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Nintendo Release 3DS XL and New Mario 2 In the USA Today

Posted by samzenpus on from the play-time dept.

Croakyvoice writes "Nintendo has today released the 3DS XL in the U.S. The console comes with features such as screens which are 90% bigger in size than the original 3DS, a much needed improvement in battery life and also the 3D effect on the console has noticeably improved. The 3DS XL is Nintendo's attempt at even moreso dominating the handheld console market over the PSVita, but also bringing back the gamers lost to the likes of Android and iOS devices. The other major 3DS news of the day is the release of New Super Mario Bros 2, a continuation of the DS game released in 2006. In Japan the game has sold over 800,000 copies since game launch and Nintendo will be hopeful to replicate that success in the U.S."

93 comments

  1. marketing speak, anyone. by Dzimas · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Actually, it's 90% bigger only in terms of area. The 3D panel now measures 4.88" inches diagonally, vs. 3.53 inches on the original. Of course, the pixel density is significantly lower as a result.

    1. Re:marketing speak, anyone. by O('_')O_Bush · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Pixel density is lower, pixel size is greater, but the screen is so much easier to see and use. 3d is now an option for me, where it wasn't before.

        I traded my red 3ds for a red 3ds XL this morning. The finish is worse( no fancy acryllic finishes or metal bits, no short aluminum pen), but it definitely feels more sturdy, and is so much easier to use that I don't mind it feeling like a cheaper version of what I had.

      --
      while(1) attack(People.Sandy);
    2. Re:marketing speak, anyone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That's exactly what they said, the screen is 90% bigger. It's not their fault if you're bad at math and think that means something it doesn't.

    3. Re:marketing speak, anyone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      Screen sizes are always measured diagonally. Saying the screen is 90% larger should mean it's 90% larger diagonally.

    4. Re:marketing speak, anyone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yes, screens are measured diagonally. No, 90% larger doesn't mean 1.9x diagonal.

    5. Re:marketing speak, anyone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only if you're using underhanded and deceptive marketing speak.

    6. Re:marketing speak, anyone. by LocalH · · Score: 0

      No, it shouldn't. Saying the screen is 90% larger means that it's 90% larger. It says nothing about diagonal measurements.

      You probably also whined about the use of bits instead of bytes to denote ROM capacity in the old days, despite the fact that it's a perfectly accurate term, and in fact mirrors the way that EPROMs and RAM chips were measured and marketed as components.

      --
      FC Closer
    7. Re:marketing speak, anyone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      You are a fucking moron.

    8. Re:marketing speak, anyone. by Dogtanian · · Score: 2

      You probably also whined about the use of bits instead of bytes to denote ROM capacity in the old days, despite the fact that it's a perfectly accurate term, and in fact mirrors the way that EPROMs and RAM chips were measured and marketed as components.

      I absolutely agree that in this case the OP is complaining about a non-issue, and I don't agree that it would automatically be assumed that "90% bigger" would be taken to refer to the diagonal.

      However, the example you gave *was* (IMHO) an example of manufacturers being intentionally misleading. Virtually all consumer-oriented software back then was quoted in terms of its kilobyte or megabyte footprint (*). While the use of megabits may undeniably have been technically correct, its previously near-unknown use in a consumer end-product context like this was quite obviously chosen to mislead or obfuscate.

      (*) No, no-one gave a toss about "mibibytes" and all that **** back then. Mibibytes.... pah. To paraphrase Paul Calf, I'm going to get a dog and train him to attack anyone who says "mibibyte" ;-)

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    9. Re:marketing speak, anyone. by RaceProUK · · Score: 1

      How is '90% larger' underhanded and deceptive? As far as I can tell, Nintendo say the screens are 90% bigger, and they're 90% bigger. It's about as deceptive as saying 'don't put your hand in the flame - it'll get burnt'.

      --
      No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
    10. Re:marketing speak, anyone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Screens are ALWAYS given in the diagonal. it is the default measurement. 90% larger, without any additional qualifiers, when applied to a screen means 90% larger diagonally.

    11. Re:marketing speak, anyone. by RaceProUK · · Score: 1

      Screens are given in the diagonal yes, but screen size changes are given in viewing area, as that's the more relevant comparison.

