Yesterday Nintendo’s 8th generation handheld went large with the arrival of the 3DS XL in the U.K and Europe. The portable console delivers arcade style action on a vastly increased screen size which is 90% bigger than the original 3DS.
But just like with its smaller sibling it would appear potential buyers of the freshly unboxed Nintendo 3DS XL are questioning one of the handheld’s key features. This time it’s the visual quality of the games through the new 4.88-inch LCD main screen and 4.18-inch lower touch-screen and many are concerned about the picture resolution and the possible blurriness that might affect playtime when 3DS games designed for the smaller screen are displayed on the 3DS XL’s upgraded viewer.
In the latest ‘Iwata Asks’ video, talking with Nintendo’s Research and Engineering division, company CEO Satoru Iwata has addressed these concerns asking “With regard to the LCD, many customers appear to be worried, asking questions like ‘If the screen is bigger, won’t the dots stand out?’ and ‘Will the screen get blurry?'” R&E man Takashi Murakami responds to this: “For normal play, I don’t think anyone will be able to sense anything awkward.”
Murakami continues getting ‘technical’ and talking minimum pixel requirements and how the Nintendo 3DS XL selling point is that it’s bigger and shows “3D graphics with impact – and when it comes to that, it’s just fine”. He also suggests that with the larger display it makes it much easier to find that ‘sweet spot’ – meaning the angle that allows us to see the 3D in its best quality and which took a bit of getting use to on the preceding 3DS model. So in Nintendo’s eyes overall these early concerns should be nothing to worry about. And after the disappointing initial sales of the original 3DS we can imagine they’d like to nip these issues early to avoid a repeat of last year’s troubles. With 200,000 sales in Japan alone in just a few days we don’t think Nintendo has a lot to worry about regarding the latest revision of its portable platform just yet.
As well as boasting the bigger screen and double the battery endurance the gaming gadget also includes an upgrade from 2GB to 4GB of storage – double that of the first model which was released in March 2011. The new model went on sale yesterday for £180 and is available in Red, Blue and Silver.
The ‘Iwata Asks’ interview on 3DS XL can be read in full at iwataasks.nintendo.com
Check out the Gadget Helpline’s feature on Nintendo ‘Then & Now‘ and see how some of the Japanese gaming co.’s ideas have been recycled over the years.
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