PAX Australia - New Nintendo 3DS Hands On

When Nintendo announced a refresh of the 3DS line of handhelds, I was a little worried about what they were promising. Sure a boost in the power it has is always welcome, but fixing the 3D was either a big marketing ploy with no possible way of working or it was spectacular. Of course when it was announced that Australia and New Zealand would be the first countries outside of Japan to get the new machines, that made me happy, but knowing that I could try them out at PAX Australia was the thing I was looking forward to the most.

Nintendo Australia went all out for PAX Australia, they had Splatoon on show, Captain Toad was also there and Super Smash Bros on Wii U drew consistent lines each day. But each time I went past the booth, there were always people lining up to get their hands and eyes onto the New Nintendo 3DS.

Nintendo had things setup so people would watch a video that explained what was new with this model and then they would step out and get to play a range of titles. Super Smash Bros for 3DS was quite popular and of course the Mario titles always had people playing them, but for me playing Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate on the New Nintendo 3DS was a real treat.

Well, at least I thought it would be the treat, but it was overshadowed by that amazing new 3D tech, I mean it was impressive, no matter how much it shook the 3D remained solid. It was really impressive at just how well it worked and how much cleaner it looked. The C-Stick was responsive enough to control the camera with minor touches, imagine just a little effort for a great reward.

While it was hard to tell about weight with it being tied down in a bulky frame to the stands, I did have the chance to test out both unattached. I was able to compare the weight of my standard 3DS XL against the New 3DS XL and the new one comes out just slightly heavier, but again only just. The smaller unit is really nice to hold and you can see a slight size increase on the top screen, but I only noticed after seeing a smaller one next to it. I got a quick demo of swapping out the top plate on the smaller unit and it was fast, the underside requires some screws to be removed.

The New 3DS XL in the metalic blue is stunning, I had heard Nintendo state the XL would get a premium finish, but how nice it actually is, well you need to see it for yourself. Overall I was really impressed with what Nintendo had done with the new models, time will tell though if it was a worthwhile investment. Look for the New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL when they are released in stores November 21st.