      --
      No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
    12. Re:marketing speak, anyone. by Hatta · · Score: 1

      You can see it, and an adult male can hold the thing without hands cramping in 2 minutes.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    13. Re:marketing speak, anyone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are a fucking moron.

      "What is the first thing I saw in the mirror this morning?"

      "Correct!" - Alex Trebek

    14. Re:marketing speak, anyone. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That doesn't really make sense. Did he see those words? Were they written on the glass?

  2. awesome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    i cant wait to play larger mario, larger zelda, larger metroid and larger something else.

    how long till nintendo goes the way of sega and simply makes games for other platforms?

    1. Re:awesome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can't wait for my Mario branded iPhone after Apple buys Nintendo!

    2. Re:awesome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      probably about two years. 3ds has already failed and their pitiful attempt to graft a cheap-looking tablet onto a tv game console is going to flop hard.

    3. Re:awesome by Darkness404 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The funny thing is, Nintendo is probably the healthiest game/hardware maker in the business. Unlike Sony/Microsoft, Nintendo usually makes a profit on their hardware rather than selling it at a loss in hope of recouping their loss via games. The Wii has outsold the 360 and the PS3, the 3DS has outsold the PS Vita by leaps and bounds.

      Nintendo is far from being the next Sega.

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    4. Re:awesome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm hoping that no one buys them. So their franchises can go to existing consoles. Mario Kart on Xbox 360 would be epic.

    5. Re:awesome by Grave · · Score: 2

      Nintendo is currently losing money, last quarterly result that I saw. The Wii also has not outsold the 360 for quite some time.

      Nintendo would do better to give up on handheld hardware and focus on finding a good way of porting their franchises to Android/iOS instead. It's horribly impractical for most people to bring another device around with them besides their phone.

    6. Re:awesome by firex726 · · Score: 1

      Actually the Wii is kicking both the Xbox and PS3 when it comes to units sold.
      Wii had a huge initial spike and has since leveled off and been overtaken by the more steady sales rate of the other two, but lifetime units sold it's still #1, and will probably remain that way for the rest of this generation.

      Wii: 96.56 million (as of June 30, 2012)
      Xbox: 67.2 million (as of April 19, 2012)
      PS3: 63.9 million (as of March 31, 2012)

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3

      Also Nintendo did loose money for the entirety of last year, but they are hardly bleeding; it's the first negative year in over a decade.
      They lose $400m, but are valued at over $85b.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo

      When the Wii spiked they made a fuck ton, but since then it's slowly been whittled away year after year as the units sold also dropped. Plus there was a devaluation of the Yen, which Sony also suffered from.

      Now compare that to the other two, who have both had to lay off people. Sony recently laid off over 3000 employees.

    7. Re:awesome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am willing to bet that a far greater number of 360 and PS3 owners still use their consoles though. Most Wii consoles have been relegated to dust collection.

    8. Re:awesome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So?
      What does Nintendo care, so long as they got paid.

    9. Re:awesome by kamapuaa · · Score: 2

      Maybe financially they're doing well, if you're really into stock valuations. But with gamers, they're on the verge of becoming irrelevant - everybody know there's no good 3rd party games, just endless re-treads of a few (admittedly beloved) franchises. Wii sold a lot of units to people who put the Wii in the back of the closet after half a year.

      --
      Slashdot: providing anti-social weirdos a soapbox, since 1997.
    10. Re:awesome by Darkness404 · · Score: 1

      That's the odd thing about Nintendo though, they generally end up defining the generation and while 95% of the games on the system are utter crap the other 5% is the stuff that defines the generation. The Wii has had a lot of gems, Super Mario Galaxy (2), Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Skyward Sword, and Xenoblade. The games you can't get on the PS3 or 360.

      While I have to say I use my Wii a lot less than I do my 360 (or 3DS for that matter) easily 4 out of the 5 best games I've played this generation have been Nintendo exclusives (Brawl, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Xenoblade, Super Mario 3D Land) the lone non-Nintendo game would have to be Tales of Vesperia.

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    11. Re:awesome by aliquis · · Score: 1

      Correct.

      First time in 30 years if I remember correctly.

      Too bad for them but an awesome history compared to others.

      If they port to Android and iOS they would have to sell at Android and iOS prices. Or at least cheaper. The titles you care for though contain more content and work than "Angry birds" or "Ninja fruits" or whatever it's called.

