Nintendo's lineage of console updates and revisions
Update: Now with 100% more Nintendo Switch OLED Model and a new poll at the end. Enjoy!
Mid-cycle hardware refreshes may sometimes feel like a relatively recent development, but console manufacturers have been releasing revised versions of their consoles since video gaming first entered the home. You might associate Nintendo hardware refreshes mostly with handheld consoles thanks to the umpteen variants that have crowded shelves over the past decade or so, but many of its home consoles have also received a facelift.
It’s not always the case that these refreshes are ‘upgrades’, either, with marquee features sometimes removed entirely in a new SKU. Switch Lite arrived at a cheaper price point than the standard model, but removed the namesake feature of the original console. In this article, we'll take a look back at the company’s history of hardware refreshes to see what changed and what stayed the same; which ones got better or 'worse'.
For the purposes of this feature, we’re not going to deep dive into the ‘silent’ hardware revisions that manufacturers routinely put out to address flaws or take advantage of cheaper or more efficient components and the like. Here we’re concentrating on refreshes that introduced (or removed) significant features with cosmetic differences, too. And no, the Classic Mini consoles don’t count!
So, let’s head back to the 1990s...
The trusty Nintendo Entertainment System got a significant facelift in the form of the NES-101 which appeared on the market after the launch of Super NES. A top-loading system, it didn’t need to house the cartridges internally and could therefore be much slimmer than the boxy original. It came with a redesigned ‘dogbone’ controller which echoed the Super NES controller with its curved, comfortable design.
The removal of composite video out connections on the North American version meant RF was the only way to connect this to the TV – a cost-cutting measure that we’ll be seeing more of as we work our way through this list. A rare later version replaced RF with the same AV multi-out port used on the Super NES (and the Nintendo 64, and the GameCube). The similar-looking Japanese Famicom revision used that port as standard and therefore came to be known as the AV Famicom.
In much the same fashion as the NES-101, the budget New-Style Super NES came out a good while after the Nintendo 64 launched. It was even designed by the same person (Lance Barr, the man responsible for the look of all the Nintendo home consoles released in North America to that point) and it arguably blended the design of the Super NES with the more rounded look of the Super Famicom to produce a neat little machine. The bottom expansion slot was removed and it only supports composite video through its AV multi-out port (although a relatively simple mod can re-enable S-Video and RGB output).
Unfortunately, as with most of these budget redesigns that come at the end of a console’s life, we tend to be excited for the next console and it arguably takes a generation or two until we start wishing we’d picked up one of these while we had the chance. If we were smart, we’d be eyeing up a New 3DS/2DS right around now…
The Nintendo 64 didn’t get a budget facelift after the GameCube launched. Nintendo did, however, copy the colours of the ultra-fashionable iMacs of the day and eventually released a multitude of N64 consoles with coloured shells. We remember being a little perplexed that these weren't a Day One option, but that was a more innocent time when a launch console could reasonably be expected to last the entire generation (and well beyond – our launch unit is still going strong two decades later). Coloured variants would go on to be a fixture of Nintendo hardware from this time onwards.
Discounting the Chinese-only iQue 64 Player, the only version of the N64 which actually alters the OG console's form factor was the Pikachu Nintendo 64 which changed the power button into a Pokéball and embedded a plastic Pikachu in the right-hand side of the console, with light-up cheeks and a reset button on his right foot. Hardly an essential ‘upgrade’, but lovely nonetheless.
We got a colour choice of ‘Indigo’ or ‘Jet Black’ at launch with the GameCube, with other colours arriving eventually (although the gorgeous ‘Spice Orange’ would remain Japan-only). Beyond a minor mid-life revision which removed some video output options, we never saw a proper refresh of the ‘Cube. It would have been hard to improve on the original, right?
However, lucky Japan did receive perhaps the sexiest variant of any Nintendo console, ever. The Panasonic Q added DVD playback, optical sound output and turned the GameCube into something that could sit comfortably alongside the rest of your AV kit. This was extremely exotic for western Nintendo fans at the time, and decent secondhand examples go for very large sums on auction sites.
The Wii received two main hardware revisions: one which retained the general look of the original console, and one which claimed to be ‘Mini’, which was a big fat lie.
The Wii Family Edition or ‘RVL-101’ removed GameCube compatibility and the stand from the box and was meant to sit horizontally, as indicated by the reoriented text. The shell, though, was practically identical to the original, minus the ‘doors’ on the top (if you unscrew the new panel you’ll find holes in the case below where the GameCube ports are on the previous model).
The Wii Mini was the true cost-cutting revision. Not only did GameCube compatibility get the boot, but the system also removed all video outputs except composite, plus online connectivity (so no online multiplayer, Virtual Console or WiiWare), Wi-Fi, the SD slot, one of the USB ports and, perhaps worst of all, the sexy disc slot and its blue light. No, all that got ejected in this a top-loading take on the Wii. Frankly, it's surprising they didn't wire the Wiimotes to it and call it a 'homage' to the Famicom.
If all those omissions weren’t insult enough, the Wii Mini was almost the same size as the original console and looks distinctly less sleek, like something Captain Kirk would keep his logs in. Ultimately, it's very tough to argue this is anything other than Nintendo’s worst ‘refresh’.
Seeing as the Wii U didn't hang around long enough for a refresh, we're onto the handhelds! The humble Game Boy got a line of coloured shells, but internally they were identical to the original. The Game Boy Pocket was the first ‘proper’ revision which reduced battery requirements from four AAs to just two AAAs and switched out the green monochrome display of the original for a black and 'white’ version. It still didn’t get a backlight, though – that was saved for the Japan-only Game Boy Light which was marginally larger but provided the feature Game Boy owners had been craving for years.
