Another Nintendo Direct this morning.

First off, a New 3DS (literally!). The New 3DS will feature a small analog stick above the face buttons (like the c-stick on the GameCube), a second set of shoulder buttons, better 3D support, faster CPU, NFC for amiibo, support for MicroSD, and better battery life. This will be available as both a standard and LL (XL) models (plus the standard will have interchangable faceplates, like the GameBoy Micro). This will basically be like the DSi of the previous generation, it'll have some upgrades over the standard models and might have an exclusive game or two, but still won't be a full-on replacement for the 3DS. Current release planned for Japan later this year and Europe next year. No US released announced yet (Ugh, I JUST bought an XL a few months ago...)

To customize your current 3DS, this October Nintendo will be releasing themes to spice up your system menu. Themes include retro Mario, modern Mario, Legend of Zelda, and Animal Crossing.

In Smash Bros news, Shulk from Xenoblade Chronicles has been announced as a playable character. In addition, if you register both 3DS and Wii U versions of Smash Brothers on Club Nintendo you can get a Smash Brothers 2 CD Soundtrack. Also for those of you in Europe, a double pack of the 3DS version will be available so you can get it with a friend and save some money.

To go with Smash Bros we got info on amiibo figures. You can see all of the available figures here. They will be available for $13. Again these will be usable on other games as well such as Mario Kart 8 and Mario Party 10.

Press releases for US and Europe provide details on more upcoming releases.

Personally I'm most excited about the Super Nintendo face buttons.

Joking aside, though, this is pretty cool and now it's kind of a shame I don't need a new 3DS.
...Actually, I don't care, I'm getting that Smash Bros one when it comes out.

I have mixed feelings about this. I kind of wish they just went and released a new handheld completely. Having exclusive games feels kind of like Nintendo saying "Ha, ha, you have a 3DS, and you want to play Xenoblade 3DS . . . BUT YOU CAN'T UNLESS YOU GIVE US MONEY FOR A NEW ONE "

Also, funnily enough, my first question when I saw this was about how capture boards for this thing were going to work but I think that's a post for a different forum . . .

As long as they don't make any exclusive games that are actually interesting for the thing and keep all the major titles backwards compatible, I'll be happy. By "actually interesting," I mean things that aren't like those silly photography games for the DSi. I'll post my thoughts on each feature.

• Near-Field Communication: having NFC/Amiibo capabilities built in without requiring the adapter likely throws that whole thing I said above about exclusivity out the door, but it also likely does not.
• C-Stick (second analog stick) and shoulder buttons: again, don't require it unless absolutely necessary. Keep it as an enhancement for when playing in this New 3DS or the original with the Circle Pad Pro.
• Better 3D support: I use a 2DS, so my opinion is moot. Also, it looks useless in a dark room, as the camera needs to know where you are. If the camera isn't being improved "dark" would refer to anywhere that isn't exposed to direct sunlight.
• Faster CPU: again, I hope it's not required unless necessary. Run at a lower framerate on the 3DS?
• microSD support: well, every microSD card I've bought has come with an adapter. Err, but it looks like it ONLY supports microSD cards...
• Wireless sync: not sure how this will work, but it's probably to make up for the microSD card being installed behind the battery cover.
• 4 GB of internal storage: nice, they've finally upgraded that, but I still prefer the flexibility of the SD card.
• Browser upgrades: at least you can now watch videos on it. However, the browser filter setting looks quite interesting and especially could be a good thing for parents. It costs 30 yen (about 30 cents) directly from a credit card to turn it off, which is quite standard to remove child locks these days.
• Faceplates: the myriad design choices seems to pretty much make "limited editions" with fancy colors a thing of the past, and 1000 yen (probably $10 once those come to the US) is quite affordable.
• Redesign: the location of that power button is a joke.

Looks interesting if I didn't already have a 3DS or an XL this would interest me look like the new 3DS has rounded edged a complaint about the original was the hard edges if you play to long. It ends up cutting into my hand which is so helpful.
Though I agree that the power button location isn't that great and just noticed where the stylus goes, really? Is that the best place to have it?

Well, I'd say Xenoblade is already a pretty big game (I know a couple people, myself included, who would like to play Xenoblade Chronicles Wii but have the issue of its existence being minimal where we live), and the Amiibo and such suggest they have grand plans for the next couple years.

So I see it being more like the Color and Advance were to the Game Boy. Although maybe with a bit of luck this'll all end up going the way of the Wii's motion controls and the Oyua . . .

I'm very mixed about this. 2DS was last year, no? Now a "new" 3DS? As a consumer, I'm feeling a bit shaky about how Nintendo is managing this. Like others, I'm sure they won't announce huge titles on the system, but the way they're marketing it as a "new console" has me feeling uneasy about owning a regular 3DS XL.

Oh dear, looks like it won't be coming out here for quite some time:
http://nintendoeverything.com/iwata-...eas-3ds-sales/