outside of the Samus and SNES limited editions. Given that those are limited editions, I'd expect to mainly find the 2DS and New 2DS XL at retail after Christmas.


This is in line with their latest trailers, which all only feature the Nintendo 2DS and New Nintendo 2DS XL:

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Their major holiday titles also doesn't support the 3D functionality anymore (Mario & Luigi, Fire Emblem Warriors, Kirby: Battle Royale, New Style Boutique 3, and - outside of some areas -Pokemon US/UM).


Phasing out the New Nintendo 3DS XL does make sense as the hardcore crowd is focussing on Switch now, thus they want to focus on an audience that is more price sensitive. The 2DS and New 2DS XL have lower entry prices, and without the 3D screen, they are probably also cheaper to manufacture. At the same time, retailers may not want to stock three different devices with multiple SKUs anymore.
 

Zalman

Member
I'm not surprised. As the 3DS is reaching the end of its life it makes less sense to stock three different models, as you said.
 

NOLA_Gaffer

Banned
What a damn shame. The 3DS' stereoscopic display is something that still impresses me today and will always impress me. It's damn black magic and it's omission from future Nintendo products will always be a negative in my book.

Breath of the Wild would have been jaw-dropping in 3D.
 

TwoDurans

"Never said I wasn't a hypocrite."
What is your source for the model phase out? Because their prioritizing the new product line?

Seems like an overreation if no one has actually come out and said they're limiting the old verisons.
 
Dammit. I'm still hoping they have a $150 New 3DS XL Black Friday deal in North America like they had the $100 New 3DS deal last year.

Need one of those before they go out of stock.
 

corn_fest

Member
It's been interesting to see a company realize its console's defining feature is unliked and entirely pivot away from it (to the point of re-releasing the hardware exclusively without it).

I'm curious to see what the 3DS hardware would have initially looked like if they had reallocated the budget away from 3D support. Higher-resolution display? Better specs? I guess we'll never know for sure.
 

HotHamBoy

Member
As someone who really likes the 3D and sees it as the only worthwhile feature of some really shitty, dated hardware I have to say I'm really disappointed to see it phased out.

What a damn shame. The 3DS' stereoscopic display is something that still impresses me today and will always impress me. It's damn black magic and it's omission from future Nintendo products will always be a negative in my book.

Breath of the Wild would have been jaw-dropping in 3D.

Agreed 100%
 
What a damn shame. The 3DS' stereoscopic display is something that still impresses me today and will always impress me. It's damn black magic and it's omission from future Nintendo products will always be a negative in my book.

Breath of the Wild would have been jaw-dropping in 3D.

I've been replaying Super Mario 3D Land since it came out on Selects. And the 3D is magical! Makes me sad that some people will experience it flat.
 

Agent_4Seven

Tears of Nintendo
Well, guess i have to hurry up and buy Samus Edition while it's still available.

Now, the only question is.... can i use DS Lite USB charge cable to charge N3DS XL?

Cuz it's cheap as hell.
 

Jubenhimer

Member
It's clear by this point 3D wasn't the game-changer Nintendo had hoped it would be. Despite it's potential being seen games like Super Mario 3D Land, Kid Icarus: Uprising, and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. I think the 3DS was subjected to bad timing. By the time the 3DS started making up for lost momentum, people were already getting sick of 3D. I wouldn't say 3D was a fad per-se (It's been popular for years). But it suffered what I can only describe as technology fatigue. That is to say, it became so over-used and over-saturated by everyone that people don't want anything to do with it anymore. It's a problem that a solution like removing the need for glasses can't really fix unfortunately.

All is not lost however, the potential 3D has for gaming still lives on in VR, which while may or may not take off, is still unique enough for consumers to be more accepting of.
 

HotHamBoy

Member
It's clear by this point 3D wasn't the game-changer Nintendo had hoped it would be. Despite it's potential being seen games like Super Mario 3D Land, Kid Icarus: Uprising, and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. I think the 3DS was subjected to bad timing. By the time the 3DS started making up for lost momentum, people were already getting sick of 3D. I wouldn't say 3D was a fad per-se (It's been popular for years). But it suffered what I can only describe as technology fatigue. That is to say, it became so over-used and over-saturated by everyone that people don't want anything to do with it anymore.

All is not lost however, the potential 3D has for gaming still lives on in VR, which while may or may not take off, is still unique enough for consumers to be more accepting of.

The problem wasn't any of that, the problem was execution.

If the super-stable 3D of the N3DS line had been what the original model had it would have been far more used and appreciated. The original 3D implementation was terrible. But people were already soured on it by the time the new models came out.
 

asagami_

Banned
Dammit. I'm still hoping they have a $150 New 3DS XL Black Friday deal in North America like they had the $100 New 3DS deal last year.

