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Nintendo 3DS XL goes on sale today

Nintendo's latest gadget hits shops today, along with two new games.

Joe Svetlik Reporter
Joe has been writing about consumer tech for nearly seven years now, but his liking for all things shiny goes back to the Gameboy he received aged eight (and that he still plays on at family gatherings, much to the annoyance of his parents). His pride and joy is an Infocus projector, whose 80-inch picture elevates movie nights to a whole new level.
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Joe Svetlik
2 min read

Nintendo's new handheld games console goes on sale in the UK today. If you've had enough of hearing about the Olympics opening ceremony, get yourself down to your local games emporium and pick one up.

Two new titles have launched alongside it as well: New Art Academy: Learn New Painting Techniques and Share your Art, and Freakyforms Deluxe: Your Creations, Alive! I remember when games had proper names that weren't a mouthful. And they didn't need colons all over the place either. Like Super Probotector. Or Bad Dudes Vs Dragon Ninja, now that's what you call a game.

As the name suggests, the 3DS XL features bigger screens than the original 3DS. Nintendo has worked out the displays are 90 per cent larger, though the console itself is only 46 per cent more pocket-consuming. The top screen is 4.88-inches, and, just like the original 3DS, is glasses-free 3D. The lower is 4.18-inches.

The 3DS XL also has a better battery, managing six and a half hours of gaming before conking out, compared to five hours on the standard 3DS.

Nintendo posted its quarterly results this week. It lost £85m in three months, though sales of the 3DS actually more than doubled compared to the same period last year. It's investing in digital downloads to try and turn around its fortunes. New Super Mario Bros. 2 will launch on 17 August as a digital download or boxed game you can buy from a shop. And from that day on, more titles will launch in both formats simultaneously. Good job the 3DS XL has 4GB storage compared to 2GB on the original, then.

The console is available in silver and black, red and black, and blue and black. Will you be picking one up today? Let me know if so on our Facebook page, or in the comments below.