When comparing New Nintendo 3DS XL vs Shield Tablet K1, the Slant community recommends New Nintendo 3DS XL for most people. In the question“What are the best portable game consoles?” New Nintendo 3DS XL is ranked 11th while Shield Tablet K1 is ranked 17th.
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Pros
Pro Big screen
Pro Has built-in NFC
This means Amiibo and Amiibo card support for scanning in figures and cards with a tap to then use as addons in certain games. Previous models did not have this function.
Pro Improved glasses-free 3D
The New 3DS XL has an improvement over the regular 3DS XL model when it comes to the 3D, there is now an infrared sensor that allows for eye tracking, which keeps the 3D focused, even when the device moves. The older model had trouble with the 3D focusing when moving the device around, that is now fixed for the most part.
Pro Good deal
$200 for one of the best Android gaming tablets out there makes for a cheap option for a device with a high end GPU.
Pro Powerful portable graphics
Graphics close to last-gen consoles using the Tegra K1 GPU. There are ports of current AA games such as Borderlands 2 as well as Portal. These are high quality games that run well on the device due to the powerful GPU.
Pro HDMI output
Has a mini-HDMI port so you can connect it to your TV or monitor. This allows one to play games on a larger screen while powering them with the tablet, much like a console.
Cons
Con No charger included
In order to keep the price down on the unit Nintendo has chosen to not include a charger with the device, meaning that if you do not have one already or purchase one you will not be able to use the device past the half charge that it has out of the box.
Con No physical controls built in
Need to get a controller or use touchscreen controls. While the old model used to come with a stylus that has been removed on the new device. There is also a game controller made by Nvidia that works specifically with this tablet but it is an extra cost since it does not come with it.
Con Game selection
A few Shield exclusives, but mostly mobile games, which mainly work with touch controls rather than a gamepad.
Con Not great battery life
Maybe 3 hours of gaming battery life, or about 10 hours of web browsing. For what is a gaming centric device the screen time while gaming is quite low.