Nintendo New 3DS XL - Black

I am a big gamer, always have been since I started playing Final Fantasy 1 on the NES when I was a toddler and have owned the Game Cube, Nintendo 64, Game Boy, and DS Lite. However, I took a break from Nintendo during the Wii years because I was so enamored by the PlayStation and PC games that I just didn't have time.The past couple of years I have really gotten back into games and have wanted to be caught up on all of the latest, greatest things. Last year I ended up impulsively buying a Switch. I had a Mario craving that couldn't be filled alone by my Raspberry Pi...I wanted something new and different. I love the Switch a LOT, but how does it stack up to the 3DS (or 2DS)? Is it worth owning both? Or is one better than the other?I had a DS Lite from a long time ago, but I haven't used it in forever. I started playing Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp on my iPad and suddenly has a HUGE desire to play a real console Animal Crossing game - the last time was the GameCube. And I realized my only real option was to get Wild World and use it on my Lite (which really looks pitiful now, to be honest) or get a 3DS and Animal Crossing: New Leaf. The price is not so bad - a really pretty SNES edition system that comes with a classic game for under $200? And I get to play Animal Crossing.But it turns out the 3DS is much more than that. It now has a massive library of over 1,200 games and even though the system is pretty old now, they STILL are making new games for it and sales are still up. I thought maybe I was being greedy by buying this when I already own a Switch, but they are for completely different things. The Switch is still in its infancy and although the few blockbuster exclusives it has are amazing (like Zelda and Super Mario Odyssey), it has no backwards compatibility and there are not many games for it, and not many coming out in the very near future.With the 3DS you have a HUGE selection of classic games. I'm talking about the original Super Mario World and other Mario titles, all of the old Zelda games, the Zelda games on the 64 in RE-MASTERED 3D, Pokemon games, and it works with all older DS games too, so I'm able to use my DS Lite games with it.So basically, the Switch is great for new massive hits, some ports (mostly recent like Skyrim or Wolfenstein) and has also surprisingly become a hub for indie games. The 3DS has a completely different selection of games - older ports, more Mario, Pokemon and Zelda games, etc. So they are completely different. And now is a great time to buy the 3DS because the price is really good and the value is high, yet it's still a current gen system that is still making new games - you can't really go wrong with it. I'm sure the Switch will have a great future too, but it's definitely not as established yet.As far as the console itself, the SNES special edition is really beautiful and is very nostalgic to me. The battery lasts a lot longer than the Switch, and the 3D feature is interesting. I did a lot of research on whether or not I should get the 2DS XL or the 3DS XL. The 2DS was primarily thought of with children in mine (they can't break off the hinges for example and there is no 3D for eye strain), but it's certainly not only for children. A lot of people prefer the design and the price on that is really good right now too - about half of a 3DS XL. I would suggest looking up some YouTube videos and seeing which you would prefer to hold for hours on end. I have to admit, I don't use the 3D as often as I thought. If you are switching your eyes back and forth from game screen to a television screen for example (I watch and game a lot at the same time) it won't stay stable and will be kind of annoying.Overall, I am extremely happy with the 3DS XL and am proud to own both it and the Switch. The library is huge, the price is at an all-time great value, and it's still a relevant and exciting system.

Amazing product! Actually, I think this is what the original 3DS should have been like, particularly with regard to the super-stable 3D. And I was not disappointed in the least by the previous version. If you haven't bought a DS system yet, and this is your entry into portable gaming, I highly recommend this system. I didn't expect to be impressed when I bought the precious model 3DS XL, but I was, so much so it gave me the confidence to buy the Wii U and know I would like it. The 3DS XL was my first Nintendo system since GBA SP and GameCube more than a decade ago, and is what got me to enjoy gaming again (wish I had more time to play, but weekends are fun because I have this and the Wii U).Believe me, as someone who has the previous generation 3DS XL also, the super-stable 3D performs better than I expected, and truly is super stable. I liked how I could aim weapons, like the bow and arrow in Zelda by rotating the console to look around and aim (which makes it very easy to be quick and accurate, especially compared to using the circle pad to aim), but on the previous version of the system, I had to turn the 3D off to do it because I would see double every time I rotated to aim, which would make me miss. With the super stable 3D, you can move all around and the 3D stays 3D and stable, which means now I can aim great using the 3D and no longer need to switch it off ever. It also makes it so much more comfortable on the eyes, and doesn't cause strain over long periods like the older system sometimes did. I've seen some people say it's not worth upgrading if you have the previous generation 3DS XL, but for me, the super stable 3D is worth it. And since I have Amiibo's I used with my Wii U, I like that I can use them for my 3DS now also.With regard to the extra C-stick, it's nice, but I only have one game that supports it since only the newer games are starting to take advantage of it. On my previous 3DS XL, I bought the Circle Pad Pro for the extra stick, but I hated that it made the system too bulky to be considered truly portable. The XL barely fits in your pocket as it is, so it just wasn't worth hauling the CP Pro around for what little it did. That said, I'm glad the new generation XL has it built in. The C-stick does not work as comfortably and easily as the CP Pro did, but like I said, it barely gets used even when it's supported. It does work decently, though, and it is pressure sensitive. It's a lot like when laptops had that crappy little rubber joystick in the middle of the keyboard to control the mouse/pointer. But unlike that situation, where it was a pain to use to control a pointer, it is much more appropriate and easier to use for the purpose of controlling external camera angles (the typical purpose in games). The New 3DS also has the additional shoulder buttons like on the CP Pro. All in all, it is not a feature that alone is worth upgrading to this system from the previous generation.The only other thing there is new about it is the faster processor. The New 3DS XL does perform noticeably faster than the previous, but it's not like the previous version was slow, so it's not a major selling point with regard to upgrading.All-in-all, I'm happy about my upgrade. But I am a working adult who grew-up with Nintendo, and so I have my own money to buy things to fill my spare time. As a parent, I probably wouldn't be ready to fork out the money for my kid to upgrade from the previous 3DS XL (unless you're rich and like to spoil your kid). If they have the first 3DS version, I'd consider buying them the upgrade, but not and upgrade from the immediate predecessor. Like I said, the super-stable 3D made it worth the buy for me, and I would consider it the greatest selling point if you are considering upgrading. I bought a PSP (the predecessor to the PlayStation Vita portable console, upon which the Vita is based), and I did not enjoy playing it very much for very long. It was packed with features, but it just didn't hold my attention. That's what I worried would happen when I first bought the 3DS XL, but it was totally different. In terms of fun, the 3DS smokes the PSP/Vita to me. The Nintendo system is just way more fun to play, and I can't describe it in any other way other than I don't get bored 15 minutes later like I did with PlayStation's system.