Topic: Nintendo Direct on Jan 14th

[idolminds]

Going to be showing 2015 releases for 3DS and Wii U. Also we'll probably find out details on the NA launch of the New 3DS.

[idolminds]

New 3DS launches Feb 13th in North America. XL model only, so no faceplates or colored buttons for us. Also for the first time the AC adapter is sold separately, which is really dumb.

Monster Hunter 4 and Majoras Mask 3D launch the same day as the N3DS.

New Fire Emblem game announced for 3DS.

Wii games being put on Wii U eshop. Mario Galaxy 2 up today, followed by Donkey Kong Country Returns and Metroid Prime Trilogy by the end of the month.

[Cobra951]

New 3DS launches Feb 13th in North America. XL model only, so no faceplates or colored buttons for us. Also for the first time the AC adapter is sold separately, which is really dumb.

I wasn't seeing the whole picture when I first read this.  It didn't sink in that the adapter is absolutely required.  You can't opt to use AA batteries.  You must be able to charge the internal rechargeable pack.  Without that, you bought an expensive brick.  Wow.  How shitty is that?

This shitty, I guess.

[Quemaqua]

Some people in Japan were less than happy about it too (I read one review on Amazon.co.jp that bitched about how they didn't make it apparent enough on the box that no charger was included), although they did the same thing apparently with the 3DS XL also. Your regular 3DS chargers work, so it's not a "new" charger, which I guess is the justification since a lot of people will be upgrading or whatever. Of course, then what do they do with the old unit? If they sell it, not having a charger is a slight annoyance for the person buying it. If you pass it off to a relative or something as a hand-me-down, then hey, let them buy their own charger. Myself, when I sold my 3DS XL, I sold it with the charger, figuring it'd be worth more to do that and not have to dock the price for not having it, and then just pick up another charger somewhere. You'd think I'd be annoyed by this, but I guess since I imported my unit and new about it in advance, I just ordered an $8 charger from Amazon which got here weeks before the unit did. No biggie. If it was a premium item at like $30, then I'd be pissed. I believe online retail for these systems in Japan is about $190 (last time I checked Amazon, and that's what I paid for mine shipped since I got a good deal, though of course not from Amazon.co.jp since they won't ship them here). So another eight bucks doesn't seem like a big deal.

But it does seem weird to sell a product minus something required to use it. You just know this is going to lead to a whole bunch of pissed-off people who don't read the box. You know your average American dumb-fuck in Walmart isn't going to even look. I really thought that in the US they'd include the charger, since they did with the 3DS XL.

EDIT - Jesus. Typos, sorry.

And I guess I may as well give impressions of mine since it showed up today.

First and foremost, it feels heavier than the 3DS. Not by a lot, and not really "heavy", just ... more substantial somehow. Less like a toy. I don't really remember exactly what my other felt like, so I don't know if this is just me or what. Does this have a bigger battery?

Not sure if unit is exactly the same size, but it basically is. My old case fits like a glove, though it's not quite perfect since I now can't charge it in the case because the charger receptacle has been relocated to dead-center-top, so the sleeve it sits in with my case gets in the way. Not a big deal. This case wasn't designed to charge a 3DS XL while it was in there either, it just could if you turned it around.

Anyway. Home button is no longer the shitty-and-squishy button it was on the 3DS, and sits by itself at the bottom of the touchscreen. Start and select buttons are now little round buttons back on the side where they belong. This is great stuff. My buttons aren't colored, but the actual ABXY on the buttons are different colors. Nice touch. Shoulder buttons feel the same, except obviously cut in half, and the two new ones feel just as nice as the others. C-stick feels ... weird. It's a little rubber nub and is very stiff. I can't even tell if it's actually moving when I push it. So not really sure what's up with that, but have nothing to test it with that I'm aware of.

Power is now a small button on the bottom right of the unit. Headphones jack in dead-center bottom. Volume and 3D volume are still on the sides of the top screen. Probably the weirdest layout adjustment is that the game card slot is now in the bottom left of the unit. Not sure why they did that. I preferred it on the top/back like it's always been. Also weird is the stylus cubby, which is now on the bottom as well, between the headphone jack and power button. I don't know if I care or not, but so far it's super unnatural since the stylus has traditionally been on the side and it's natural for me to want to grab it there. Every time I try to grab it now I sort of fumble with it. It doesn't come out as easily ... more flush with the body of the unit. Won't really know until I use it for a while whether this is an annoyance or just adjusting to the new location.

The new screen is wonderful for 3D. The viewing range is way better and it makes a lot of difference. Much less irritating, so that's a huge plus if you enjoy the 3D effect. I didn't think I'd care, but I found myself using it a lot on the old model, so I'm very happy about it being improved. The angles are way, way more forgiving. You basically have to actually try to get it to not look right.

Other than that, it's a 3DS. Looks the same when you turn it on. Operates the same. Mine's in Japanese now, but everything seems to be in the same place and all. So no operational differences at all, which is expected, but bears mentioning if you were expecting the UI to be new and improved or something.

I'm happy with it. Since I got a very good price on my old unit, this one was really only like $30 or something for me, and since I can now play all the import games I want on it (heh ... well, only import games, really), it suits me much better. I haven't looked at the language options. I think Japanese models may just include Japanese, though I imagine North American models will have the usual English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, whatever.