Are we going to include the Game Boy Color here? No, we’re not. If you consider that a revision rather than a different system, just pretend we did. Sorted!
The original landscape-oriented Game Boy Advance was a fine little system, although its lack of backlight made playing it at any time outside the daylight hours of 10am - 6pm impractical without an external lighting solution. The clamshell Game Boy Advance SP arrived and not only provided some protection for the screen, but added a blessed backlight (a front-light, actually). A later revision, the much-sought-after AGS-101, went a step further with two brightness options to produce arguably the loveliest iteration of Game Boy ever made.
However, the GBA got one final refresh in the form of the Game Boy Micro – simultaneously the most desirable and least ergonomic of any of Nintendo’s hardware revisions. It included changeable faceplates and was the tiniest GB of all – a chibi-GB, if you will – although that meant it couldn’t play Game Boy or Game Boy Color games. The Nintendo DS overshadowed the diminutive Game Boy Micro at the time and they cost a fortune these days, but despite the crippling spasms that would shoot through our hands if we actually tried to play a game on one, we still browse eBay every once in a while hoping to spot a clean one for under £150.
This is where Nintendo started to get a little refresh-happy. The Nintendo DS Lite is arguably one of the finest hardware updates ever, improving on the original DS ‘Phat’ in almost every way, including screen brightness and battery life.
The Nintendo DSi would increase the size of the display and remove the GBA cartridge port in order to squeeze in more RAM and a better CPU than the standard model, as well as an SD card slot to store downloadable DSiWare games from the new DSi-exclusive shop. It also gained a pair of (admittedly low-quality) cameras as well as its own menu design. The DSi XL did all of this, just a bit bigger and in more luxurious hues. Anyone for Wine Red or Metallic Rose?
With the DS’ successor, things started to get a little silly with a Nintendo 3DS 'family' of systems. Although the original 3DS arguably launched in a better state than the DS ‘Phat’ did, the Nintendo 3DS XL was a very nice upgrade with bigger screens which made finding the 3D ‘sweet spot’ easier, plus a matte finish which hid unsightly fingerprints.
Then came the 2DS, a non-folding slate-like affair aimed at younger children that removed the 3DS’ namesake gimmick and which, along with cockroaches, will be the only thing to survive a nuclear apocalypse.
Next up, Nintendo produced the New Nintendo 3DS, a beautiful little system with faceplates, a C-stick (a ‘nub’, really), ‘ZL’ and ‘ZR’ buttons, much-improved viewing angles for the glasses-free stereoscopic 3D thanks to face tracking and – most importantly of all – Super Famicom-style coloured face buttons. Beautiful! Slightly larger than the original model, this is a lovely little machine. Of course, Nintendo also released an XL version (the only one available in North America for a time), but the standard New Nintendo 3DS arguably hit the sweetest spot of all these refreshes.
We’re still not finished, though. Further muddying the waters, shortly before the launch of Switch Nintendo also announced the New Nintendo 2DS XL. There's no non-XL version of this console, so this final (we assume) variant is essentially a New Nintendo 3DS XL minus the auto-stereoscopic 3D. And a fine console it is, too – although it’s hard to summon much enthusiasm after this many redesigns! As we said above, we should really be keeping an eye out for a mint one at a bargain price right now, but as is always the case, there’s a new kid on the block grabbing all the attention…
Bridging Nintendo's home and handheld console strands, we arrive at the Nintendo Switch and its little sibling, the Switch Lite. This portable-only version does for the ‘flagship’ model what 2DS did to its elder family member – namely, ditch its namesake gimmick.
No, the Switch Lite doesn’t 'switch' anymore and won’t play a handful of games out of the box without extra controllers. The ability to switch between docked and handheld mode may well be the ‘point’ of the hybrid console, but as we’ve seen with the 2DS, naming conventions shouldn’t stand in the way of a system for which there’s a market. As refreshes go, we would have liked to see that bezel around the screen reduced, but otherwise Switch Lite is a fine addition to a long line of hardware refreshes, but not the last in the Switch lineage...
The newest addition to the Switch family isn't the long-rumoured 'Pro' model, but rather an 'XL' edition which bumps up the size of the screen from 6.2 to 7 inches and makes it a lovely OLED. So, more of a 3DS XL than a New 3DS XL, then.
There are other small tweaks to the console and the dock — including an improved kickstand — but this is very much an iterative entry rather than a revolution for Nintendo's handheld-hybrid concept. Even so, it's going to be hard to resist picking up a Switch OLED Model when it drops on 8th October.
Quite the resume of altered hardware, no? Which one do you think offered the biggest improvements? Let us know by clicking your favourite(s) below and hitting the 'Vote' button at the bottom:
(You can select up to 3 answers)
We would ask which you liked the least, but the Wii Mini is the only correct answer. If for some reason you loved that abomination, though, feel free to sound off in the comments and otherwise let us know which of these you invested in and why they give you the warm fuzzies.
Gavin loves a bit of couch co-op, especially when he gets to delegate roles, bark instructions and give much-appreciated performance feedback at the end. He lives in Spain (the plain-y bit where the rain mainly falls) and his love for Banjo-Kazooie borders on the unhealthy.
Definitely the 3ds xl for me, it felt like a good upgrade, I really regret getting rid of it now so I think it’s time to buy one for keeps this time.
Either the Super Famicom Jr or the AV Famicom are my favourites. I think the AV Famicom might just edge it because of the dogbone controller which was a huge improvement over the original sharp cornered rectangle of the original NES controller.
Wait, the DSi is just a hardware upgrade to the original DS? I thought it was an entire next generation system, like how the 3DS was the next generation portable console.
Did you forget about Twin Famicom?
