New Nintendo 3DS

The New Nintendo 3DS is a clamshell design dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo, originally released on October 11, 2014 in Japan and rolled out to all major global markets by September 25, 2015. It is the fourth system in the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld consoles, following the original Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL, and Nintendo 2DS; notably it is the first with hardware improvements. Like the original 3DS, the New Nintendo 3DS also has a larger variant, the New Nintendo 3DS XL.

Improvements upon the previous models include upgraded processors and increased RAM, an analog pointing stick (C-Stick), two additional shoulder triggers (ZR and ZL), face detection for optimizing the autostereoscopic 3D display, an included 4 GB microSD card and built-in NFC, as well as minor design changes (such as colored face buttons, and the availability of face plates for the smaller-size model). There were also software improvements such as support for HTML5 in its web browser.

The New Nintendo 3DS received positive reviews from critics; although criticized for certain aspects of their design (such as the microSD slot placement), the consoles were praised for their improved performance, additional control options, and better 3D image quality. In the July 2017 lead-up to the release of the New Nintendo 2DS XL, Nintendo confirmed that production on the standard-sized New Nintendo 3DS in Japan had ended. The XL model remained in production until July 2019.