New 3DS (not XL)

[3460169]

I have a New 3DS XL which I love except it's a bit too chunky for my pockets for daily-carry. The New 3DS systems haven't been readily, plentifully available in the USA from what I can determine; I had hope that I could pick up a white or black Mario edition on Black Friday but that hope was quickly shattered.

What are the options, short of importing and short of the scalper hell that is eBay? Thx!

 

[gkarris]

For some reason, in the US, Nintendo only makes them available during certain times and only as special editions.

Everyone I know that had them on sale Thanksgiving Day sold out within an hour of the store openings.

I don't know why Nintendo just doesn't make them generally available like they do in Japan.

Seems like a missed opportunity on Nintendo's part...

 

[0098386]

What! That's so strange. Here in Europe you can buy a regular or large 3DS or New 3DS, or a 2DS! I wouldn't recommend importing because they're region locked.

 

[3460169]

What! That's so strange. Here in Europe you can buy a regular or large 3DS or New 3DS, or a 2DS! I wouldn't recommend importing because they're region locked.

Yes it's absurd. No New 3DS in the States, only New 3DS XL. (This was early on, when the New 3DS line was first launched in the USA. Nintendo have since released non-XL models that are special editions and in super-limited quantities since then.) Supposedly it has something to do with market data that us 'Murricans prefer everything gi-gan-to sized, or that there are so many DS variants we'd be easily confused, so they shortened the list. Might want to fact-check this though (at least the latter; the former is generally true for most things in the States).

And XL-only junk was only for the New 3DS line. The original 3DS had both flavors readily available here (I have the smaller one in fact) and we do have the 2DS here, too. Just no faceplate love.

On Black Friday they had a deal on a black or white Mario-themed New 3DS for 99 bucks. Naturally they disappeared within minutes pretty much everywhere. And there was some shenanigans about Amazon putting them up for sale earlier than they should have. It's unclear of this yet-another-special-edition will be stock-refreshed anywhere; for now they're only available at extortionist scalper prices at the likes of eBay.

For now the XL will have to suffice.

 

[gkarris]

Supposedly it has something to do with market data that us 'Murricans prefer everything gi-gan-to sized, or that there are so many DS variants we'd be easily confused, so they shortened the list. Might want to fact-check this though (at least the latter; the former is generally true for most things in the States).

Yes, an old-fa** like me - yes I want a larger screen...

I tried out an old 3DS XL USED last holiday from Gamestop as they were going for $99 over Thanksgiving. If I didn't like the 3D, I'd just use it turned off (a 2DS XL... ). I loved it so much (including the 3D) - I was able to upgrade to a New 3DS XL at minimal cost as I wanted all the new features.

I can see how you would want the newer one - especially the face-tracking and faster processor (the old one took forever to boot).

I have a feeling that there are so many 3DS's out there in the used US market - there's really no reason to have the new 3DS available...