GBA SP of course. My first gameboy with light screen and the last one which could play all Gameboy and GBA games!!! <3
The GBA and its clamshell design blew my mind when it was first unveiled.
the DS Lite and the 3DS XL (If only I'd known they were going to make a 2ds version I would have saved my money) are my favorite revisions as they made handheld gaming somewhat bearable for me. Although with the switch I really can't go back. Still hoping Nintendo makes some sort of player for 3ds games.
Hush until you got news on the Switch Pro! 😆
Oh man the dsi XL brings back memories
Wow. I knew about all those handheld revisions but definitely got schooled on a lot of those TV console revisions. I never laid eyes on a lot of those.
The GBA SP is the best revision IMO. I wanted a normal Game Boy Advance but couldn't pony up the cash (mostly birthday and Christmas money at that time) until the SP rolled around.
The DS Lite is probably my favorite. I spent so much hours on it, and then it broke... I would also say that the New Nintendo 3DS XL is great too. Probably my favorite version of the 3DS.
I prefer at least on Nintendo usually the first original version. Although the later revisions brought better things, but also a downgrade each time. (New) 3DS XL screens too big for native resolution, and the 3DS line became heavier and unwieldy. GBA SP shoulder buttons can only be used convulsively. GB Pocket has lost its charm because no green graphics anymore. Everyone likes to see things differently, but I usually prefer the first version. Of course, there have always been improvements. But I would, for example, always prefer the original GBA with light Mod over the SP.
The new 3DS XL and DSi were great upgrades, though I think the GBASP was the best hardware revision Nintendo ever made.
1. Clamshell to protect the screen 2. Smaller than the GBA 3. Built in battery 4. Built in frontlight (and backlight later)
It had only one draw, the lack of a dedicated headphone jack.
The Panasonic Q is what the Gamecube should have been. With a proper DVD reader it would probably have sold more.
@Agriculture Proper? Not really. It was more a DVD player with a built in GameCube than the other way around. Both systems were physically different and you had to Switch between them.
The GameCube should have had full size discs (like the XBOX and PS2) and maybe DVD playback. It also should've been a bit more powerful.
But thinking what if the GameCube had been more successful. The Wii and Wii U would've been very different.
Question. Is Panasonic Q still region Lock ? What region on Panasonic Q machine ? Is that only Silver color release ?
Loved my New Nintendo 3DS XL, which I actually won from Nintendo UK. My Ice White 3DS had been out of action for ages because of a broken hinge at the time, it was great doing a system transfer and playing 3D Land, Luigi's Mansion 2 and others all over again with that Super Stable 3D. The GBA SP was also a fantastic revision. I've never heard of the NES-101 or New-Style Super NES before! Great article, thanks.
I’m totally in the minority, but I love the wedge-shaped 2DS. I still pull mine out from time to time to revisit older games. I got it late in the systems life, so it felt like a steal for $60
@Supadav03 2DS was fine, but I do like the new 2DS XL better.
My kids both have 2DS systems, that was a stroke of genius I think at the time.
@sanderev Lack of power wasn’t the GameCube’s problem. The GameCube was technically more powerful than the PS2 and only marginally behind the original XBox.
I skipped the GBA SP, but got the Micro, which is my favorite revision. It wasn't too small for me. The Game Boy Light shown in the article looks especially snazzy, as revisions go. That and the GB Pocket are among the best revisions I've seen as well.
@sanderev the New 2DS XL was better in nearly every way, except maybe durability, but I still like the quirkily little guy better. It was very Nintendo. I had a lot of fun with it before mostly moving on to Switch.
Toss between GBA SP and the DS Lite. For the former the built in light for the screen was a godsend and made things easier to play and see the screen without needing a bulky third party peripheral. DS Lite was very Apple inspired but was the finest of the DS range. Against the bulky original model there was no contest
I have both types of the SP, it's definitely my favorite, just both great improvements over the original, yeah the clamshell design is a bit hard to get used to but since it was my original GBA it wasn't really a problem.
Infinity consoles? chuckles you mean the chaos consoles?
Gameboy advance SP stood out to me the most. The thing still looks beautiful.
As nice as the New 3DS is it’s a pity they didn’t sort out the problem with the edges of the bottom screen marking the top screen. Having to keep a piece of cloth in the machine in order to protect it is a pain. This wasn’t an issue on the DS Lite/DSI.
Tag I actually prefer the regular 2DS, the slate shape reminds me of the old Gameboy.
.... and I actually like the Wii Mini! Plug in and play. Old school and great for a spare room. With the loss of the shop and online play it really doesn’t matter (except for GameCube backwards compatibility).
Best. Gba sp. this is easily
Frankly, I don't consider the Lite to be a hardware refresh. It's a lesser model missing features (key one being the one that gives it the name 'Switch'), and it doesn't replace the current model, so I'd consider it to be an 'entry' model.
The game boy light! I imported one a long time ago and it's just an amazing handheld to use these days. The best blend of old school handheld gaming and modern capability thanks to it's lit screen.
I'll go with Gameboy Advance SP. It was always in my pocket lol (with Kuru Kuru Kururin and Warioware mostly)
@Cotillion The Switch Lite is like the 2DS.
The GBA SP. That was (and still is) a fantastic bit of kit! It was like a portable SNES to me. I took mine everywhere, it made the bus journey to work almost palatable. It was strange how I had a moderately up to date gaming computer and the PS2 at the time, but this little box of delights was the one I played on most of the time. The games were just solid along with the control system... ahhh memories (and good ones to boot).
The SP was such a beautiful machine.
DS Lite. It was a substantial upgrade, and was such a quality machine. I still play it today. New 3DS XL would be next. I mostly got that for the larger screen, and even though New 3DS is the best iteration of the 3DS, without an XL option, there's no doubt the original one would still be my primary system. It was that good as an initial design. In hindsight, I would loved to have bought a GBA SP. By the time it was out, I had a GBA Player for the GC so wasn't really playing GBA games in handheld mode anymore.
