When it comes to guaranteed sales of practically anything in Japan, nothing seems to work better than sticking a smiling Pokemon on the front - which was why the release of the Pikachu 3DS XL was met with feverish anticipation long before the device hit stores. A newer, Pokemon themed version of the 3DS equivalent of the DSi XL (a 3DS, just bigger), as nice as the yellow console looked, and as much as we really, really wanted to see little Pikachu's face smiling back out at us from the top of our 3DS, we tried our best to console ourself, as we were certain that it would never leave the land of the rising sun. But today, we're happy to say we've been proven completely wrong.
Much to everyone's surprise, last night's Nintendo Direct presentation, headed by Satoru Shibata, the President of Nintendo of Europe, confirmed that the Pikachu-plastered 3DS XL we've been lusting after since it's Japanese announcement will be making it's way over to Europe. Hitting stores sometime before the end of the year, this is pretty much guaranteed to be a huge hit this Christmas - and as soon as we've finished writing this article, we'll be trawling round the web, trying to find a retailer that's opened their pre-orders at a reasonable price. While we don't tend to be quite as Pokemon mad as the land of the rising sun, we're expecting it to sell out pretty sharpish.
Along with the smiling-Pikachu 3DS XL (stop looking at us like that Pikachu. You're making us want you more...), Nintendo also announced an ice white 3DS XL bundle, which will come with Mario Kart 7 pre-installed on the console (or rather, we'd imagine, on its SD Card). With two enticing bundles to buy, it seems there'll be plenty of 3DS XL's vying for your wallet this Christmas - and with a new 3DS exclusive Layton due out at the end of this month, we're sure Nintendo will be finding their way under plenty of Christmas trees this year.
Both console bundles are limited editions, so you'll have to move quick if you want one.
Much like the DSi XL was to the DSi, the 3DS XL is essentially a regular 3DS console, just much, much bigger. With all the same features and able to play all the same games, the only real difference between this and a standard 3DS is that it has a much larger screen built in (90% bigger, in fact). Easier to use, with the larger screen making colours more vivid, and fonts that much more legible, the 3DS XL provides all the excuse you need to upgrade - and all your old DS games will play on the new device too, so you don't need to leave your existing collection behind.
The bright white bundle is set to hit stores in just over a month's time on the 16th of November. As of yet there's no release date announced for the Pikachu console, although we'll be pacing the street outside our local retailer until they let us put a pre-order down - so make sure you keep checking back as we're sure to get a more concrete day soon!
Update: One of our readers, Tony, has left a comment to tell us that HMV have the release date down as the 7th of December. Thanks, Tony!
