Nintendo Handheld Console XL - Silver with Pre-installed Luigi's Mansion 2 (Nintendo 3DS)

Whenever I come back to look at this product page the Amazon Instant Order Update makes me smile, because I purchased it on the 8th January 2013. Any Pokemon fan can probably make an educated guess as to why.I'm really glad I waited so long to upgrade from my beloved DS Lite, because all of the negative reviews about the 3DS barely holding a battery charge of 3 hours really concerned me. After my DS's 10+ hour charge, 3 hours seemed pitiful. I also did not like any of the colour options available (as at the time Pink, the only one I liked, was bundled with Nintendogs and not available for separate purchase). When I first set eyes on this 3DSXL, I just KNEW it was what I'd been waiting for. I'd already fallen in love with the specs when browsing online reviews - the expanded battery life, the massive screen, oh yes please. And then they went and released it with a bloody great Pikachu on the front. How could any gamer girl pokemaniac of 15 years resist?I had my DS Lite for 7 years, and it was hands down the best console I'd ever owned. Wifi capability, where before there had only been a cruddy link cable which constantly threatened to pop out and ruin your saved data mid-battle or trade. I could now sit in my bedroom and trade a Totodile with a kid from Japan. What an age we live in! You charged it and could play hardcore for at least a week without needing to plug it in again. The touchscreen interface was easy to learn and a pleasure to use, the screen brightness clear and beautiful and being able to set the console down while playing was a massive advantage(after the Gameboy Advance it was like a mini laptop!). I loved the colour options (mine, a birthday gift, was baby pink). I loved how absurdly light and portable the thing was. I eventually obtained a spare DS 'phat' for trading with myself and there was no comparison; my DS Lite was elegant and smooth and feather light.In fact, this is the only area where the 3DSXL loses points. It is a bulky, heavy little git. The price you pay for the massive deluxe screens is aching wrists. I often play Pokemon just before sleep (I find it more relaxing than reading) and let me tell you that lying horizontal in bed holding up the DS Lite in front of you with one hand and the stylus in another is not a problem. But the 3DSXL I cannot manage with for more than 10 minutes, tops, or my muscles start to hurt. And I'm a fit 25 year old, so it's definitely a thing to bear in mind if you're considering the console as a gift for an elderly relative! Perhaps a 'lite' version will be on the cards someday, but bear in mind that even if it gets lighter it cannot get any smaller without reducing what you bought it for in the first place - those cinematic screens - so if you like to be able to slip your consoles in your pocket you might want to settle for the regular 3DS.Other than that one sort-of-understandable flaw, the 3DSXL does everything the DS could do and so much more. Connecting to wifi was a bit of a nightmare with my DS Lite, involving lots of typing in of number and headaches and general stress because certain games wouldn't connect to WEP, they needed WPA (etc etc insert lots of technobabble here). The 3DSXL is a poppet. You ask it to connect, it find a connection, and hey presto you're on the internet. It is dummy-proof. It even has a browser, for gosh sake, so you can now pause your games halfway through, start up the internet, go looking for the gym leader's roster so you're prepped, and return to your game. All without leaving your chair or reaching for your tablet. Youtube was also recently added for FREE to the Nintendo eshop, and once downloaded you can sit and surf through hilarious cat videos or walkthroughs to your heart's content, all on those 2 big beautiful screens in your hand. Internet browsing is a bit laggy but Youtube comes through crystal clear and with no tiresome 'buffering'. As a girl from the Gameboy Colour generation, I sometimes can't believe I'm watching HD clarity video game trailers and music videos on my games console. It's amazing.I also adore the camera function - several games such as Animal Crossing New Leaf allow you to store screenshots taken from your game on your SD card and upload them online; it's like your player character can social network and show off their town!I have to confess the one function I do not use on my 3DSXL is the 3D function. I find it makes my eyes go squiggly and makes me feel sick, so I just keep it off the whole time. It saves battery power!And I have to talk about the Pikachu cover. It is a sunny, happy thing of beauty. It means I cannot pick up my console without grinning. I have received compliments about it when I'm out! When I first took it out of the box I was a little disappointed that only the outside of the shell has the yellow decorations, but after owning it a year I think the white inside is calmer on the eyes and less distracting; and there's plenty of Pika to go around on the outside! This case was limited edition so I'm glad I grabbed it for £160 when I did as the price seems to have skyrocketed these days. My advice is if you are a Pokemon lover and you see it at a bargain - grab it! You can do no better for a happy and attractive console design.The 3DSXL is a bit of a behemoth, but with those expanded viewing screens all the better to feast your eyes on every gorgeous pixel of the gaming experience, it is to be expected. It is more than the best console on the market - it is a smooth internet browser, a decent digital camera, a pedometer, and with that adorable yellow face peering up at you it is your new best friend.Full marks, Nintendo, for finally releasing something impressive enough to tear me away from my darling DS Lite (whose screens now seem puny and inferior in comparison!!).