The NES toploader hands down. The oxidation of the original NES's 72-pin connector is what caused all of the "blow in the game" to fix it fiasco. That only sped up the deterioration process. Without changing out the pin connectors alot of NES's basically become useless. The toploader changed all of this. They still work like a charm to this day like all of the other top loading consoles.
@Anti-Matter Yes they are Japanese region only.
I will never understand the desire and praise for the GBA Micro, but whatever, to each their own. I do wonder if the gamer collective will snap and suddenly desire the Wii Mini at some point in the future.
Glad to see the SP reign supreme, definitely the best revision at the time!
Nintendo minor Hardware Refresh on the GameCube dol-001 vs dol-101 was unwanted
now we need a dol-201/301. it needs better support for the wavebird controllers. the ability to use them without the need of the controller plugs. accessory for that will be plunged into serial port b. as well as an HDMI port instead of component and composite video.
i would like the Panasonic Q, however everyone these days has so many devices for media streaming and playing DVDs.
its too bad that the GameCube never got a Netflix player CD/DVD like Nintendo Wii
I haven’t seen this news on NintendoLife yet so here it is...
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is coming to Xbox Game Pass tomorrow!
Switch owners who got shafted with their version, and who also have an XB1 rejoice, we can finally play the game outside of the horrible Switch port we were given.
I wanted to vote for the DS Lite and the Advance SP. both far superior to the original models. I also had the NES 101, ice blue N64, and jungle green N64 as well as the New 3DS XL. I get all consoles immediately on release but the hand helds I tend to hang off until a revision comes out.
"squeeze in more RAM and a better CPU" Exempt really there's never been an official mention of it having faster CPU nor has there been any games that show of faster CPU. So really the DSi never really have a faster CPU.
In Fact I recently played Solatorobo, A game that some people quote online that it showed improved framerate on a couple of levels. Yet I tried it out on both my DS Lite & New 3DS & they both showed exact same slight hiccups in framerate.
Which shows that my 3DS underclocked itself to 66MHz/33MHz, not 111Mhz/60MHz, which means that the DSi only has 66Mhz/33MHz CPU chipset same as a DS.
Just from an aesthetic perspective, the DS Lite was the sexiest hardware revision. That thing was just beautiful.
Trying sooo hard to defend the Switch Lite, but I consider it as bad as the Wii Mini. Arguably worse.
GBA SP easily. Especially the newer version. Even after I got the DS I would still play GBA games on that thing for years.
@Heavyarms55 I could see the Switch Lite working for folks who still haven't bought a Switch yet. Especially for those always on the go like people who take long rides on the train to work or something.
Wii Mini. That one just made me scratch my head.
@JoakimZ Sharp made that, not Nintendo. I guess that means you should exclude the Panasonic Q, but the Twin Famicom is arguably less famous (and desirable!)
The Switch from Ds Phat to lite felt like a megas step, like they reinvented the console.. suddenly it was so Apple..
Stil my favourite is my gba micro.. bought it for E50.. still in love with it everytime i look and play advance wars on it..
"the standard New Nintendo 3DS arguably hit the sweetest spot of all these refreshes."
I fully agree after having played both. I think that USA (a larger population) isn't aware of how good it is because it didn't launch properly in there.
Gavin, this is probably the best article on Nintendo Life in many years, congratulations! I knew all these revisions already which kind of surprised me, old ones especially. I consider Game Boy Color a GB refresh because most people consider Nintendo DSi a refresh and both are a hardware upgrade but no big deal, just my opinion.
I consider myself a Nintendo fan, but this is the first time I see many of these. Did see the Panasonic one before though.
@romanista DS Lite was a massive upgrade for size, weight and brightness.
I have every single 3DS variant, sometimes multiples versions of those variants too. God I'm an idiot.
I also have a Wii Mini which I got super cheap and I've never actually used it because why would you? I've got a gorgeous red Mario 25th anniversary Wii.
I've got one of each of the Game Boy Advance systems too.
I remember back in the Gamecube days that Nintendo released this beautiful pearlescent Gamecube around the time Mario Strikers was released. I loved it, so sold my purple Gamecube and got this. I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT when I took it home and saw that it didn't have the digital AV out port and I was FUMING because I imported the official composite cable at great expense. I had to return it and then buy another brand new Gamecube.
@JoakimZ Yeah, I stretched the definition of 'refresh' with the Panasonic Q just to squeeze it in Love that console @BlueOcean Cheers
In spite of the flimsy hinges, that also did break on mine and ultimately ruined the connection to the top screen, the DS lite was still the greatest game system I ever owned.
The SP was the best revision for me. Fair enough, didn't get one until i saw on in Cash Generator for about £25. Cleaned it up, replaced the battery and got a proper plug for it.
The "New" 3DS was decent, which is the model i have now.
@sanderev What I meant was that if the Gamecube had come standard with a DVD reader, then the games could have been on DVD, which would probably have made the console more successful. The Gamecube got very limited by the smaller amount of data on the discs it used.
the SP is still a legend. although getting rid of the headphone jack is still one of the silliest decisions ever made
The DS Lite is arguably Nintendo’s greatest console ever. Both in terms of commercial success and for gamers. They really hit the sweet spot with how sleek it was (for the time) and the 1st and 3rd party software support it had. I don’t think Nintendo will ever be that successful again.
I’m not a fan of this Switch Lite. Not because it removes its namesake function - the 2DS did the same and is a great console revision for the market it’s supposed to cover - but because it isn’t cheap enough or in any way shape or form ‘kid friendly’. There’s no way I’d buy it for my children, but a 2DS? Yes.
Of course I was completely wrong about the original Switch, thinking it would never sell, so I’m probably wrong about the Switch Lite too!
