I bought a 3DS just before the price drop (to get Best Buy's price match on the price drop + Ambassador program), and I've just now got the urge to upgrade to a 3DS XL.

Is it worth it for the $120 I'll have to spend out of pocket, or am I still pretty good with just the OG?

I'm in the same situation as you. The original 3DS is a fine handheld, but the XL is superior in every way (or maybe the audio wasn't as good, but something minor in those lines). I'll probably trade my 3DS for an XL in the near future (next month, if everything goes as planned).

If you use your 3DS a lot, go for it. Otherwise, you're probably fine with the original 3DS.

@JoeyRavn said:

I'm in the same situation as you. The original 3DS is a fine handheld, but the XL is superior in every way (or maybe the audio wasn't as good, but something minor in those lines). I'll probably trade my 3DS for an XL in the near future (next month, if everything goes as planned).

If you use your 3DS a lot, go for it. Otherwise, you're probably fine with the original 3DS.

Fire Emblem.

Do you take your 3ds with you when you leave the house? Keep the original, it's fine. Do you mostly just play it at home? Upgrade if you play it a lot and have the cash to spare.

I would wait until there is a really good bundle that interests you, thats what I am going to do.

I traded up the day the 3DS XL came out and never looked back. I actually use my 3DS more now due to the bigger screen. Maybe I'm just getting old and don't like looking at tiny screens anymore.

Oh, and what @theimmortalbum said... Fire Emblem.

Unless you just have money to burn, I'll say "nah," because while I do consider it better in every way, it's still mostly the same beast. I'd wait to see if you can get a better deal on it, or heck, some situation where you can sell your old one.

I say yeah, until you play on the better screens you don't realize how bigger they are and how much better an experience you will have. Its really hard to go back the smaller 3ds now. So if you can get an XL for cheap i say go for it. I upgraded with the Mario Kart bundle for like $160.

Well a trade-in of 3DS is $75. 3DS XL is $217 after tax. That's a delta of $142. Hm. I don't know. I think the bigger screens would be AWESOME to have (that's probably my only complaint about the 3DS, aside from the crappy non-button buttons), but I'm just unsure if that alone is worth $140.

I still regularly play on my DS Lite, which is the same (or smaller) than the normal 3DS, ain't it? It hasn't spoiled me yet, because those screens are still completely fine to me.

@theimmortalbum said:

Well a trade-in of 3DS is $75. 3DS XL is $217 after tax. That's a delta of $142. Hm. I don't know. I think the bigger screens would be AWESOME to have (that's probably my only complaint about the 3DS, aside from the crappy non-button buttons), but I'm just unsure if that alone is worth $140.

I guess that by "Fire Emblem" you mean "I get/will get a shitload of play time out of my handheld device"... then, yeah, go ahead and pull the trigger.

@JoeyRavn said:

@theimmortalbum said:

Well a trade-in of 3DS is $75. 3DS XL is $217 after tax. That's a delta of $142. Hm. I don't know. I think the bigger screens would be AWESOME to have (that's probably my only complaint about the 3DS, aside from the crappy non-button buttons), but I'm just unsure if that alone is worth $140.

I guess that by "Fire Emblem" you mean "I get/will get a shitload of play time out of my handheld device"... then, yeah, go ahead and pull the trigger.

Yeah. As in, several hours a day.

I would try out the 3DS XL before committing to it. To transfer your downloads and saves anyway, you have to have both handhelds; so, I'd buy the 3DS XL and play around with it a bit before doing the transfer and selling your old one. I got the 3DS XL and it simply wasn't for me. I was so used to the lighter weight of the DS and the size of it all, and it was just not very portable or comfortable for a long period of time. I also didn't like how everything looked just a tad blurry or "off", as the resolution is just made bigger, and, to me, DS games generally looked like garbage. The 3DS XL is well-designed, but it won't be a perfect fit for everyone. I decided to get rid of my 3DS XL and get a normal 3DS so that I might enjoy Fire Emblem more, and after picking up the game yesterday, I'm glad that I did.

