Don't go changin'

Most of the released images of the 3DS so far have come with a "not final form" caveat, but it seems you can start to ignore that now, as Nintendo hardware honcho Hideki Konno has stated you can take those images as the final shape, making the confirmation in a brief but wide-ranging interview with Wired magazine:

Wired.com: In 2004, when the first DS was first shown at E3, we saw an exterior form factor that wasn’t final. Will the look of the 3DS be changed before its release?

Konno: You can take this as the final shape.

Any change?

Konno also spoke about the Tag Mode feature that will allow multiple games to search for information simultaneously, with a dedicated viewer to let gamers see which games have received extra content. He dodged the question of naming 3DSWare as the system's downloadable games library, but did acknowledge that the machine would have a service "like WiiWare and DSiWare."

Of course, if this is the final shape for 3DS that confirms there will be no second analogue slider added to the machine to accommodate left-handed gamers, a fact that will disappoint southpaws everywhere.

well that doesnt mean there wont be an XL does it? i love my ds XL, those huge screens.... i'd like a 3ds xl =(

If there is an XL, they better call it something else...  Or else, in five years time, there's going to be a N3DSXLWUZM.  I don't know what, though.. But, they're already pushing it with the "3DS" instead of coming up with a better name.  They didn't need 3D in the title at all.

It's not just for 3D.  It is also the third DS in the product's line.

Nintendo DS "fat" and DS Lite (they're basically the same, with only different designs and a better screen for the Lite version)

Nintendo DSi and DSi XL (both are the same, they added DSi Ware and a better firmware over the regular DS, only XL has bigger screens)

Then comes the third version, the 3DS.  It's the 3rd and offers 3D...  DS 3... 3DS. 

The name is just right, IMO.

I think it is best to think of DS, DSL, and DSi as the same platform, while 3DS is an entirely different platform. DSi isn't the original DS' sucessor, 3DS is. As for the name, who cares? It's a name. 

Yeah the DS fat, DS Lite, DSi, and DSi XL are all the same console in the same generation, just different versions. So the 3DS is really only the second "DS."

Regardless, I think the name's fine.

Until the 3DS Lite, 3DSi, 3DSXL, etc., etc., etc.

Honestly, from Gameboy, Gamboy Advance, and DS, there are probably 15 versions of those three systems!

Aww, it should have 2 analog sticks...

Nintendo 3DS is a new generation like Game Boy Color to Game Boy Advance,there still is the Game Boy Part in the name so 3DS is fine to after it stands for a lot of things too.

No, the DSi has exclusive content that are unplayable on the DS lite (DSi Enhanced).  2 Cameras (one front, one out), DSi Wares, music player from SD Card slot not present on the DS Lite and sound recorder.  Among other stuff I may be forgetting.

It may play the same games as the DS, but for many games it offers a lot of added content exclusive to the system and brings enough features to justify a differenciation between the 2 systems.