Things were definitely better in the 1990s when Nintendo charged much less for an improved version of a console (NES top loader $50 launch price vs original NES $200 launch price, Game Boy Pocket $50 to Original Game Boy $100) instead of charging the same or more for a redesign.
The GBA SP (AGS-101) is the BEST revision of all Nintendo consoles!!!
@dartmonkey "like something Captain Kirk would keep his logs in." I know what you meant but my mind still went immediately to the W/C in the captain's quarters 😂.
For my money, the most aesthetically pleasing revisions are the Wii Mini and the slate 2DS. Despite the reduction of capabilities, they are so retro looking and remind me of the Mega Drive 2 and GBA respectively.
I have a slate 2DS but I never got a Wii Mini which is a great regret of mine!
Speaking of Star Trek, the 2DS actually looks an awful lot like the pads that Kirk used to sign every episode in the original series!
The top-loading NES/FAMICOM also eliminated region-locks, which for the time was amazing considering the number of games exclusive to Japan.
However, my favourite revision is the New 3DS XL. After watching a battery comparison video, the New 3DS XL has one of the longest battery lives out of any handheld console.
I always found the NES and SNES refresh to be really awful looking.
DSi XL is awesome, really liked that system. GBA Micro is also a very nice system, although a bit too small.
Is it true that the NES redesign worked, without blowing the cartridges? I had two original NES’s. They both were pieces of garbage by the mid 90’s. I always wanted the redesign, because I heard you never had to blow the carts.
GBA SP, even without a traditional headphone jack, is by far my favorite revised Nintendo system, even if I was against upgrading to it when it launched. (Friend surprised me and bought the cobalt one for me on my birthday.) Being able to fold it not only functioned as a means to make it really compact to fit in virtually any size pocket; it also protected the screen and face (though not shoulder) buttons, something VERY few handhelds did back then. (The latter reason is also why I preferred the DS over the PSP.) Even when GB/GBC cartridges were sticking out, it didn't seem like an eyesore unlike GBA cartridges sticking out of the DS Lite.
I also fancy the new 2DS XL. The "new" line of 3DS systems was one I wanted but couldn't justify ditching my 3DS XL for, especially at their price points and not including an adapter. Then the new 2DS XL released. Found it on sale one day online and ordered it. No regrets. I didn't really use the 3D on my 3DS and 3DS XL, so I was fine with no 3D. Plus, it came packed in with a charger. The price point too was the icing on the cake. Even at regular MSRP at the time, it was a pretty good price point. It's currently my main go-to 3DS, er, 2DS.
Least favorite: All the Wii's that aren't backwards compatible with GCN games. I'm actually in the market to replace my current Wii, but would much prefer the one that's backwards compatible with GCN games. Also, in the case of the Wii Mini, that one is just ugly as sin and makes the Virtual Boy seem more appealing in comparison.
The DS Lite and the GBA SP are the two big ones for me. Honorable mention to the 3DS XL systems too, they may have had worse pixel density but they fixed a few of the problems of the original unit.
I remember getting the New 3DS XL because the OG one was getting too small for my hands. Great upgrade!
I voted GBA SP purely based on the backlight and the rechargeable battery - both were a big deal at the time, and make going to any earlier models a bit of a pain these days.
That said, I'm not a big fan of the form factor (the original GBA feels much better), nor the clamshell design which would be standard until the Switch (the hinges would frequently get too loose, plus it simply just doesn't feel as good to play on a system with a clamshell design IMO).
"The standard New Nintendo 3DS arguably hit the sweetest spot of all these refreshes".
I agree and it still is my favourite handheld console. Resolution aside, it even has a better screen than Switch and Switch Lite and I'm not talking about 3D but anti-glare coating and black quality. That console is also backwards compatible with Nintendo DS, GBA (with 10 official releases) and the GB and GBC emulation of the Virtual Console is perfect.
I gotta go with the NES top-loader. I looked better and it definitely functioned better with the cartridges. But the 2DS XL is a close second too
I just hope the "Switch Pro" will have a better APU. Otherwise we can say goodbye to all these third parties we have now.
I confess, I upgraded my 3ds XL for a "New" 3ds XL BBQ edition simply for the 'Pixel Perfect' SNES Virtual Console lineup. Although I don't regret it, it was a near completely pointless requirement from the Big N and served only to move a few New 3ds's. That said, I got the Majora's Mask edition and it is fabulous.
I was really excited for the New 3DS swappable face plates, but then Nintendo decided to just give us the XL version in the US with no face plates. The New 3DS XL did make a night and day difference for Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate though. Seeing it play on a friend's New 3DS vs my launch 3DS made the decision to upgrade easy.
Yeah, I thought Switch Lite and DSi were awkward in how they actually limited one's gaming options instead of expanding them, but dropping all Gamecube AND WiiWare AND Virtual Console? Ouch.
As for my favourite... probably N3DSXL? Quantitatively superior to GBA SP as far as QoL upgrades go, and the one I actually own. And only one of them runs a Xenoblade game, so...
Such a missed opportunity to call it that officially
3DS XL was the peak and best of the transformation peak of 3DS innovations.
Remember coveting the Panasonic Q so hard back in the day...
Though the GBS SP was needed, badly.... it was fragile, has NOT stood the test of time with it's crappy hinge and poor battery life.
New 3DS XL wins hugely for me.
Seriously, and pound for pound the greatest game system library of all-all time.
There was something “unnintendo” like when the GBASP was announced, foldable, rechargeable, sleek, and a lit up screen.
Best Nintendo hardware refresh for me would be the DSLite.
I had a golden GBA SP Zelda edition that I absolutely adored but objectively, the NN3DSXL is better.
Really liked all the 3DS revisions. Need to find a New 3DS.
