New 3DS

I originally planned to post an opinion piece about hype today, but Nintendo doesn't agree with my plans, or so it seems.

Because today Nintendo announced the New Nintendo 3DS and the New Nintendo 3DS XL and I'm a little bit torn. But first let me tell you about the facts.

The new 3DS has some nice improvements over the original one. First it now has ZR and ZL shoulder-buttons and a second circle pad. The second circle pad is located next to the A/B/X/Y buttons and much smaller, but it seems to handle quite nicely. It will be supported through games like Super Smash Bros. 3DS, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and the newly announced Xenoblade Chronicles, which is exclusive to the new 3DS.

Apart from that the new models has a slightly bigger screen and an improved 3D effect. Through facetracking it will now be possible to see the 3D effect from different angles. So no more straining the eye, or at least it will be greatly dimished.

The next improvement comes with an integrated NFC reader on the lower screen. So Amiibos can be used without the adapter, which Nintendo will release for the older 3DS-Systems.

The last improvement is the one that creates the dilemma for me. The new System has an improved CPU. At first I didn't think that this is a problem. Faster loading times while browsing the net, the Miiverse and the e-shop sounded like a nice bonus for the buyers of the new model. But then Nintendo also announced that Xenoblade Chronicles for 3DS would be exclusive to the new model. And that's the problem.

With that Nintendo creates a rift between owners of the original system and the new one. So if I want to play the new game I have to upgrade my System in the middle of its life cycle. It's ok to release revisions of your hardware, but when you begin to exclude the owners of the original to (maybe) force them to upgrade, we have a problem. Nintendo did many things right in the last couple of months, but this doesn't make them immune in this case.

If you want to play Xenoblade you have to buy the new system. And if this applies to more games from now on I see a big problem. The games business is front loaded. And by the constant revisions and now with the release of an 1.5 version of their hardware in the middle of its life cycle Nintendo conveys an image, that their first releases aren't worth it. Why should I buy the next handheld from them when it releases, if I may not be able to play all games developed for this hardware? Who says that the won't release a revision like the New 3DS again, so that I have to upgrade again in the middle of a life cycle to be able to play the newer games?

With the 3DS-XL I didn't feel excluded. It provided improvements, but I can enjoy all the features of it on my original 3DS. But if want to enjoy Xenoblade I have to pay 180 bucks to upgrade. All the other things I could enjoy on my original 3DS through the use of adapters and so, and that is ok, but gating games is not. How would the reaction look like if, for example, Microsoft releases a new X-Box One after two years and says, that if you want to play Halo 5 you better upgrade. The shitstorm would be unbelievable. I'm a big Nintendo fan and I'll often and gladly defend them when they get flak for some shit, like it happens so often, but as a fan I'm also the first to criticize them if they do wrong. And with the exclusivity of Xenoblade they did wrong in my opinion. I just hope that this stays the only game that is exclusive, but I don't really have much faith.

Also this will create massive confusion with the costumer. People who don't see the difference between the Wii and the Wii-U will buy Xenoblade for their children and when it doesn't work on their 3DS systems... well lets just say that this doesn't shed a good light on Nintendo in the eyes of the normal customer.

TL;dr: 

The New Nintendo 3DS has some nice improvements and overall sounds pretty good, but by making Xenoblade Chronicles 3DS exclusive to this new version of the system Nintendo creates a rift. And the only way to cross this rift is with money. If this applies to more games in the future Nintendo conveys the picture that it's not worth to buy their hardware at release, but to wait till the definite version releases 2-3 years later. To improve your hardware with revisions is ok, but don't gate actual content like games behind the new version.

A little news bit to end this post on a positive note. Amiibos will release this winter and cost 12 bucks a piece. I think this is a fair price and I can't wait to get my hands on Samus.

Here's also a pic of the twelve amiibos which will be available with the launch of Super Smash. Bros for Wii-U.

And as always

thanks for reading

Picture Source: Nintendo