Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to a poor boy from Talladega County in Alabama. His well-meaning mother went to Wal-Mart to buy the portable gaming system for her son, but she didn’t know that the box didn’t contain a 3DS at all. Scam artists had apparently bought the 3DS, kept the system itself, but returned the box full of rocks and tissue paper to simulate the missing weight. The Wal-Mart staff never checked the box when processing the return and the faux 3DS ended up on the shelf for the Talladega mom.

This isn’t the first time that something like this has happened. There is a similar scam going around where people are returning iPad boxes filled with paper notepads. I’ve also heard of someone returning a flat panel HDTV with an oven door in its place instead. The lesson here for retail management, as if it weren’t obvious enough, is that their employees should really be checking those returns before refunding the money.

On the bright side, the Talladega Wal-Mart did give the mother a replacement 3DS after she told them what had happened, but I think that poor boy isn’t exactly feeling great about that whole experience.

[Source]

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The original Nintendo 3DS hasn’t been quite as big a hit as Nintendo had hoped, so they’re coming forward with a supersized version called the Nintendo 3DS XL. This is essentially the same thing that they did by following the Nintendo DSi with the Nintendo DSi XL. The bigger version of the 3DS essentially has the same guts, but it gets 90% bigger screens for 18% more money.

Set to retail for $199.99 when it ships August 19, the Nintendo 3DS XL will have a 4.88-inch display on top and a 4.18-inch touchscreen below. It still has the three cameras (two in the back for 3D), just the one analog stick (or analog “slider,” if you prefer), and the same Wi-Fi connectivity. Is it worth the $30 premium over the regular smaller 3DS that you already didn’t buy?

Check out the official Nintendo Direct video announcing the 3DS XL, featuring Reggie Fils-Aime himself, on the Nintendo website.

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You would think that Nintendo, the company that effectively invented the D-pad nearly 30 years ago without making any monumental changes since then, would have perfected this technology. Unfortunately, we’re hearing that the buttons on the D-pad are prone to “warping.” Taking a look around the Internet, you’ll find many photos of the d-pad starting to have its paint peel or bubble up.

So, it’s the paint. It’s not like the d-pad is any less effective and, for the majority of games on the 3DS, you’re not really using the D-pad anyhow. The analog stick above it seems fine and you’ll likely be using that more anyhow… unfortunately, we’re also hearing about a “black screen of death” issue where the console crashes and demands a restart.

For Nintendo, this just adds salt to the wounds. Sales aren’t what they expected (hence the price drop), Wii sales are slumping, and more people are turning to smartphone gaming than dedicated handhelds like the 3DS.

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There’s no denying that the Nintendo 3DS is one innovative piece of gaming hardware. Glasses-free 3D for the masses? That’s pretty cool. Unfortunately, at $250, it was just too expensive. Nintendo has now recognized that and they’re cutting the MSRP down to a more affordable $169.99. That’s better, but is it good enough?

The new price is set to take effect on August 12, but where does that leave the people who already bought the system? They’ll feel ripped off, right? Maybe not. Nintendo is offering 20 free downloadable games from the Nintendo eShop, so long as they log into the eShop once before midnight eastern time on August 11. That consists of 10 GBA and 10 NES Virtual Console titles. It’s up to you to decide whether those 20 games are worth $80 to you.

I’ve wanted a Nintendo 3DS  since I’ve always been a Nintendo fanboy, but I’m having a harder time justifying the purchase. That said, I spotted the 3DS on sale for $200 in the Best Buy flyer. So, if I pick that up today, I can still get those 20 “free” games for an effective price of $30. I’d want to know what games they were before taking the plunge, though, since the NES and GBA are filled with both gems and bombs.

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Brando is normally a brand I associate with random off-shore knockoffs and obscure accessories, but this is just showing that 3D is slowly but surely making a push into the mainstream. Let’s be clear: the Gadmei P83 is not really a tablet device. It’s a personal media player (PMP) with an 8-inch 1280×768 pixel display that happens to support 3D without glasses.

While there is a mere 4GB of on-board storage, you can load up your homemade 3D photos and movies through the available USB port and SD card slot. For now, it’s still a bit of a novelty and I’m not completely sold on the experience, but the Brando Gadmei P83 3D PMP isn’t terribly expensive at $179 either. If they tossed in some tablet functionality, possibly through Android, it might be a more interesting proposition, especially if they can keep the price point where it is.