Need one of those before they go out of stock.

Check the refurbished models Nintendo offers in their site. I have seen gaffers telling they have bought the New 3DS there, so I expect the XL be there too.
 

Jubenhimer

Member
The problem wasn't any of that, the problem was execution.

If the super-stable 3D of the N3DS line had been what the original model had it would have been far more used and appreciated. The original 3D implementation was terrible. But people were already soured on it by the time the new models came out.

True, the initial Parallax barrier tech had it's limitations, but I don't think things would be any different without them. Even if the 3DS was somehow able to get super stable 3D in it's first model, 3D would still go by the wayside. Remember, this wasn't just a 3DS problem, people were getting sick of 3D in general by the time the 3DS started getting back on track. It's why you don't see many movies screen in 3D anymore, or why 3D TVs have gone extinct. The technology had just been so overplayed by that point, so much so, that nobody wanted anything to do with it anymore.
 
Well, guess i have to hurry up and buy Samus Edition while it's still available.

Now, the only question is.... can i use DS Lite USB charge cable to charge N3DS XL?


Cuz it's cheap as hell.

No, DS Lite unfortunately had a unique power socket. 3DSes use the one introduced with DSi, while original DS used... I think GBA SP one, but could be wrong.

If you know where to look there are cheap USB cables for that, but these are not DS Lite's one. I actually have one which can connect to DS Lite and a DSi/3DS at the same time, but it's obviously not the same thing.
 

HotHamBoy

Member
True, the initial Parallax barrier tech had it's limitations, but I don't think things would be any different without them. Even if the 3DS was somehow able to get super stable 3D in it's first model, 3D would still go by the wayside. Remember, this wasn't just a 3DS problem, people were getting sick of 3D in general by the time the 3DS started getting back on track. It's why you don't see many movies screen in 3D anymore, or why 3D TVs have gone extinct. The technology had just been so overplayed by that point, so much so, that nobody wanted anything to do with it anymore.

3D TV had its own problems, namely the need for expensive glasses for each viewer.

If the 3D TVs had the magical glasses-less 3D of the N3DS it too may have done better.
 

-shadow-

Member
Why would they keep producing the original 2DS when they have the New model of it already in production? Yeah, it's a bit more expensive, but doesn't seem to make much sense to me.
 

Jubenhimer

Member
3D TV had its own problems, namely the need for expensive glasses for each viewer.

If the 3D TVs had the magical glasses-less 3D of the N3DS it too may have done better.

Maybe, but I still feel that 3D's over-saturated technology fatigue is part of the reason the 3DS struggled. The limitations of Paralax barrier tech didn't help, but honestly, there probably just wan't much that could save 3D.
 
As expected.

I'm sure NA will follow suit.

Kind of funny. 3DS is literally in the name, and yet, when it's all said/done 2D models will be the only models available on the market. For the best. I have a New 3DS XL, and yet, never use 3D myself. I know there's many like that. Should have just been a 2D system to begin with. Should have just called it the Super DS if anything.

Maybe, but I still feel that 3D's over-saturated technology fatigue is part of the reason the 3DS struggled. The limitations of Paralax barrier tech didn't help, but honestly, there probably just wan't much that could save 3D.
Yep.

Totally agree.

I think 3D did more to hurt the 3DS than help it. A lot more.
 

HotHamBoy

Member
Maybe, but I still feel that 3D's over-saturated technology fatigue is part of the reason the 3DS struggled. The limitations of Paralax barrier tech didn't help, but honestly, there probably just wan't much that could save 3D.

I feel like 3D home devices went through a similar period that 90s VR did. It just wasn't there yet.

I think the tech will be revisted down the line.
 

ASaiyan

Banned
Just more evidence that the 3DS in general is winding down.

The real question is why the PAL boxart for Superstar Saga is so much better than ours, lol.
 
Why would they keep producing the original 2DS when they have the New model of it already in production? Yeah, it's a bit more expensive, but doesn't seem to make much sense to me.

I don't have any concrete stats to back me up, but I think the 2DS did really well, and continues to do well. Bundle it with a game for like £80 and that's huge impulse buy territory.

Bundles with Mario Kart 7, NSMB2 and Tomodachi Life are responsible for a lot of hardware sales I think.
 
Why would they keep producing the original 2DS when they have the New model of it already in production? Yeah, it's a bit more expensive, but doesn't seem to make much sense to me.
More margins on the 2ds models and less difficult production / loss.

