The Nintendo 3DS received a system update this week, which adds new aesthetic features like themes and Home Menu screenshots while also streamlining the user interface of the Nintendo eShop.
Super Smash Bros. 3DS Simple Starter Guide
The biggest change in the 9.0.0 system update is the addition of themes for the 3DS Home Menu. A new button in the top left corner of the 3DS Home Menu will allow owners to change up their system's wallpaper while outside of a game. Players can either select from the five free themes – which are just basic solid colors that add some vibrance to the Home Menu – or they can head to the new Theme Shop to purchase a more exciting theme.
The current selection of themes – there are 15 as of the shop's launch – range in price from $0.99 for basic patterns to $1.99 for themes starring your favorite characters. Right now, the character-based themes all focus on Super Mario characters with the exception of a Legend of Zelda: Link Between Worlds theme. There's also a throwback Hanafuda theme, a tribute to Nintendo's origins as a playing card manufacturer.
Super Smash Bros. Wii U Finally Gets A Release Date
The wallpapers can either be normal or panoramic – meaning they scroll if the player scrolls left or right on the touch screen – and each comes with original sound effects for button clicks as well as original background music. Character-based themes will even come with music from popular games like Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario 3D World or even the original Super Mario Bros.
Also added with this update is the ability to take screenshots of the 3DS Home Menu. Holding down the Y button along and pressing either up or down on the D-pad depending on which screen you want to save snaps a photo and sends it to the system's picture folder. These screenshots can then be shared over social media. The Home Menu doesn't exactly provide the most exciting photo opportunities, so it's hard to imagine what kind of use this feature will get, but the capability is there for anyone who wants it.
Finally, the Nintendo eShop got some improvements in the latest update, specifically in the Title Information screen. When you click on a title in the eShop, the store now has a static top button to download a demo, a static bottom button to purchase the game and a scrollable list in the middle that contains all of the games available videos, making the whole process much more streamlined than before.
To update your Nintendo 3DS and try out themes for yourself, just click on the Other Settings button in System Settings, scroll all the way to the right and click "System Update."