The Pikachu / Pokemon themed Nintendo 3DS XL launched in late March of this year, and quickly flew off of the shelves due to it's limited edition nature. If that success was any preview of what's to come for the Animal Crossing: New Leaf bundle, Pokemon fans should probably take advantage of some new pre-order opportunities even if only as a precaution.
The Animal Crossing: New Leaf bundle is set to launch on June 9, but both GameStop and Toys R Us are now offering pre-orders on the device. Both sites offer the handheld for $219.99 plus tax. This 3DS comes with a pretty polka dot-inspired color scheme containing small images of items like leaves and fruits, along with the longer battery life found in all XL handhelds when compared to the original Nintendo 3DS.
The Animal Crossing: New Leaf handheld also comes with a larger 4GB SD card to store eShop games, images and more. Finally, Animal Crossing: New Leaf will come pre-loaded on the device.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf takes the collectible series where it hasn't been before, as players take on the role of mayor for the first time. As mayor, players can gather funding from local townsfolk (or donate their own) for the construction of police stations, "Dream Suite" homes and even surveillance centers.
Special ordinances also await new mayors. These will provide players the opportunity to stop flowers from wilting, keep trash from appearing, make shops open earlier, make shops stay open later and so on.
The bundle has already blown through Best Buy's allotment of pre-orders, which are no longer available, so this Animal Crossing: New Leaf edition of the 3DS XL looks to be just as popular as those that came before. The standalone version of Animal Crossing: New Leaf will launch on June 9 for $35.
