Just days after Nintendo announced the US release date of the New Nintendo 3DS XL, the company made it known it plans to release the smaller New Nintendo 3DS this May in the United States. Featuring all the same enhancements the New 3DS XL has on a smaller device, this new handheld will come at a cheaper price than its plus sized counterpart, will use swappable face plates that allow you to personalize your device and will ship with neither an AC Adapter nor any buttons. Nintendo of America COO Reggie Fils-Aimé says the unconventional move is designed to save people money when they upgrade.
"Rather than raise of the cost of the New Nintendo 3DS by charging consumers for components they may already have around their house, we are giving them the option to only buy buttons if they don't have any they could already use," Fils-Aimé said today in a press conference. "Think about it, you must have some buttons around your house that aren't getting any use right? The SAP button on your television remote, the application key on your keyboard, spare buttons from a jacket you just bought, the emergency button from your grandmother's Life Alert device, all the buttons from your Amazon Fire TV controller... those are all useless buttons that can be integrated into your New Nintendo 3DS handheld system"
To demonstrate how the handheld will use just about any button, Fils-Aimé showed off his New 3DS that uses the buttons from his old pair of button-fly jeans that have been worn out in the crotch area due to the massive balls you'd have to have to sell a gaming device without any buttons. For customers who are new to the Nintendo 3DS family of handhelds and don't have any spare buttons to use, Nintendo will be selling the buttons for $1.99 each. The A button will be a retailer exclusive to Amazon, the B button will be exclusive to Best Buy, the R button will be a retailer exclusive at Radioshack, the L button will be exclusive to Lane Bryant and the X button can only be obtained through the Club Nintendo website.