      Not everyone with a portable gaming device brings it with them all the time ..

      Earlier years though I thought the somewhat nice (I thought back then ..) combination would had been Nintendo and Apple because Apple sucked for gaming and Nintendo could had gotten a bigger market or in this case business on the devices you mention. But by now Apple got more support for their iDevices at least.

      I wouldn't mind if Nintendo had made an Android phone themselves though which also ran their games. Like Sony-Ericsson Xperia Play.

      Guess they are doing a Nokia by almost getting there .. But then again they haven't done phones but well, maybe they have to?

      Will Samsung become the electronics leader?

    12. Re:awesome by aliquis · · Score: 1

      Plus there was a devaluation of the Yen, which Sony also suffered from.

      The steady decline of the US dollar you mean?

    13. Re:awesome by Fallingcow · · Score: 1

      It's called Blur.

      I've only played it on the PS3, but I think it's available on the 360, too.

      It's Mario Kart with real cars and realistic (sort of...) tracks but all the usual powerups and general wackiness. Bonus, its version of the "blue shell" is way better than Mario Kart's.

    14. Re:awesome by RaceProUK · · Score: 1

      They lose $400m, but are valued at over $85b.

      So Yamamoto did drop some change down the back of his sofa!

      --
      No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
    15. Re:awesome by RaceProUK · · Score: 1

      while 95% of the games on the system are utter crap the other 5% is the stuff that defines the generation

      You could almost apply that unchanged to any console/handheld platform of the last 20 years.

      --
      No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
    16. Re:awesome by Black+LED · · Score: 1

      If you are on PC, check out Gas Guzzlers

    17. Re:awesome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's the odd thing about Nintendo though, they generally end up defining the generation

      That's not very odd. When there's less competition (less 3rd party games on your platform), it's easier for you to take first place. Don't get me wrong, Nintendo does make good games, but that doesn't excuse their rep with 3rd party games.

      The thing is, they weren't always like this. Even in the NES and SNES days, there were quite a few good 3rd party games, some which took off to become big franchises today. Square comes to mind

      If Nintendo kept Square and other 3rd parties (somehow, I think a big reason for the move started with the PS1, with the CD vs cartridge thing), we might have seen a lot more awesome 3rd party things on the Nintendo consoles since then.

    18. Re:awesome by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      I am willing to bet that a far greater number of 360 and PS3 owners still use their consoles though. Most Wii consoles have been relegated to dust collection.

      Yep but at what cost? Many of my friends haven't played their Wii in 1+ years. That didn't stop them amassing a huge collection of games. Unlike Blizzard Nintendo tend to put money in the bank and walk. None of this selling things at a loss and hoping to make it up elsewhere. If they made a dollar profit on the Wii, they made a dollar profit. They also make a profit on every game too. They don't need you to keep playing.

      All they really need for you to do is realise that the Wii U is "so much better (tm)" and to part with your cash in their favour.

  3. What does the XL stand for? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Extra large pant pockets? Extra large price for the games? Help me out here...

    1. Re:What does the XL stand for? by O('_')O_Bush · · Score: 1

      The games aren't any more expensive...

      --
      while(1) attack(People.Sandy);
    2. Re:What does the XL stand for? by RaceProUK · · Score: 1

      If only there was some sort of summary, and that summary contained the info you're looking for... pity there isn't one.

      Oh wait, there is.

      The console comes with features such as screens which are 90% bigger in size than the original 3DS

      --
      No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
  4. [PSA] Ken Starks of HeliOS fame has 2-3 weeks left by arielCo · · Score: 2, Informative
    This is one of those put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is situations. From his partner's blog at http://linuxlock.blogspot.com/2012/08/this-is-where-we-are.html

    Ken's cancer has just recently begun to spread to his right lymph node but his Oncologist has assured us that this is 80 percent curative if he gets the needed surgery in time.

    Unfortunately, his 1100 dollar a month SSI disability disqualifies him for Medicaid care and the local county low-income insurance he was receiving. This leaves us with about 2 weeks to either raise enough money for at least the OR for the surgery (we are hopeful of finding a surgeon to do the work pro bono) or raise enough money for the entire procedure. We've spent hours upon hours researching and contacting the links some of you have provided but they are so limited in scope that 90 percent of them are not helpful at all.