What about the game boy light? I know it was Japan only, but the Panasonic Q was too
DS Lite FTW for me. Didn't even consider buying a DS til the revision (though I used to borrow a mate's phat/silver to at least experience some of the games though), and now many (too many!) years later it's sitting on my desk now, in all its shiny black glory, still ready for a quick sesh. My all-time favourite console, til the Switch came along.
Anyone who voted N3DSXL withiut having held a standard-sixed N3DS is a heathen.
I absolutely love the new Nintendo 3ds xl. It is one of my favorite systems of all time. While I voted for n3dsxl, the ds lite was a worthy choice as well.
Honestly, I think if we count the New 3DS systems and DSi systems as upgraded refreshes, then I think that's technically what the Game Boy Color is. I know adding color was a big upgrade, but it's not like the power behind the GBC increased all that much from the Game Boy before it. Plus, the way it received games is similar to the N3DS and DSi systems as well: many games were released after the new model came out that was still playable on the older model but made use of the new model's new feature of color (these GBC games came in black cartridges), while the GBC also saw its share of games that could only be played on the upgraded model just as the N3DS and DSi did, though yes, the GBC received a higher volume of exclusive titles than these later successors, it's the same general idea (these GBC games were the ones that came in the clear cartridges).
New 3DS XL. I held off from getting both New 3DS or 3DS XL & so took the plunge when it was more financially viable (thanks to the slow down in Wii U software). Satisfying and worthy purchase. Often felt the OG 3DS screen was a tad small even before XL was introduced.
That new SNES is beautiful, never seen it before xx otherwise I love my new 2ds xl white and orange xxx
The New 3DS XL was a great hardware revision, but the best one was definitely the GBA SP in the AGS-101 version.
The Game Boy Advance SP for me. I got a GBA at launch but the SP was such a huge improvement. The backlight made that big of a difference. Plus, the clamshell meant I wasn’t afraid to put it in my pocket.
I need to find an SP-101 and get an everdrive cart for it. I don’t take my switch many places because of how fragile they are. But the SP-101 was a tank.
I dont get why Nintendo dont produce a supercheap TV mode only Switch instead the other way around as the Lite. Get rid of the screen battery, etc, and sell it half the price. I bet millions of people (specially from underdeveloped countries) would buy it.
So only the Game and Watch, Pokemon Mini, Wii U, and the Virtual Boy had no updates and revisions redesign hardware?
Why does the Wii mini still look so appealing to this day..?
@BulkSlash I was thinking much the same thing. The Dogbone controller felt so nice compared to the original rectangle. Also it was nice to be able to easily tell what game was in the system.
@Zeropulse Good point, I've been using an AV Famicom for so long now I'd forgotten all about having to open the flap to check what game I'd last left in the NES! 😂
DS Lite has to be one of their most iconic hardware revisions . I knew more people with a Lite than any other kind of DS. That's history.
Surprise but this is actually a substantive and informative article here on NL. I think the article greatly serves the purpose of informing the reader the type of iterations Nintendo has offered on previous in generation updates.
For me the top three are the GPA SP....geez people we did not have a lit screen on gb before this little marvel. The clamshell was very significant as well and I wish somehow N would give us a Switch clamshell....but the light was easily the biggest upgrade everyone wanted for years. Next is the DS Lite....amazing the original DS didn’t sink the line. It was clunky and ugly and had the weakest light they could find. The Lite fixed all that giving a solid backlight, streamlined clamshell and better battery. My 3rd is a tie......either the 3ds XL or New 3DS.....The XL is awesome...giving us those big bright screens and better battery life and balance were big upgrades over the launch....but it was big so people with smaller hands may not have liked it. Sadly the N3DS standard did not get widespread distribution. It is the slickest and nicest 3DS design being compact and thin and using The interchangeable plates which are so N and have gotten really pricey as time passes.
So if we take these past in gen updates as our guide we can surmise whats coming with the ‘next’ Switch. We probably get that bigger (edgeless) brighter OLED screen. I just don’t see a mystery new SOC appearing so at best we get an amped up X1 which Mariko could easily deliver and keep the thermals reasonable, maybe more RAM and likely more NAND (128gb). I personally hope the new unit is dock and joycon compatible so it can exist in the ecosystem with our existing gear. We shall see but a lighter, better screen, slightly smoother (ram/clocks) unit is what the past would indicate N is going to give us.
The Gameboy Micro is a great portable. The only one I could just put in my pocket and go.
Game Boy Advance SP is my all time favorite, because it's form factor is just so handy. It's a tasty little package of convenient portable gaming!
Both the DS Lite and New 3DS feel like what the original consoles should have been! The New 3DS (not the XL) is especially sweet, as it keeps the console relatively small while offering noticeably larger screens than the original 3DS. Its 3D effect is also actually usable compared to the original and the colored buttons are cute.
i loved the craziness of the Gameboy Micro, I had 3 at one stage but sold them all (including a mint boxed famicom edition!). I missed it so much I recently bought a silver one for cheap.
Definitely the new 3ds for me, the switch OLED is probably the worst and most pointless refresh yet
@UltimateOtaku91 Definitely the new 3ds for me, the switch OLED is probably the worst and most pointless refresh yet Well said nothing in the OLED improves Performance more memory good but when the hardware is v2 Switch gen model already. Funny we have no Poll for the v1 or v2 Switch? And yet those other model are no longer produced but yet get put on the Poll? So you have to ask is there NL Polling Bias now????
I didn't care about the lack of GBA support on the DSi, I just wanted a better DS lite and that's what it was. It should have had a VC for GB and GBC games, the shop was too neglected. But everything else worked great, much better than playing DS on 3DS.
