A brief history of Nintendo’s relentless handheld updates

Last weekend saw the U.S. release of Nintendo’s latest handheld console, the New 3DS XL, and it does two things. First, it includes a faster processor, a little nub that can function as the second analog stick that fans and developers have been asking for since the original 3DS launched in 2011, and it provides a wider viewing angle for its centerpiece 3D graphics.

Secondly, it continues the developer’s tradition of iterating on its hardware to correct previous models’ shortcomings. To be fair, Sony and Microsoft have also done this, with the former redesigning its PlayStation Portable handheld three times and the latter creating a new Xbox 360 that promised to be immune to the dreaded “Red Ring of Death” hardware failure that plagued early models.