    We are looking at two weeks, maybe three before the cancer spreads past the point of surgery being an option. After that, we've been told just to make him as comfortable as possible until he passes. I'm not ready to accept that.

    --
    This post contains no rudeness or derision of any kind. All arguments are friendly. Terms and exclusions may apply.
  5. Wish it had "apps" by unrtst · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I like the format/size of the DS's, and I wouldn't mind having a little hand held game machine, but I just can't get over all that hardware sitting there and no way to use other apps than just the games. These things have just about everything one would need to call it a micro-netbook or something like that, if only it had any way to do anything other than play games. The homebrew on the DS is there, barely, but they should really just support it out of the box. For example, my household would probably have 3 less ebook readers, and might have skipped 2 tablet purchases and a netbook.

    The bottom screen could easily be a small keyboard (obviously not as nice as a netbook, laptop, or desktop, but it'd work as good as a smartphone onscreen keyboard). You could also do a very nice email client on that thing, using both displays while reading mail. And it has good audio/video support already, so why not a multimedia player (mp3 at least)? Toss a video chat thing on there as well... that'd be kinda handy. As it is, it does a specific set of games better than my phone, tablet, and netbook, but completely lacks every other feature they have, and it's entirely a software issue - that seems very silly IMO.

    FWIW, it irks me just as much that game consoles also have a very large void of apps (and I hate saying "apps", but it fits here). Why can't my PS3 w/ BT keyboard fire up a terminal, ssh, vnc, firefox/chrome, vlc, thunderbird, skype, rythmbox/etc, etc etc etc?

    1. Re:Wish it had "apps" by O('_')O_Bush · · Score: 1

      That is the walled garden problem. As for the 3ds, it does have Netflix, which is nice if you have headphones, since the 3ds speakers sound a bit hollow.

      --
      while(1) attack(People.Sandy);
    2. Re:Wish it had "apps" by supersloshy · · Score: 1

      The 3DS does have a built-in music player already, if you didn't notice. It support MP3 as well as M4A and it lets you share the names of your most-listened-to songs via streetpass. It's not exactly full-featured and it's mostly meant as a toy, but it's still there.

      As for the other things you suggested... Yeah... I wish the 3DS could have user-developed applications as well.

      --
      "Our country is not nearly so overrun with the bigoted as it is overrun with the broadminded." -Archbishop Fulton Sheen
    3. Re:Wish it had "apps" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's already a media player on there, it's just not as user friendly as it could be and is a bit rubbish with formats.

      Try it yourself; load any .mp3 files you like onto the SD card and load up the 3ds sound app. Open /SDCARD and away you go, even has 3d visualisations. If you've got headphones in it keeps playing when you close the clamshell as well, so you can use it as a standalone MP3 player.
      Video support is on there but you need to do some format conversions before loading them on, so it's not really practicable at the moment.

      Email clients should be possible even without homebrew; what you'd need to do is set up a web facing client (like hotmail or gmail's webmail interfaces) that looks for the 3DS User Agent string; it could then load the inbox on the bottom screen and individual messages on the top screen (there are porn sites already doing this). The 3ds browser already has text input taken care of, so there's no reason this wouldn't work.

      As far as homebrew goes, I don't think we'll see it directly, but given there's an app store on the 3DS it wouldn't surprise me to see a few indies put up the cash for a development unit and get some apps like these on there. I don't see anything in Nintendo's submission policies that would prevent it.

    4. Re:Wish it had "apps" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then shut up and buy a tablet. Or if you decide to build your own platform, learn to support an OS, a demanding developer 'community' (by providing a comprehensive API and IDE) as well as constructing an environmentally responsible supply chain.

    5. Re:Wish it had "apps" by VortexCortex · · Score: 1

      FWIW, it irks me just as much that game consoles also have a very large void of apps (and I hate saying "apps", but it fits here). Why can't my PS3 w/ BT keyboard fire up a terminal, ssh, vnc, firefox/chrome, vlc, thunderbird, skype, rythmbox/etc, etc etc etc?

      Because then you wouldn't call it a game console. You'd call it a general purpose computer. It irks me as well: Artificial scarcity and functionality restrictions need to be shunned.

