Nintendo announced refreshes of its 3DS and 3DS XL portables during a Japanese Nintendo Direct broadcast, but the game maker is leaving a bit of ambiguity with regard to when each region of the world will have access to the faster and better equipped units.
The reworked 3DS handheld devices are slightly wider and a tad lighter than their predecessors. A compacted analog stick has been added to the right side of the 3DS's bottom half and two shoulder buttons, "ZR" and "ZL," flank the original pair on the back of the devices.
Upgrades to the 3DS's processing speeds will make for faster downloads and is said to be necessary to run the incoming 3DS port of Xenoblade Chronicles. Also a necessity for certain products, the 3DS's updated near field communications (NFC) will bring compatibility to the portable for Nintendo's inbound Amiibo toy line.
While the refresh of the 3DS and 3DS XL sent many Nintedo loyalists looking for a release day, a representative from Nintendo's North American division put a damper on some fans' elation:
Different territories make their own business decisions regarding individual products and timing. We have no plans to launch these products in the Americas this year. We have a variety of compelling portable gaming options for consumers now and through the holiday shopping season, including Nintendo 2DS and Nintendo 3DS XL. 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.
The wording of the spokesperson's statements may have been disappointing to 3DS owners, but the phrasing didn't exaltly rule out a launch of the refreshed 3DS in 2015 or any other time after 2014 concludes. A Nintendo representative later clarified comments and said that the reworked 3DS and 3DS XL units wouldn't release in Europe until 2015.
As one of the best-selling gaming platforms in the world, Nintendo's 3DS series attracts a loyal bunch with a wealth of JRPGs and portable versions of the gamer maker's flagship franchise that don't compromise on core game play.
Shigeru Miyamoto, legendary designer and producer for Nintendo, recently said he is happy that the emergence of smartphone and tablet gaming has held the attention of casual fans, enabling Nintendo to focus on core gamers.
"In the days of DS and Wii, Nintendo tried its best to expand the gaming population," Miyamoto said. "Fortunately, because of the spread of smart devices, people take games for granted now. It's a good thing for us, because we do not have to worry about making games something that are relevant to general people's daily lives."
