New Nintendo 3DS & 3DS XL Consoles Announced

Source: CVG

Has a new Golden Age of handheld video gaming begun? Well, this is certainly a start...
Nintendo have this week announced the development of new iterations of their acclaimed 3DS and 3DS XL hardware. This particular family of handheld video game consoles started life in the Spring of 2011 and - unlike the PlayStation Vita, much as it pains us to admit it - has since gone from strength to strength, prompting the production of numerous revised editions of the hardware such as the XL (Xtra-Large, in case it somehow wasn't immediately clear) and the upgraded models which will land on our shores in the not too distant future.

Although we've yet to hear the precise product names for these particular incarnations of the now-beloved dual-screen console, there's still a decent amount of valuable information to go on. As ever, we've seen fit to compile a definitive list of the new features and gizmos which will adorn both of these nifty pieces of kit, and it reads something like this:

• Both the "new 3DS" and "new 3DS XL" will sport a second analogue stick, an upgraded CPU and two additional shoulder buttons, not to mention a second screen which is now compatible with the Near Field Communication (NFC) technology Nintendo plans to implement via the use of Amiibo (read: Skylanders and Disney Infinity figures, albeit without the third-party branding).
• An upgraded camera featured on both of the upgraded consoles will keep an eye on where players are positioning their heads so as to reactively reduce the visual strain of following the 3D imagery, thereby limiting the number of future health-related complaints (much as they'd have us believe otherwise, these behind-the-scenes execs aren't complete fools!).
• The four 'face buttons' (i.e. 'X'; 'A'; 'Y' and 'B') will now be coloured in a similar style to those which were present on the Nintendo 64 and GameCube controllers as opposed to being the same colour as the hardware itself - no specific reason for this minor aesthetic switch-up was provided in the press release, but we'd suspect continuity was the primary intent here.
• Last but not least, the two handhelds will pack a "micro" SD card slot, for those who give a Yoshi's tongue about such borderline-irrelevant matters. Neat, huh?

The new Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL consoles will ship for an approximate RRP of £90 and £150 respectively in 2015.