The Nintendo 3DS XL has received both a price and a local release date by the Core Group, the local distributors for Nintendo, which has confirmed that the latest portable gaming console will be launching on the 28^th of this month.

The console, which boasts a 90% larger screen as compared with the 3DS, will cost R2350, about R500 more than its predecessor. The system will not ship with a power supply – a move that Nintendo has explained was due to its intention to make the system “available at a reasonable purchase price, and because so many fans already own a previous handheld.”

 

For those who don’t have an AC adapter from a previous DS console, this will be made available to purchase separately. The 3DS XL will, however, come with a  4 GB SD card, which owners can use to store content.

Colourfully compact

As expected from Nintendo, the 3DS XL will be available in three colour combinations, namely Silver and Black, Red and Black and Blue and Black.

Besides from the larger screens, the larger size of the 3DS also comes with better battery life than its smaller sibling, offering between three and a half and six and a half hours when playing 3DS titles and between six and ten hours when used to play DS (non-3D) games.  

Accompanying the 3DS XL will be New Art Academy, a new entry in the Art Academy series. The title will take advantage of the 3DS XL’s larger screens, while offering users a means of “unleashing their creativity while enjoying art lessons that teach real-world drawing and painting techniques.” The title has a RRP of R399.

To the point

Based on our hands on experience with the 3DS XL last week, we have to admit to being pleased to hear that it was coming sooner rather than later. In our hands, the portable console felt solid and considerably more ergonomic as compared with the 3DS, thanks to its gently curving corners.

 

Even in our brief hands on session, it was generally a pleasure to hold, look at and play with, absence of a second analog stick notwithstanding.