      I remember playing machines that could only operate one game. Pinball is still fabulously fun, but it's not a market dominator now. The Arcade Cabinets came and followed the same model, one machine, one game. Their programmability allowed the game rules to become more complex and artificial displays freed us from the limitations of physics in dictating said rules.

      Then came the video game console. Arcade cabinets innards were capable of supporting multiple different games, so the home consoles embraced this and provided hardware that could be played with a myriad of games, reprogramming the hardware via external media at boot. At first the games weren't as good as the dedicated hardware could provide, but in time the consoles improved and surpassed the expensive arcade cabinets in terms of processing power. This more general purpose gaming system strategy made dedicated arcade cabinets obsolete. Now consoles rule the roost; Arcades are still great fun, but they don't dominate the market.

      Along the way came the personal computer. Its primary focus wasn't games at all, but performing and computational task, including communicating with others. At first these machines couldn't run games as well as the dedicated game console hardware could, but in time the general purpose computers improved and surpassed the expensive game consoles in terms of processing power, form factors, and even now compete in terms of ease of use. Indeed, the technology has become so pervasive that today many people use general purpose computers as their phones!

      Just as I have seen the mechanical machines give way to more general purpose digital arcade machines, and watched the decline of the arcades in competition with more capable home consoles, I am now watching the general purpose computer make consoles obsolete. Enjoy them while they last... Also, this is why DRM is most evil.

    6. Re:Wish it had "apps" by Fallingwater · · Score: 1

      Because then you wouldn't call it a game console. You'd call it a general purpose computer.

      This is what most non-nerds don't get... consoles ARE general purpose computers, only they've been crippled into only working with games and possibly a few other select tasks. This has been made eminently clear by all the aftermarket dashboards for the X-box that would turn it into a full-blown computer, not to mention the whole PS3 Linux fiasco.

      Along the way came the personal computer. Its primary focus wasn't games at all, but performing and computational task, including communicating with others. At first these machines couldn't run games as well as the dedicated game console hardware could, but in time the general purpose computers improved and surpassed the expensive game consoles in terms of processing power

      Not really. Gaming computers have always been more powerful than consoles, provided they're reasonably recent. There's a reason why most console ports have limitations absent in the PC version (unless the PC version is the port, which usually causes consolization and angry gamers).

      Just as I have seen the mechanical machines give way to more general purpose digital arcade machines, and watched the decline of the arcades in competition with more capable home consoles, I am now watching the general purpose computer make consoles obsolete.

      Are we living on the same planet? The console market has been much bigger than the PC market for years now. I freakin' WISH consoles would drop out of existence, but it's not going to happen.

    7. Re:Wish it had "apps" by PhrstBrn · · Score: 1

      This has bugged me as well. It's a nice piece of hardware, has a touch screen, audio, video, few buttons, wifi. Any app that works your phone could be adapted to work on the 3DS, if the platform was opened up.

    8. Re:Wish it had "apps" by Darkness404 · · Score: 1

      Except for the fact that if they'd make it be a general purpose computer, it would suck.

      Have you ever actually -used- the web browser on the 3DS? Its slow, its clunky and basically useless.

      Sure, it might be fun for us nerds to run Linux on the 3DS, but anytime you try to make a game console be more than a game console, it doesn't really work out.

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    9. Re:Wish it had "apps" by hairyfeet · · Score: 1, Insightful

      It sounds like what you are wanting is one of the bazillion knockoffs they have at Chinamart. This is why I'm glad that for the most part i have completely weaned my two teen boys off of consoles (I say most part because the youngest will be buying one of these for a single game series he loves that isn't sold on any other platform) because of all the waste. Once its done as a game system? Into the closet it goes, right beside the GC and PS-2.

      Its just a damned shame, that's what it is. as we saw with the Xbox I hack that made it into a pretty damned nice SD media center these systems have more than enough power to do a ton of stuff but the lock in and lack of a homebrew community means that they just end up chunked when no longer useful as a gaming system. At least with the PC you can always take that old gaming rig and use it for other purposes, the youngest boy's old gaming rig is now my mom's kitchen PC and even my gaming rig from 1995 is still in use, its the controller for a lathe at the local lumber co.

