UPDATE: UK release date information has now been added (price info still forthcoming). Revised article below.
If you thought the Nintendo Switch had signaled the end of the company’s previous generation of handheld consoles, think again – the house that Mario built has just announced that a new console, the New Nintendo 2DS XL, will be coming out this year.
Available from July 28 in the US and UK – in Australia it will arrive around a month and a half earlier on June 15 – the New 2DS XL will cost $149.99 (AU$199.95). At present, UK pricing information has yet to be revealed.
The console will launch in a (rather gorgeous) black/turquoise color in the US, while Australians will also be getting a second color option in white/orange.
In the States, the new handheld will launch alongside two brand new first-party Nintendo games: Hey! PIKMIN and Miitopia. In Australia, the games will release on July 29.
Unlike with the previous 2DS handheld, which had a flat, slate-style design that kept both screens on the same plane, the New 2DS XL has adopted the clamshell design of its beloved Nintendo 3DS (or Nintendo’s Game & Watch handhelds from the ‘80s, if you want to get pedantic).
As the name would suggest, the New 2DS XL will once again limit video games to just two dimensions, and will sport the same-sized screens as were featured on the Nintendo 3DS XL. It will also continue to support Nintendo DS titles.
Check out the official New Nintendo 2DS XL trailer below for a better look at the console in action.
