Hasta La Gadget!

Having your console or handheld stolen is never a fun thing to deal with, but at least with Sony and Microsoft, recovering all of your downloaded apps and games once you get a new console is relatively easy. With Nintendo, data recovery is nearly impossible, as there isn’t much of an account system to be found on the Wii, DS, or 3DS.

Luckily for us, that’s going to change when the Wii U arrives later this year. Nintendo has announced plans to implement a unified account system with the Wii U, which will finally allow for data recovery if your console is ever stolen. There is a catch though – David Marshall, a Nintendo customer support agent, says that the company will require a “valid police report” before the data recovery process can begin.

Despite the police report requirement, this is still a step in the right direction. Nintendo knows that it has to fully embrace online gaming and all of the frustrations that come with it if it wants the Wii U to compete with the next Xbox and PlayStation, so it’s good to see that the big N is making it a bit easier for users to recover their downloadable games and apps should their console ever turns up missing. We’re sure there will be a number of users who are annoyed by having to send Nintendo a police report, but hey, it’s better than not having any access to your downloadable games at all.

[via GamesBeat]

Nintendo to finally implement data recovery for stolen consoles is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you purchase a $20 eShop gift card for your 3DS, but then realize there’s a downloadable product on the Wii U that you just have to have, there may be good news for you. According to Nintendo representative David Marshall, the company will have a unified account system for the 3DS and the Wii U, meaning users will be able to create one online account and use it for both systems.

So for example, if you add $20 to your account to spend on digital downloads, you can spend $10 of that on Wii U content and $10 on 3DS content. Currently, there is no such connection between the 3DS and the Wii. Nintendo World Online quoted Marshall as saying, “A unified account system will be implemented later this year with the launch of the Wii U. Eventually this same account system will be made compatible with Nintendo 3DS systems.”

“At this time we have no additional details to offer and nothing to indicate how or if this will work outside the United States and Canada. In the meantime, if the system has a problem, taking it to an Authorized Service Center will maintain the Nintendo eShop account. If the system is stolen, we can transfer the account to a new system once we are provided with a valid police report.” It sounds like it will be a similar setup to what Sony has done with the Playstation Network (PSN). Users create one universal PSN ID, and then can access their content and personal settings whether they’re on their PSP, PS3, Playstation Vita, or a computer.

[via Nintendo World Report]

Nintendo 3DS, Wii U to have unified accounts is written by Mark Raby & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

While all the focus seems to be on the upcoming Nintendo 3DS XL, it looks like the original 3DS has not been forgotten. According to reports online, Nintendo will be pushing out two new color variants of the original 3DS: cerulean blue and shimmer pink. Now if you’re wondering why they would do that when we already have an aqua and pearl pink Nintendo 3DS – these new colors are significantly brighter and more vibrant so there’s no mistaking them for their older counterparts. Other than a new coat of paint, everything else seems to be the same.

The cerulean blue and shimmer pink 3DS is slated to arrive in Hong Kong and Taiwan later this year. No word on whether they will be arriving stateside but I doubt too many people will care, with the 3DS XL just around the corner.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: New Super Mario Bros. 2 for the 3DS will feature paid DLCs, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask will arrive on the Nintendo 3DS in November,

Nintendo’s latest oversized handheld not big enough for you? Maybe another Circle Pad Pro will help. According to Japanese gaming publication Famitsu, the Big N is poised to give the freshly announced 3DS XL a second analog slider. Pricing wasn’t covered in the magazine’s Nintendo Q&A session, but gamers in the Land of the Rising Sun should have their thumbs on it later this year. Oh, and in case you didn’t hear, the colossal clamshell is getting its very own charging cradle too, sold separately for 1,200 yen ($15). Mum’s the word on stateside details for the secondary slide pad, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see it show up on foreign shores.

3DS XL to get Circle Pad Pro treatment, become that much larger originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 08:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Kotaku  |  Famitsu  | Email this | Comments

Despite the fact that Nintendo’s 3DS is an excellent hand-held console, 3DS sales haven’t been on par with what the company was expecting.

But perhaps Nintendo’s brand new Nintendo 3DS XL will turn the tides. It’s very similar to a regular 3DS, but with 90 percent larger screens. According to Nintendo’s official release, it comes with a 4GB SD card, better battery life, and both Blue and Red color flavors. Access to the Nintendo eShop is obviously available, but users will also be able to pick up Super Mario Bros. 2 on launch day, August 19.

We’ve seen a huge trend lately with OEMs increasing screen size on smartphones, where gaming has grown to be more and more prevalent, slowing chipping away at Nintendo sales. It only makes sense that Nintendo would take a hint and offer more screen real estate on their portable gaming devices.

The Nintendo 3DS XL will be available August 19 for an MSRP of $199.99.

[image via Reddit]

Click to view slideshow.