      But sadly that seems to be the future the corps are pushing us towards, little locked down all to hell devices that are worthless the second the parent corp quits supporting it.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    10. Re:Wish it had "apps" by zhouren1989 · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      monster beat by dre monster beat by dr dre dre beat studios dr dre beats studios beat by dre monster beats by dr dre studios monster beat by dre monster beat by dre monster beat by dr dre beat by dre monster dr dre monster beat monster beat dr dre

    11. Re:Wish it had "apps" by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      That is the walled garden problem. As for the 3ds, it does have Netflix, which is nice if you have headphones, since the 3ds speakers sound a bit hollow.

      I think that's a movie problem - the 3DS has some of the best sound on a portable platform using internal speakers. But I suspect it's because the 3DS games use Dolby Surround which helps enhances the audio significantly. DS/DSi games can't use it, and they do sound significantly worse. Perhaps Netflix needs to enable Dolby Surround.

    12. Re:Wish it had "apps" by DiEx-15 · · Score: 1

      Why can't my PS3 w/ BT keyboard fire up a terminal, ssh, vnc, firefox/chrome, vlc, thunderbird, skype, rythmbox/etc, etc etc etc?

      Because Sony said so. Nothing more. Nothing less.

      Honestly, did you think Sony wanted you to do all that when they removed the install other OS option?

  6. Donated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Donated.

    1. Re:Donated by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't even know the guy, but thanks -arielCo

  7. dear mod by arielCo · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Of course it is Offtopic! It's not about Nintendo's shiny new gadget. Should it be (-1)?

    --
    This post contains no rudeness or derision of any kind. All arguments are friendly. Terms and exclusions may apply.
    1. Re:dear mod by nstlgc · · Score: 1

      Uhrm, yes. What the fuck is this doing in this thread?

      --
      I'm Rocco. I'm the +5 Funny man.
    2. Re:dear mod by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You must be an American Christian.

  8. Re:[PSA] Ken Starks of HeliOS fame has 2-3 weeks l by arielCo · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    More about Ken, by Steven Vaughan-Nichols of ZDnet fame:

    +Ken Starks is a Linux and open-source supporter. He also runs a non-profit that's donated thousands of PCs to low-income households. Now, he needs help to fight cancer. For more on what's happening with him see:

    http://thomasaknight.com/blog.php?id=71

    https://plus.google.com/app/plus/mp/374/#~loop:view=activity&aid=z132y3njjzjei5iic04cjds4ztnpef1pjb0

    --
    This post contains no rudeness or derision of any kind. All arguments are friendly. Terms and exclusions may apply.
  9. Re:[PSA] Ken Starks of HeliOS fame has 2-3 weeks l by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Me too. Donated.

  10. Re:[PSA] Ken Starks of HeliOS fame has 2-3 weeks l by arielCo · · Score: 1

    Thank you (even if I don't even know the guy personally) - arielCo

    --
    This post contains no rudeness or derision of any kind. All arguments are friendly. Terms and exclusions may apply.
  11. USA Today by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I bought a USA Today but there was no game in the newspaper...

  12. In the USA Today? by elashish14 · · Score: 0

    Then maybe I'll consider picking up a copy....

    --
    I have left slashdot and am now on Soylent News. FUCK YOU DICE.
    1. Re:In the USA Today? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yea, but it's the weekend edition. That's how they get you.

  13. Re:[PSA] Ken Starks of HeliOS fame has 2-3 weeks l by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    I find it disgraceful that this story has been on the firehose and not made it to the frontpage - apparently at least 3 times so far this week.
    Obviously your comment is offtopic, but I've modded you informative anyway.
    Your comment matters much more than some crappy Nintendo release.

  14. moud up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    and financial Users all over the &Mod points and but now they're partner. And if copy a 17 Meg file [slashdot.0rg], isn't a lemonade the bottoms butt

  15. Their biggest challenge IMHO by spagthorpe · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Is that an iOS or Android device is likely something that you _always_ have with you. I never go anywhere where my phone isn't in my pocket, and I always have a handful of games with me for a quick fix. As nice as the 3DS XL might be, it's something I would have to carry around extra, and I can promise, it would be left at home most of the time, like my POS camera.

    The app vs dedicated carts is a whole other argument. $10 or so will buy you a premium iOS game, most are $1-$3. The 3DS games are $40, though I imagine a good deal better than most iOS apps. Still, a large expense after a $200 platform.