I ordered this for myself as a Christmas present, and I don't mind telling you that I am VERY impressed!! The difference between this and a standard 3DS is a lot greater than you may think. I realise that compared to the resolution of the PS Vita this will seem quite inferior, and after the cost of the Vita dropped not only here on Amazon but also in the high street just prior to Christmas, I was beginning to think I had made the wrong choice, I can assure you, I didn't. The build quality is sublime and it feels very heavy and sturdy in the hand and gives the impression of a top quality product, especially when "locking" the screen to one of the 2 fixed positions. The buttons and the analogue controller feel pretty much the same as a standard 3DS so no problem there. Some people have complained that unlike the Vita, there is only one analogue stick present, and I must admit that the inclusion of a second would have been a great idea if Nintendo had decided to go ahead (apparently their president said the unit was not large enough?). As it happens though, I have bought Metal Gear Solid for it, in my opinion a game that probably would benefit from a second analogue stick to control Snake with, but I didn't really notice to be honest. Rumor has it that a version of the famed Circle Pad Pro is going to be made to fit the XL anyway, so it's just a matter of time.With regards to the screens, this is obviously where the new version shines, although Nintendo have not updated the resolution from the original 3DS (Upper Screen)800 x 240 WQVGA resolution. (Lower screen) 4.18 LCD touch screen at 320 x 240 QVGA resolution. It still works, and for those of you who own a collection of original DS games, by pressing and holding the start button when turning on the power, the game is portrayed in it's original resolution, albeit with a black border. I happen to think that although there is slight pixelation when playing an original DS game on the bigger screen (in this instance New Super Mario Brothers) it still works and is very pleasing on the eye!! With regards to the 3D aspect of what the larger screen means, it simply shines. I have played quite a bit of the pre loaded Super Mario 3D Land and it looks amazing!! Admittedly you have to ensure that the screen is held directly in front of you to fully appreciate the effect and the depth of field, but on a larger screen as a glasses wearer I found that the effect was much less debilitating and potentially headache inducing than my daughters standard 3DS.Another key feature regarding build quality are the Select, Home and Start buttons. On the 3DS XL they are actual buttons, and not something similar to a simple rubber dome configuration covered in a thin sheet of plastic with the relevant titles denoted in a white print, reminiscent of a cheap pocket calculator from the mid 80's. These are buttons you can see being physically pressed and have the words laser etched in to them. Just a small piece of detail, but one that lends itself well to the overall build quality of the unit. I found though that the sound volume compared to the original has been reduced at least without earphones. It is loud enough but at the same time noticeably quieter than the standard version.With regards to the included 4gb Memory Card, I have since swapped it out for a 64gb SDXC version. I did do some research on this, and after reading that someone had used a 128gb SDXC card to store their information, games, photo's etc, I decided to take the plunge. This works very well, but only AFTER you have converted the card to be in a FAT32 file system. This is quite an old file system by modern PC standards and an SDXC when first used is in the exFAT file system. Copying the included cards data from one to the other is also very easy, simply creating a new folder copying the content from the included SDHC card and then copying it back to your now FAT32 SDXC card. You get the picture, tons more space in terms of blocks possibly too many, and having already made good use of the Nintendo eShop all the titles I have downloaded work perfectly with no flaws, glitches or otherwise. Again, the large screens are far superior when playing old classics like Super Mario Land (Game Boy Dot Matrix Display & Super Mario Bros 8 Bit pixels and colours).I was surprised to see that the European version of the unit comes without a PSU and this is something that Nintendo need to rectify as to buy an official one from Amazon (PSU only) is if I remember correctly, only approx £7 plus P & P, hardly a fortune. I paid £189.99 at the beginning of December for mine, and yes, won't deny that seeing it now for £20 less is a little annoying, but not the end of the world. I certainly would not rate this product 1 star as another reviewer has done, solely because a PSU is absent from the packaging?! If you hover your mouse pointer over the picture of the box, it magnifies it and the text printed on the box stating this is clearly legible, so if you look properly, you will see that a separate PSU is needed before you click add to basket.Overall this version is brilliant, from the build quality to the sheer size of the screens compared to the original 3DS!! Anyone looking to buy a current generation handheld, or a 3DS, the XL really is a no brainer especially as they themselves are still in the region of £130 without the inclusion of a title to get you started. I must admit I would have preferred a cartridge containing Super Mario 3D Land to be included separately in the box, but it being pre installed on the included memory card is a very handy feature, and means until you have played it to death, is always there for your amusement, before you decide to erase it.