It’s all about moneyz
 

Jubenhimer

Member
I will say though that with the New 3DS XL being discontinued, it does mark the beginning of the end for the 3DS. Nintendo doesn't really have any high profile games lined up for it next year, just C-list titles, and the system's main gimmick, is already being phased out of the commercial market. I don't expect Nintendo to release many 3DS games next year, and suspect we're going to see even more Switch games from them next year.
 

ramparter

Banned
Why would they keep producing the original 2DS when they have the New model of it already in production? Yeah, it's a bit more expensive, but doesn't seem to make much sense to me.
Half the price and can play nearly all the games. Makes perfect sense imo.
 

Atheerios

Member
I will say though that with the New 3DS XL being discontinued, it does mark the beginning of the end for the 3DS. Nintendo doesn't really have any high profile games lined up for it next year, just C-list titles, and the system's main gimmick, is already being phased out of the commercial market. I don't expect Nintendo to release many 3DS games next year, and suspect we're going to see even more Switch games from them next year.
Nintendo already stopped developing games in-house for 3DS long ago
 
Dropping the 3D models makes sense. The screen tech is costly, and late adopters are going to be mostly doing so because the system is cheap and can stock up on a lot of games cheaply. They've probably been outselling the 3DS models for awhile now.
 
Dammit. I'm still hoping they have a $150 New 3DS XL Black Friday deal in North America like they had the $100 New 3DS deal last year.

Need one of those before they go out of stock.

I think they'll do that and I think they'll keep producing New 3Ds models as limited edition models.
 

Paragon

Member
Doesn't surprise me, I've been trying to get a New 3DS XL from Amazon for months and the only models I could buy new were the Samus and SNES editions - neither of which I am particularly fond of.
I caved and bought the SNES edition and ended up with dual TN screens, which I will promptly be returning. The screen lottery on these things is a joke.

I'm surprised that many people here don't think that 3D is a big deal, or that it's bad. I love it, and I'm sad to see that 3D is disappearing from TVs as well.
3D just finally started getting good with 4K OLEDs that have passive 3D (active 3D sucks) and then they removed it.
 

Lorcain

Member
If in fact the n3DS XL and n3DS are leaving retail stores soon, I'd recommend getting one (at a good price) to anyone that has any interest in playing the 3DS/DS library. It's good to have the option to try 3D on those games where it's implemented well. Also, a lot of games in the 3DS library look better with the 3D slider slightly turned on than they do in 2D display mode.

I still think the cheapest place to buy either n3DS or n3DS XL models is from the Nintendo refurbished site. Hopefully there will be some good retail black friday sales this year too.
 

Agent_4Seven

Tears of Nintendo
No, DS Lite unfortunately had a unique power socket. 3DSes use the one introduced with DSi, while original DS used... I think GBA SP one, but could be wrong.

If you know where to look there are cheap USB cables for that, but these are not DS Lite's one. I actually have one which can connect to DS Lite and a DSi/3DS at the same time, but it's obviously not the same thing.
This?

Can't find anything else in my country.
 

Gaardus

Member
Dammit. I'm still hoping they have a $150 New 3DS XL Black Friday deal in North America like they had the $100 New 3DS deal last year.

Need one of those before they go out of stock.
I suspect they'll work with the N2DSXL for Black Friday, whether in a bundle or to hit the $99 price point.
 

Lumination

'enry 'ollins
Hmm. I have an OG 3DS XL. I suppose I should get another iteration for futureproofing. Is there anything the n2DS XL does better than the n3DS XL?
 

Jubenhimer

Member
Hmm. I have an OG 3DS XL. I suppose I should get another iteration for futureproofing. Is there anything the n2DS XL does better than the n3DS XL?

Nope, the n2DS XL is just a n3DS XL without the 3D. But it does come with all the n3DS extras like built-in NFC, C-Stick and zL/zR buttons, and the CPU boost.
 

mug

Member
n2DS XL cheaper to produce? I'd imagine the screens or whatever tech used for the 3D isn't exactly cheap.
 
A friend of mine told me our local Walmart was recently selling New 3DSXLs for $179.99, $20 cheaper than the usual asking price. I do not know if it's a permanent markdown or just a sale but I thought it was notable as the old 3DS XL got similarly marked down without promotion when it was being phased out.
 

Xenoblade

Member
I will never understand why people don't like playing in 3D when they have the *New* model console. My brain cannot rationalize it
 

Gaogaogao

Member
n2DS XL cheaper to produce? I'd imagine the screens or whatever tech used for the 3D isn't exactly cheap.

when you are (probably) the only company who uses that screen, it must be expensive.

right on schedule, once the switch has proven itself, the 3ds is phased out.

I do hope for some ports.
 
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