Before the original 3DS was even released, I knew Nintendo would come out with some kind of upgrade. History is our friend. All one has to do is look back at Nintendo's past handheld devices. The Game Boy, the Game Boy Advance, and the original DS. All three of those machines received multiple upgraded models that improved upon the previous unit in some way, shape or form. So when Nintendo announced the 3DS XL rather than get angry or frustrated, all I could utter was a calm, collected "I knew it."
Like every original DS system upgrade, the 3DS XL improves upon the original 3DS model in a number of areas, the most important one for me being battery life. Battery life on the first 3DS with just 3DS games is 3-5 hours. I spend a lot of time playing my 3DS so I have to reach for the charger quite often. The 3DS XL battery lifespan is nearly 6 and half hours. Yeah, not much of an improvement over the original but that's still an hour more of playtime.
Ironically, one of my main problems with the 3DS XL is it's size. I prefer smaller portable gaming devices. It's one of the reasons I passed on getting a DS XL. The moment I saw the size of that thing, I knew I'd be perfectly happy sticking with my DSi. There's also the price of the 3DSXL, $200. I'm planning on buying a Wii U in a few months and I really don't want to throw that much money down on another version of the 3DS, at least not right now.
The original 3DS isn't perfect. The aforementioned battery life means it wouldn't survive a trip back to my home state of Ohio. Sytlus placement was also quite the boneheaded move. It really should have been on the bottom of the 3DS or the side. But even with these flaws, the first 3DS model is one I'll stick with for a little while longer. Besides, I have to see if Nintendo brings out another 3DS model with even better battery life than the 3DS XL.
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