Topic: Nintendo 3DSi?!

[T00NL1NK]

So basically as of yet I do not own a Nintendo 3DS and have only briefly played my friends, however from what I have heard I am able to deduce that this genuinely is a decent system which is simply suffering from a drought of games. But it was only recently that I heard people talking about the systems other issues mainly battery-life and now that this whole second circle-pad hysteria is going on I'm beginning to wonder if Nintendo might release an updated 3DS  with a second circle pad and better battery-life for the original price of the 3DS or slightly more. This is why I'm not so sure if I should be buying a 3DS which as things stand I could probably get for around£130.00. I mean don't get me wrong at first I thought "come on who needs a second circle-pad" and I genuinely couldn't think of any games that I play such as mario, zelda, mario kart and other "must own" first party content except for first person shooters (which I definetly would NOT be playing on my 3DS) that would sufficiently be improved gameplaywise by the addition of a second circle pad. However at Nintendo little pre-TGS event it was announced that games such as Metal Gear Solid Snake eater, Resident Evil revelations, monster hunter 4 (obviously)  and kingdom hearts would be making use of this peripheral, which suggests to me that the second circle pad is actually quite significant to the system as these are all big games to me and I would preferably avoid this huge plastic monstrosity that would be attached to the 3DS as it is.


So basically my questions are.
1.) Is it wise to be purchasing a 3DS now?
2.) Do you guys think Nintendo will be releasing a 3DSi?
3.) and even though it could be corporate suicide do you think Nintendo should release an update as you may believe that a second circle pad is a significant addition modern handheld gaming and that without it the 3DS is simply a flawed system

[scraff]

I would buy it now yeh, I dowt that they will bring out a 3DSi for a bit. Yeh it has a lack of games, but for now there are still good titles to be getting on with.

[alegoicoe]

I think once the new mario comes out, you should get one.

[Chozo Ghost]

It may be called something other that 3DSi but its a safe bet a revision will be coming, probably within the next year or so. Nintendo doesn't like to announce revisions way in advance because if they do people will not buy the current hardware and just wait, so whenever the next revision is due to come out we probably won't hear anything about it other than rumors for the month or so prior to its release.

[nickmitch]

I wouldn't think Nintendo would even announce a revision until E3, unless sales against Vita are that bad.
Then the only point in waiting would be how much you don't like the extra slide pad attachment and how much it catches on.

[Lithium]

It may be called something other that 3DSi but its a safe bet a revision will be coming, probably within the next year or so. Nintendo doesn't like to announce revisions way in advance because if they do people will not buy the current hardware and just wait, so whenever the next revision is due to come out we probably won't hear anything about it other than rumors for the month or so prior to its release.

I know this isn't the answer you're looking for but this post pretty much covers it. It took about 2 years until the DS lite came out I think and we only knew maybe a week or two beforehand.

[Razorkid]

1.) Is it wise to be purchasing a 3DS now? If there are games out for the system now that you are currently interested in playing (carts, virtual console, 3D Classics, DSiware) or you've never owned a DS before, buy the system NOW.

2.) Do you guys think Nintendo will be releasing a 3DSi? Definitely, it's just a matter of when.  I suspect in a couple years (late 2013ish).  I don't think it would be worth the wait for it anyhow. The 3DS's design has very little improvement to be done with it imo compared to the prototype-like hideousness that was DS Phat.

3.) and even though it could be corporate suicide do you think Nintendo should release an update as you may believe that a second circle pad is a significant addition modern handheld gaming and that without it the 3DS is simply a flawed system? I don't think a second circle pad is necessary at all.  Aside from a few games that can take advantage of it. The lack of a second analog stick does not break good game design nor does it automatically mean bad camera controls. The only games I think that another circle pad would be wanted for are those that are direct ports of their console counter parts.   

[Kytim89]

We most likely will get the 3DS Lite after the Wii U launches world wide.

[Chozo Ghost]

The next 3DS revision will almost certainly be larger because of incorporating the second analog and shoulder buttons, so calling it "3DS Lite" is out of the question because "Lite" suggests something being smaller than its predecessor, and I don't see how that can be the case if more is going to be added.

Both "3DS Lite" and "3DSi" are unlikely unless Nintendo purposely intends to confuse consumers, and I don't think that's the case. Kytime, this would be the perfect opportunity for Nintendo to use the "Super" adjective. I know how much you want the Wii U to be named "Super Wii", but how about "Super 3DS"?

[nickmitch]

I think they might use "Plus." It sounds familiar enough from WM+ but not confusing like "lite" would be.

[Ceric]

I thought Chozo had put "3DS!"

[ejamer]

1.) Is it wise to be purchasing a 3DS now?

Probably not.

A couple of months ago, you could be part of the Ambassador program and take advantage of the price drop - a pretty good deal for people who took advantage of it. But now you are probably better off waiting to see if there are any Black Friday sales. System pricing won't change, but with a bit of luck there might be package deals with a game or gift card to help move units. In the worst case, there will be more games available and probably some of the launch games will be marked down to clearance pricing as well.

However, if you were going to buy a DS or DSi then it's probably better to just put that money towards a 3DS instead.

2.) Do you guys think Nintendo will be releasing a 3DSi?

I strongly believe there will be a revision. Not sure if it will be released next year, but expect that it will be announced. (My guess: the revision will be released at the same time as a blockbuster game, maybe Monster Hunter 4, to help push system sales and encourage the existing user base to upgrade.)

3.) and even though it could be corporate suicide do you think Nintendo should release an update as you may believe that a second circle pad is a significant addition modern handheld gaming and that without it the 3DS is simply a flawed system

The system isn't flawed, but if many important games are being designed for dual-analogs instead of using the system "as is" then I think that a hardware revision will include the second analog input as well. Only time can see... but if I hadn't already bought-in then I would be waiting to see what is going to happen before investing in a 3DS console. (Of course, there aren't really going to be any 3DS games I want this year anyway, so that's easy for me to say.)

[Steel Diver]

Don't stop yourself from buying it now because their may be an update. There are a bunch of good games out now, and more fantastic games coming out this year like 3D Land and Kart.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I still don't own a paid for game on my 3DS....

[oohhboy]

If there are games you want to play right now and can't wait, sure go for it. I brought mine for the Ambassador program. But currently there is a serious problem, I have only brought one retail game. It's really thin right now. The thing I use the 3DS most right now is the Web Browser at 90 Hours.... Almost 3 times longer than the next game.

Buy it only if your ready and have something to play. Otherwise I am sure you could wait all the way to the revision.

[Chozo Ghost]

I considered getting a 3DS for the ambassador program, but I decided it was probably wiser to wait until the inevitable revision which will have the dual analog fused into it and better battery life.

[NWR_insanolord]

I own 16 3DS retail games, plus two more in the mail from that Walmart 2 for $30 deal and another preorder shipping out today.