GBA SP is the best upgrade, nothing quite like having a display you can see. I had a GBC back in 2001 so it didn't make much sense to upgrade yet and when the SP came out it was a no-brainer.
@GravyThief Honestly I think for what it is the Switch Lite is a marvel.
It launched cheaper than the original 3DS and the PSVITA. Its more powerful than the WiiU while also fitting into a handheld smaller than the WiiU's Gamepad.
@b3611549 The DSi was equivalent to the New 3DS family of systems. Unlike the DSi removing the GBA slot, the 3DS didn't remove backwards compatibility for old DS games. DSi added more features that aren't found in the original or lite versions of the DS. Just like the new 3DS added some newer things not found on the original 3DS.
The 3DS was the successor to the DS line, not the DSi.
@SwitchForce Truthfully, the Switch has been refreshed more than any Nintendo system before it. Every two years, Nintendo puts out a new model and/or refreshes the line-up.
I'm thinking the OLED was supposed to replace v2 and an updated spec version was coming out alongside it. With component shortages, I think the Switch 2 will be out long before we see a "Pro" of the original. There will probably be some refresh or new model by 2023 or so.
2017 — Switch (Launch) 2019 — Switch Lite, Switch (v2) 2021 — Switch (OLED)
DS Lite was such an amazing leap from the original DS. I still enjoy playing mine to this day. I love my regular size New 3DS as well.
Gotta go with NES-101. Fixed pretty much all of my issues with the NES, between the far superior top-loading design and the cute "dog bone" controllers that replaced the uncomfortable boxy things on the original hardware.
1. DS Lite (black) 2. GBA SP (black) 3. New 3DS (because of the changeable/customisable covers)
I also loooved the semi-transparent "Funtastic" N64 systems (Watermelon Red and Fire Orange were my favourites), and I really liked the 2DS (again, the semi-transparent models were just gorgeous).
I really do love me some semi-transparent systems: https://inceptionalnews.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/i-love-me-some-semi-transparent-systems/
And I'll give some nods to the Game Boy Light, Game Boy Micro and Panasonic Q too.
I had a Panasonic Q, beautiful machine. I didn't realise at the time however, that attempting to use a UK memory card in it resulted in it wiping the existing data completely. That was an unpleasant surprise.
If you were stranded on a desert island and had a solar mains charger, a GBA SP and a copy of Advance Wars you would never need another piece of software again.
The GBA SP is sex. It was comfortable to hold, folded up to protect the screen and fit in the back pocket of your Jeans perfectly. The front light made a good makeshift torch and it was a GBA giving it access to an unrivalled software library. Have Nintendo made a better console since?
It also had a pretty good marketing campaign in the UK which was a rarity for Nintendo at the time.
Hey, you know, it might have been a good idea to put the original models in the article purely so people could get a better idea of just how much some of these revisions improved upon the original designs, like the DS to DS Lite, and how some mean very little or were actually worse, like the Switch OLED and Wii "Mini".
Most people failed to realize that a majority of these redesigns are not made to give the current system more powers. Instead some were design to solve issue of the base system and some were made to reduce cost or as a cheaper alternative to the base version. NES top loader was made to solve the ZIF pin connection issue of the front loading original, SNES Jr. was made to those who doesn't care about RGB or S-Video, GBA SP was made to give the system a light source, rechargeable battery and solve the issue of a scratch screen, Panasonic Q was market as a multimedia premium device with GCN support, DS Lite was made to give player brighter light and smaller size, and Wii Mini and Family Edition were made for those who don't care about backwards compatibility or anything online.
It's not popular in USA but my favourite Nintendo handheld ever is New Nintendo 3DS.
@Agriculture Well considering the Panasonic Q was a flop in Japan, that already prove that people don't want DVD movie function with their game system. The PS2 wasn't the best selling console because it was a cheaper DVD player, it was the best selling cause it was also backwards compatible with PS1 games, the DVD capability was just the icing on the cake.
I voted for the GBA SP, the Nintendo DS Lite, and the New 3DS XL. All of them felt like great upgrades to great systems. The SP is my personally favorite, as it felt truly necessary as a youngling due to it's foldable design, lit screen, and portable battery. The DS Lite is a close second and the New 3DS XL comes in at third for me.
The Switch OLED is cool but nothing I need. They'll be a Switch Pro, Switch 2, or some successor to the Switch within the next few years that'll probably include an OLED screen by default. I can live with the LCD screen until then... especially since I mainly play docked anyways
@The_New_Butler The Xbox was beaten in Japan by the GameCube and it had a DVD player plus online play. The online play was the reason Xbox overtake GameCube in the west. Then the Wii beat both the PS3 and Xbox 360 worldwide and it didn't had Blu-ray or DVD support.
*Along with cockroaches and the original grey and pink Game Boy
@Ghost_of_Hasashi First off, the Panasonic Q flopped because of it's price, secondly, because developers weren't allowed to use the extra storage (all GameCube games had to work on the original GameCube).
If Nintendo had went with DVD as the standard in the GameCube, then the console would have been much more successful.
I had a Gameboy Advanced SP, still have my 3DS XL, and I'm going to be getting the Switch XL.. I mean OLED.
I voted for the Game Boy Advance SP, but as it was my first Nintendo console, I'm not sure if it counts as an upgrade for me!
I mostly just answered what revisions I liked. I never had a Panasonic Q but I like the revision. I do have a GBASP though, but it wasn't really an upgrade per se since I still have my standard GBA from before my SP and I still use both. And, of course, nobody has the Switch OLED model yet (save for all the certified reviewers out there) but I like that revision too. I'm probably gonna get it at some point, but I know I'm still gonna use my current Switch when I do. I also didn't actually answer GBASP, instead I answered with the New 3DS XL, which I have and.. mostly replaced my old 3DS XL but I still use both of them to this day.