So ends my review. I haven't actually played anything on it yet. Made a mii or two, set up all my junk, and looked at the theme store. Dunno what it is US, but Japan store has everything for about 1 or 2 bucks, depending. They had a decent amount of stuff on there, but nothing that really blew me away. I liked the Hanafuda one I saw before, which I think idol got on his 3DS, but I couldn't find it. Not sure if Nintendo is like all the other places and will only sell to you if you have a Japanese credit card. I'm not planning on purchases in the eshop anyway, though, so it really doesn't matter. But I probably would buy a shiny new theme for 2 bucks just because the home screen remains (just as its always been) awfully boring.

[gpw11]

The fuck?!  I had read previously that in Europe the XL didn't ship with an adapter either and my mind was blown - Nintendo is really the only company that can get away with this without people losing their shit (and people should lose their shit about this).  Nintendo's logic:

"New Nintendo 3DS XL uses the same AC adapter as any Nintendo 3DS or Nintendo DSi system. Rather than raise the cost of New Nintendo 3DS XL by charging consumers for a component they may already own, we are giving them the option to only buy if they need an AC adapter."

Fair enough, and it's only $15, BUT if you're going to do that why wouldn't you just go all the way and make the thing charge through Micro USB (much like Sony did with the recent vita refresh - they also included a cord) since that's pretty much become the gold standard for chargers (save Apple)?

It's bullshit.

[idolminds]

Yeah, its really stupid. Maybe, maybe if regular DS chargers worked. But they don't, only DSi and regular 3DS chargers. And I don't know the numbers but I didn't really see DSis floating around that much. Certainly not enough to assume people just have chargers for those things laying around. They say its so they don't raise the cost on people but since most people are going to need to buy the charger anyway it doesn't really matter. Guess it lets Nintendo advertise a lower price when it really costs a little more.

Really would have been nice for the new model to use a standard micro USB. USB to 3DS charging cables do exist, though. Couldn't even throw one of those in the box.

[Quemaqua]

Doubtful that anyone cares, but one thing has redeemed Nintendo slightly for me in terms of recent bullshit: you can buy stuff on the Japanese eshop without needing a Japanese credit card or billing address. So that's pretty nice. Other platforms don't usually restrict you from accessing a shop the way Nintendo does (everything is locked to region, including whatever shop), but if you do import a unit, at least you don't have to do any special bullshit to get what you're looking for. I bought a theme and Animal Crossing with zero hassles using my regular credit card. So that was pretty cool.

Liking the new system so far. I didn't know this, but the "screen range" is actually an on-the-fly adjustment done via infrared head tracking. It really works well. If you move the unit around a ton, or put it down and pick it up a bunch, you'll have to wait a sec for it to find your head again, but once it does it's pretty damn solid about keeping the screen where it should be. Very nice.

[Cobra951]

The fuck?!  I had read previously that in Europe the XL didn't ship with an adapter either and my mind was blown - Nintendo is really the only company that can get away with this without people losing their shit (and people should lose their shit about this).  Nintendo's logic:

Fair enough, and it's only $15, BUT if you're going to do that why wouldn't you just go all the way and make the thing charge through Micro USB (much like Sony did with the recent vita refresh - they also included a cord) since that's pretty much become the gold standard for chargers (save Apple)?

It's bullshit.

In my long experience, it's unprecedented bullshit.  I have never known a reputable company before to sell an incomplete consumer product, one which cannot work at all out of the box, without any kind of real consequence.  It blows my mind.  What Nintendo is doing is exactly the same thing as selling a new Corolla without an alternator.  "Hey, just pull the one out of your old car.  You have an older one of our Corollas, right?  You must.  That's why we're doing this, to save you money.  Oh, you don't?  Aw, that's a shame!  You should have been a loyal customer beforehand."  [Bow and gong for full Asian stereotyping.]

[Quemaqua]

I don't know, I don't find this as offensive as you all seem to. Maybe because I'm used to stupid corporate bullshit. What seems most weird to me about it is that these things really aren't that expensive. How is keeping $15 off the pricetag even a big enough deal for it to matter? This just seems more like a dumb move that's going to cost them more points in brand goodwill than it will gain them in moving units.

But Nintendo has been so backward in so many ways lately. Right now I'm less pissed because I avoided what I felt was a shitty situation with my 3DS and avoided it deftly and without great expense to get what I wanted, so that's assuaged some of my personal ire, but I still perfectly well acknowledge that Nintendo has just made dumb decision after dumb decision over these last years. This just seems like another one. It doesn't personally outrage me for whatever reason, but that doesn't make it seem any more intelligent. It just seems like a dumb thing to do. But maybe the fact that this has gone on in Japan and Europe prior makes it in some way seem like a more logical decision on their part. Maybe nobody understands that the prevailing logic in the US is that this shouldn't be done. It seems unimaginable to me that Nintendo of America wouldn't know that, but Nintendo of Pretty Much Anywhere lately seems to have just been making one blunder after another, and given how utterly shittastic Club Nintendo has been for North America, I suppose this shouldn't be a surprise. I'm just not sure Nintendo really understands what its customers want in any capacity beyond the actual games themselves (and even then sometimes not).

It's the same position Square-Enix seemed to be in for so long. Just really out of touch with their user base. But Squenix has largely seemed like they've at least been trying to figure it out and putting some effort into getting back to that fundamental principle of being what their customers want them to be (even if they haven't maybe gotten there yet). Nintendo just seems like it has yet to even acknowledge how far off the beaten path they've gone, let alone taken any steps to rectify it.