    --

    WWJD -- What Would Jimi Do?
    (Smash amp, burn guitar, take home the groupies)

    1. Re:Their biggest challenge IMHO by nstlgc · · Score: 1

      Hardware buttons. Enough said.

      --
      I'm Rocco. I'm the +5 Funny man.
    2. Re:Their biggest challenge IMHO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Precisely the reason iOS and Android are eating in sales other consoles. Unfortunately there's more people unable to use more than one finger to play than people with the dexterity to use buttons. Same happened when I was developing for a console game: I calibrated game input to follow a smooth analog curve for the xbox controller. This allowed a sniper player to follow a moving vehicle and headshot the driver with some practice. Unfortunately playtests showed most people don't understand analog and just move the stick to the extreme. So I had to botcher the input, make it pseudo-digital and use a time-based acceleration curve. Result: impossible to headshot with the sniper, but higher overall success of hitting enemies in the hands of unexperienced players. It sucks. Life sucks in general.

    3. Re:Their biggest challenge IMHO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or, ya know, you could have made it configurable with an options screen and default it to "gimped" instead of bitching that dumb users are dumb.

    4. Re:Their biggest challenge IMHO by Darkness404 · · Score: 0

      The problem is, I haven't ever found an Android or iOS game that held my interest for longer than a few seconds. Sure, they might be cheaper but the games are either:

      A) Not fun
      B) Not long enough
      C) Don't work without physical buttons (I'm looking at you Final Fantasy for iOS)
      D) Too expensive for the amount of fun. I don't want to spend $10 for an hour long game.

      Other than emulators, I haven't found a decent game for my Android phone and the emulator kinda kills the portability because in order to actually play them you have to have a bluetooth controller...

      --
      Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
    5. Re:Their biggest challenge IMHO by Hatta · · Score: 1

      Phone games are for people looking to kill time by playing a game. Portable consoles are for people who love games and don't want to leave them at home. They're entirely different markets and can coexist as easily as magazines and books.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  16. Re:[PSA] Ken Starks of HeliOS fame has 2-3 weeks l by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    I find it disgraceful that you have to beg for money for medical treatment in any first world country.

  17. Re:[PSA] Ken Starks of HeliOS fame has 2-3 weeks l by neuro88 · · Score: 1

    I opened this thread to read about the 3DS XL and New Super Mario Bro's 2 (which I've bought via the online shop and I'm downloading on to my regular 3ds). I'm kind of interested in the XL as I'm hoping the larger size will be more accommodating to my adult hands, and the battery life of the 3ds is perhaps even worse than my PS Vita.

    That said, thank you for posting this here. After spending $39.99, I've now donated $50 to Ken Starks. I had never heard of the HeliOS project so I had to look it up... You might consider giving a brief summary with it (you're apparently more familiar with it than so I won't do it).

  18. Re:[PSA] Ken Starks of HeliOS fame has 2-3 weeks l by theshowmecanuck · · Score: 0

    Is this a case of two wrongs making a right?

    --
    -- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
  19. Yawn by stevez67 · · Score: 1

    Nintendo ... 'nuff said.

  20. Re:[PSA] Ken Starks of HeliOS fame has 2-3 weeks l by arielCo · · Score: 1

    Thanks a bunch, even though I don't know the guy personally. I only knew about them because it has been posted three times to the Firehose, unsuccessfully

    There's a distro named HelioOS, which I think he contributed to. More importantly, it was the name under which he and his buddies refurbish computers and donate them to kids around Austin (it's "Reglue" now). Google 'Ken Starks TX' and you'll see.

    --
    This post contains no rudeness or derision of any kind. All arguments are friendly. Terms and exclusions may apply.
  21. Headline should read "re-released today". by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Nintendo doesnt release anything anymore, they only re-release stuff.

    3dsxl is just a 3ds with some tweaks from the dsi which is just a tweaked ds lite which is just a tweaked ds. And "new" super mario 2 is just new super mario wii which is just new super mario ds.

    Nintendo hasnt had an original idea in decades. Everything they release could be prefaced with "Another fucking" and it would fit. Another fucking zelda game, another fucking mario game, another fucking ds, another fucking pokemon game and so on.

    Not to mention making 3d bigger doesnt actually improve it. There isnt a movie, comic book, game, tv show or anything where its in 3d and you actually say "Hey I enjoyed that so much more being in 3d. 3d actually improved my experince".