As much as I loved upgrading my 3DS to an XL and later a New 2DS XL. Nothing felt better at the time than going from a GBA to an SP.
@BlueOcean Yes! New 3DS is hands down Nintendo’s best handheld of them all
@SSGodLink heck yes, so my brother just hooked up our revision models of the NES and SNES and they still work like a charm. Had a great time playing Metal Combat (the sequel to BattleClash) yesterday on an old CRT. I have the Super Nt - Analogue but even that can't play the old blaster games that need scan lines.
The new 3ds is the only upgrade that persuaded me to buy the same hardware twice ...and it was worth every penny!
Hands up if you have a Panasonic Q that you killed when you popped in a 240v plug in error, and the safety fuse didn't do its job... ...
Oh cries in burnt circuitry
The Game Boy Advance SP was such a great upgrade.
I voted for the GB Micro(I love that thing) and the GB Pocket and Light. Those were the best revisions for me. I actually liked the concept of the Wii Mini. The top-leading mechanism is appealing to me over the slot type. It's the other changes to the Wii Mini I didn't like. Lack of online connectivity is terrible since the Virtual Console was one of my favorite things from the Wii. Too bad Nintendo let that go to waste since.
Game Boy Advance SP and New 3DS XL for me. I LOVED how the GBA SP had a backlight and I spent so much time playing mine as a kid. As for the New 3DS XL, I liked its new features like more controls, face-tracking 3D and those nice big screens from the original 3DS XL, plus there was an all-red variant. I did like the DS Lite as well, but I wasn't a big fan of how the buttons felt. Mine had that dead pixel on the touch screen too.
@Deathwalka I feel ya. I just bought me a refurbish Gameboy Advance with backlight, color black onyx, just like what I got from Christmas at the time. I'll use it to play Metroid Zero Mission and Metroid Fusion. I should have never gotten rid of my GBA and my N64 too!
Great article! The GBA era was pretty deceptive, what with the dark screen followed by a super-cool backlit folding model only two years later. But it was definitely with the 3DS that Nintendo went off the deep end. That's when I really felt that Nintendo was playing fast and loose with their fans' money.
@NinChocolate Yep it's the sweetest spot 😊.
Notice there's no "Pro" type of update throughout Nintendo's entire history? Even for Sony and MS, the Pro and X were due to the unique situation of 4K and HDR becoming standard early in their cycles, so there was a minor imperative to try a mid-gen premium model. Of course, the great majority of new buyers stuck to the basic model. How we got hooked by this Switch "Pro" myth will be one of humanity's great embarrassments!
New 3DS XL. The improved 3D and the overall niceness of it made it very worthwhile. My old 3DS was a small screen too.
DS Lite Again, it's just a much nicer system, notably the screen and battery life.
Switch OLED All the improvements announced, notably the bigger and brighter screen, make this a compelling option if you play plenty in handheld mode. I just wish they'd release the core system by itself because I don't really need the joycons, dock and everything else. If I do buy one, I'll be looking at a special themed one, hopefully Metroid.
I would have bought a GBA SP at the time had I not migrated to playing GBA games on my GC. When I got a DS, I used that for GBA games and the old boy has barely been turned on since.
@Agriculture Even if GameCube had a DVD player out of the box it'll still not going to be successful and doesn't benefit Nintendo as they don't distribute the disc. DVD themselves are the product of Sony and Philips, two companies Nintendo screw over the last two gens before so it make sense Nintendo wouldn't do business with either of those two again.
This is also the reason why Sega couldn't use DVD for the Dreamcast cause they don't want to use format from a competitor otherwise they will be losing money and Philips DVD format were unreliable and slow compare to Sony. Panasonic was able to make the Q cause they got permission from both Nintendo and Sony to do so, remember that Panasonic and Toshiba doesn't make or manufacture DVD, they only made hardware that reads and runs them. Microsoft was able to use DVD cause DVD were already implemented onto PC at the time so the Xbox got lucky to be able to run DVD at all since it used PC components for its hardware.
Even though my main console is still my New 3DS XL, I really miss the smaller New 3DS and those awesome faceplates. I regret selling my Pokémon 20th anniversary edition for the SNES edition XL even though I absolutely love it. The faceplate switching was so cool. Oh well….
@Ghost_of_Hasashi It's just a storage media. How can you say Microsoft could only use it because it was used on PC? Doesn't make sense.
Yes, licencing fees for DVD would have made the GameCube a little bit more expensive, but it wouldn't have hampered the game development the way the lower storage discs did. The PS2 was less powerful than the GameCube, but the lower storage space on the game discs made the games often look worse.
They really nailed it with the GBA SP, DS Lite and New 3DS.
Interesting to note that Nintendo’s last two handhelds have had revisions with more power (you can put the Gameboy Colour into that category too, it even had some games come with both Colour and Original version on the same cart). Yet some people claim there’s no precedent for a Pro upgrade.
I’m not saying there will be a Pro upgrade, I don’t think history tells us anything either way because it’s Nintendo. However there is precedent for it, it would be far from a new step for Nintendo.
I like how Nintendo avoided using Pro in it's name giving...we're all pro's, right?
The wii u upgrade is not on the list! It's called the switch by the way.
Didn't the Switch had a internal Revision?
@Scrubicius Yes, but with no form factor changes or really anything obvious, that's a stretch to call that a refresh. Although they did feel the need to announce it at least. Basically, all consoles get minor tweaks to the internals along the way, but most are so minor, no one really talks about them.
But for my vote, I went with the DS Lite. The original was a visual abomination and I was so happy when they made one I didn't feel embarrassed to pull out in public.
GB Advance SP is kind of a nobrainer although I never had one. I had the original GB Advance and when a friend bought the SP, I just had to accept that this was just better in every aspect.
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