@TruthTellah said:

I would try out the 3DS XL before committing to it. To transfer your downloads and saves anyway, you have to have both handhelds; so, I'd buy the 3DS XL and play around with it a bit before doing the transfer and selling your old one. I got the 3DS XL and it simply wasn't for me. I was so used to the lighter weight of the DS and the size of it all, and it was just not very portable or comfortable for a long period of time. I also didn't like how everything looked just a tad blurry or "off", as the resolution is just made bigger, and, to me, DS games generally looked like garbage. The 3DS XL is well-designed, but it won't be a perfect fit for everyone. I decided to get rid of my 3DS XL and get a normal 3DS so that I might enjoy Fire Emblem more, and after picking up the game yesterday, I'm glad that I did.

Yeah I haven't played a lot of DS games on my 3DS (Ghost Trick and Chrono Trigger being the exception, and those I haven't touched in.. a long time), so I don't know how much that is a concern to me. It's just the near universal praise for the XL compared to the 3DS that makes me give it serious thought. I'd love something that's more comfortable to hold, and I don't feel like I'm straining my eyes so much with - that's one of the reasons I love my Vita, the screen size.

@theimmortalbum said:

@TruthTellah said:

I would try out the 3DS XL before committing to it. To transfer your downloads and saves anyway, you have to have both handhelds; so, I'd buy the 3DS XL and play around with it a bit before doing the transfer and selling your old one. I got the 3DS XL and it simply wasn't for me. I was so used to the lighter weight of the DS and the size of it all, and it was just not very portable or comfortable for a long period of time. I also didn't like how everything looked just a tad blurry or "off", as the resolution is just made bigger, and, to me, DS games generally looked like garbage. The 3DS XL is well-designed, but it won't be a perfect fit for everyone. I decided to get rid of my 3DS XL and get a normal 3DS so that I might enjoy Fire Emblem more, and after picking up the game yesterday, I'm glad that I did.

Yeah I haven't played a lot of DS games on my 3DS (Ghost Trick and Chrono Trigger being the exception, and those I haven't touched in.. a long time), so I don't know how much that is a concern to me. It's just the near universal praise for the XL compared to the 3DS that makes me give it serious thought. I'd love something that's more comfortable to hold, and I don't feel like I'm straining my eyes so much with - that's one of the reasons I love my Vita, the screen size.

Well, then it might be a good fit for you. Though, I'd really try it out for a few hours first. I simply didn't find it as comfortable, and the fact that the screen is bigger but still the same resolution made games look a tad off. For most people, that seems fine, but I'd really try it out for a bit before committing to it.

Yeah I picked one up and doing the transfer now. I messed with it in a Gamestop first, and man is that size increase comfortable. I can see the reduction in pixel density, but to be honest, I never thought the 3DS was great to begin with in that respect. I'll update soon with my impressions, though, once I can actually get into Fire Emblem (bought it on eShop)

Okay, no issues regarding the lower pixel density. What I am irritated with is the bottom casing seems slightly loose and too wide - I can feel the edges when I'm holding it.

I really like the OG 3DS. The XL has a cheaper plastic feel and look to me, plus I cannot fit the XL in my pockets like I can the OG 3DS. Either way you experience 3DS content is great. I am very happy with my 3DS purchase. I was concerned for a bit, but software continues to roll out.

I think it depends whether you want to see more pixels as the games are blown up to fit the bigger screen. If you do not mind that, or the fact that 3DS XL does not fit into most of the pants pockets I own then go for it if you are that into the XL. $120 buys a lot of content for your current 3DS though.

edit: removed a redundancy

If you have budget then why not get something better? :)

.

@rye256 said:

I really like the OG 3DS. The XL has a cheaper plastic feel and look to me, plus I cannot fit the XL in my pockets like I can the OG 3DS. Either way you experience 3DS content is great. I am very happy with my 3DS purchase. I was concerned for a bit, but software continues to roll out.

I think it depends whether you want to see more pixels as the games are blown up to fit the bigger screen. If you do not mind that, or the fact that 3DS XL does not fit into most of the pants pockets I own then go for it if you are that into the XL. $120 buys a lot of content for your current 3DS though.

edit: removed a redundancy

You know, that WOULD be my biggest concern: Portability

I'll probably just grab a OG 3DS then.