    Besides, who the hell is going to spend 200 bucks on a system that has maybe 2 good games dedicated to it? And those games arent even made by nintendo.

  22. The best change by ultor · · Score: 1

    Is that the bumpers on the inside are more intelligently placed so that the screens don't touch and scratch the hell out of the top one.

  23. My Wife Said No, Actually by Kid+Dork · · Score: 1

    The first DS I bought on launch day is still working fine (despite being peed on by a cat), and I still have about twenty two games I haven't even started on it, so I can't justify buying this magical box of Nintendo magic just yet.

    1. Re:My Wife Said No, Actually by dmomo · · Score: 1

      But, somehow you wet able to justify buying 22 games you have yet to play...

    2. Re:My Wife Said No, Actually by Chris+Pimlott · · Score: 1

      Your 22 DS games will still work on the 3DS, with a bigger, less reflective screen to boot.

    3. Re:My Wife Said No, Actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Playing DS games on the 3DS results in extremely blurry graphics due to upscaling. Not fun at all. Playing in 1:1 mode has quite big black borders as well, but at least the graphics look sharp.

    4. Re:My Wife Said No, Actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Playing DS games on the 3DS results in extremely blurry graphics due to upscaling. Not fun at all. Playing in 1:1 mode has quite big black borders as well, but at least the graphics look sharp.

      Have you tried scaling your z-axis? If the DS is further away, the jaggies are anti-aliased away by physics. Alcohol (imbibed, not wipes) helps too.

  24. Re:[PSA] Ken Starks of HeliOS fame has 2-3 weeks l by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

    why not send him to cuba, or another south american country.

  25. What's the point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Same lousy resolution? Still no app store?

    Not interested.

  26. Re:[PSA] Ken Starks of HeliOS fame has 2-3 weeks l by arielCo · · Score: 1

    That's interesting. I won't vouch for Cuban famed health services (I live in Venezuela where they've sent an army of hacks as "payment" for oil), but latin american countries could work. I quoted your suggestion at his blog. If you want, spread the word; more people means better odds.

    --
    This post contains no rudeness or derision of any kind. All arguments are friendly. Terms and exclusions may apply.
  27. Re:[PSA] Ken Starks of HeliOS fame has 2-3 weeks l by Synchis · · Score: 1

    Ken actually had an offer from an off-shore surgeon to do the work pro-bono. Sadly, Ken's passport has expired, and the amount of time to get a new passport is prohibitive. We have 2-3 weeks at most to scrounge up the money for the surgery, after which the cancer will have spread too far to be operable. :(

    --
    Thomas A. Knight
    Author of The Time Weaver
  28. Their last handheld before WiiU by ZombieNinjaBot · · Score: 1

    It will be interesting to see what direction they go with their handheld development with the release of the WiiU. The controller for that could be considered a handheld.

  29. black with rounded corners! by LodCrappo · · Score: 1

    great, now Nintendo is copying Apple's innovations

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    -Lod
  30. I like my DS.. and I like Mario by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can anyone tell me why this game can't be released for the DS? How much 3D is in this game anyway. I really don't want to go and buy a 3DS just to play NSMB2
    I'm very happy with my DS thankyou - plus it looks less like a toy ;-)

    Also, just a thought - think there's any chance this game could be ported to play on a DS in the future?

  31. I thought it felt more sturdy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The instant I flipped it open, I was taken aback by how much sturdier it felt. It's less flimsy and much sleeker.

  32. Re:[PSA] Ken Starks of HeliOS fame has 2-3 weeks l by Black+LED · · Score: 1

    You can get a new passport in 2-3 days if you ask for a rush job. It costs more, but it's doable. I actually had to do that once before when an overseas employer waited until the last minute to inform me that I was hired and needed to be there within the week.

  33. Re:[PSA] Ken Starks of HeliOS fame has 2-3 weeks l by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1

    You can get a US passport with same day service. Appear in person at the nearest passport agency, pay a rush fee, and you're done. Apply in the morning, pick it up in the evening.

    --
    Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
  34. Not buying it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Would have loved to, but things like region codes annoy me. And I don't spend money on things that annoy me. Especially living overseas, where it becomes a real issue, if you want to play in a certain language...