They probably looked at the number of active systems on Club Nintendo and found that perhaps 75% of them were XLs, and also were afraid of crowding the market with too many confusing choices.

I think the backlash against the small screen size of the original 3DS also sticks in their craw a bit--I think American eyes love big screens and only the hardened few that grew up with portable gaming systems were prepared to accept the small dimensions of the regular 3DS. I showed normal friends the original 3DS and heard them to say "...not on a screen of that size." I think around then the tablet boom was just getting underway.

More evidence that NOA is the new NOE.

We'll "expand those choices" by offering less options than other territories.

I have an XL and I like it a lot but I use my 3DS pretty much as a home console.  I don't really have much use for the portability and I have it entirely because it has exclusives that interest me.  I think that's part of the intended design.  You give up the portability of a smaller model to get a bigger screen.  My brother and a friend of mine have the normal 3DS model but they bring them everywhere.  They have a clear use for the enhanced portability of a smaller model.  A normal 3DS is an iPhone and an XL is an iPad.  There is a reason Apple makes those two separate products.  I'm assuming that same justification is why Nintendo made two models of the New 3DS in the first place.  NOA is saying that you really only need an iPad which is why they're being asked to explain themselves and their answer is nonsense.

So we most likely aren't going to get a regular N3DS. Great. So I'll be waiting for a limited edition XL that I want to come. A Fire Emblem one would be nice.

Doesn't the XL routinely outsell the standard model like everywhere? I like choices and I certainly advocate the release of the standard New 3DS here, but I get the reasoning here. When people upgrade, they typically move up, not across whenever possible. The last thing Nintendo of America wants is to be stuck with a bunch of standard 3DS and standard New 3DS. Maybe it will try to clear inventory of the standard 3DS, drop it entirely, then introduce the standard New 3DS in modest quantities. A Q4 launch at $150 could do some damage this holiday season.

New 3DS is primarily meant for Japan. It's the Monster Hunter/Amiibo 3DS that doesn't need peripherals like the Circle Pad Pro or NFC reader/adapter. Given the performance of DSi in the West, Nintendo of America's approach is hardly surprisingly. It likely expects most sales to be upgrades from either model (which would explain why there's no AC adapter when it insisted on including one with the original 3DS XL despite the AC adapter being sold separately in Japan), and many of those who wanted the standard New 3DS may just deal with it and get an XL. That's admittedly kind of shitty, but I can't imagine this applies to too, too many people. Weighing the options, it went with the one that's best for business like it should. Additionally, I believe Reggie revealed that retailers are not too fond of all the different SKUs. They may not want to carry five different 3DS models.

As I said on Twitter, I think the main reason the XL sells better is that the original model really sucks. That thing was flawed when it launched and has gotten worse and worse. That size needs an update way, way more than the XL.

I'm surprised people are surprised by this. You can predict what Nintendo will do, it's easy ask yourself what makes sense, and you can bet they will do the total opposite. Its getting hard and harder to defend these people. They can still make a great game here and there and but even their hardware quality is no longer the stuff of legend like it once was. Betting on Nintendo to actually find a way to screw up their handheld division shouldn't be the smart but but after 2DS and now this its getting to be that way. Of course I supported 2ds when it was announced because it appealed to kids, their primary market but even they didn't buy into it.

Five different models doesn't make sense but why would all five co-exist?  The 2DS didn't take off like expected so they can probably ditch it.  Even if they don't, they effectively should replace the normal 3DS and 3DS XLs with the New models.  There is no reason to have five models as the two newest models in terms of practicality replace two of the older ones.  NOA is keeping the New 3DS off shelves to sell the dated original 3DS model instead?  That's idiotic.  Just discontinue the old inferior model.

Is NOA going to seriously continue to push the old 3DS?  Devs won't make games for the New 3DS unless it builds a userbase but if the older model is still for sale for less money and there are hardly any games it can't play what incentive is there for people to upgrade?  It reminds me of Motion+ where we all thought this was going to be the new standard for newer Wii games and it was hardly used at all.  Is the New 3DS a new standard or will it be a glorified scam with only a handful of exclusive titles?  If the New 3DS is to have any actual value then that should be the new standard where stores don't carry old 3DS's anymore.  Right now NOA should not be manufacturing any old 3DS's (except maybe the 2DS) and sending them to stores.  It should be the New 3DS or nothing.  All old models should just be the pre-existing store stock getting cleared out.

I could see them pushing the taco to where the 2DS is in terms of price, maybe try to put the 2DS at like a $70 budget price.

Existing inventory doesn't suddenly disappear just because a new model is released. There's bound to be some overlap and retailers, that collectively balked at carrying SKUs for different colors, probably don't want five variations of essentially the same product for any duration of time. It makes sense to sell New 3DS XL because the XL models tend to sell better. The standard New 3DS also has those faceplates. Do retailers want to carry those along with all the other 3DS stuff?

And keep in mind, Nintendo already did something like this six ago, and DSi wasn't a resounding success. It was just "another DS" stores carried so I can definitely see retailer pressure having a hand in this decision. If Nintendo of America was put in the awkward position of taking back all the standard 3DS models to make room for the standard New 3DS, I can't blame it for thinking, "Well, F that. Let's clear inventory then we'll think about releasing the new one here."

Well, that isn't really Nintendo of America's call since it doesn't manufacture hardware. The original 3DS models may (and probably will) get discontinued later this year, but I'm not sure what the rush is. Nintendo of America would be replacing the model that sells less than the XL model with a different model that sells less than the XL model. It's less of a priority.

My original 3DS isn't working that great (vertical lines on top screen and the A & L buttons barely register a press anymore). I was hoping to get the cheaper New 3DS. The smaller one, despite being similar in size, actually has larger screens. So, it'd still be a size upgrade.


But I guess I'll get the large one that doesn't fit in my pocket as nicely. :-/

Take that Americants! I feel like we're even for not getting Excitebots now.

I will treasure my wooden faceplate extra more now.

I think the fact that they're still branding it with "XL", seems like a pretty strong indication that NOA plans to release the standard model eventually. "No plans at this time" is exactly what they said about releasing the New 3DS entirelyl just a few months ago. Obviously, it was always going to come eventually. "No plans at this time" simply means they're not ready to make an announcement. They probably realize the XL will be far more in demand at launch, and those more likely to buy the cheaper model will be the more casual type who are less likely to be early adopters anyways.

So they think we Americans only deserve horrible, pixellated screens?
NoA has been steadily lowering themselves down a deep, dark hole and this is probably one of the things that'll finally cut the rope.

To be fair, the standard size one's are pretty damn pixilated too. The difference between the standard and the XL is definitely smaller than between the standard and a Vita or iPhone.