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So, we all know the 3DS has the worst battery life since the game gear it seems. My 3DS has generally been lying dormant, but since I never personally enjoyed Zelda: Ocarina of Time it’s been getting oodles of play time. The stock battery life is a tease, a bad one. I find myself just *starting* to get into the game and that low battery red light pops on.

after a few dedicated days of playing, I gave in and decided to go the 3rd party battery route.

For starters, the stock battery is 1300mAh.
I decided I would go the best route whilst still retaining original form factor. “2000mAh” batteries can be found from china on the cheap. Of course, people have reported that they are worse than the official stock battery and actually about only 800mAh to 1000mAh at best (Can’t really be surprised). There are some fat bulky add-on batteries, and since this darn console can’t survive on the OEM 1300mAh I figured that I had to give something a shot.
Of course these things will be bulky, so I won’t comment on that in detail. Here are the 3 big boys I know of, expect them to go away **completely** as soon as the 3DS MSRP drop occurs in 2 weeks since they will be too expensive to manufacture at a profit:

#1:
“Nyko” Hyperkin 3DS Powerplus battery.
This thing is 2600mAh (double stock) and from what I’ve seen has a charging dock? Does not require screws to install that I can see, just slips on and powers the console the from the same connector that the official dock would tap. (further info needed). Battery is an ugly matte black color, but ergonomic.

#2:
Cameron Sino 5000mAh. The things is possibly the best looking right off the bat at being so squared-off and bland in the battery cover compartment area. Paint colors seem close enough. People are reporting that it is actually only about 2000-2500mAh, so the Nyko Hyperkin is probably the better choice for price and convenience.

#3:
Mugen Power Battery 5800mAh. Reports have shown that this battery is legit and gives off about 22 hours. The battery compartment has an accurate paint color to both the blue and cosmo black, and has an ergonomic design like the cheaper Nyko Hyperkin. The MSRP is roughly $99 though, and the website is very ghetto and seems to deny valid credit cards unless you use PayPal Buyer Connect credit to place the order. Using the discount code “facebookspecial” can save you 7%, but it still ends up at a whopping $92 and something cents.

I have little more to say about this stuff, we have some great pros here on PVB that can chime in. a 5800mAh battery with 22 effective hours of usage is honestly a decent deal IMO for this console, but at a price drop of less than $170 for the console, these things will disappear fast.

Just like VB, no games equals little play time. Zelda OOC is awesome, and it only further makes me wish we had a title like Dragon Hopper for the VB to compete with serious classics.

What do all of you think about these extended batteries, pre and post official Nintendo price drop?

  • This topic was modified 13 years, 3 months ago by VirtualJockey.
5 Replies

I think there only will be a bigger market for the add-on batteries to be honest. More people will run into the 3 hour problem than now. I hope for a better solution, preferably by Nintendo themselves, it is said that they will sell original battery kits soon with a new back-plate where you can exchange batteries easy and conveniently.

TheForce81 wrote:
I think there only will be a bigger market for the add-on batteries to be honest. More people will run into the 3 hour problem than now. I hope for a better solution, preferably by Nintendo themselves, it is said that they will sell original battery kits soon with a new back-plate where you can exchange batteries easy and conveniently.

But what about the price drop from $299.99 down to $169.99 only a few mere months after launch?
I wish I could be optimistic and hopeful, but I’ve been more fearful than anything for good reason.

VB had horrible battery life, and what did we get after the first sudden & giant price drop?

I was wrong, there is a 4th big battery for 3DS. Not sure if the Hyperkin and Nyko companies are different, but here’s a pic of the Nyko 3DS power Pak which is also 2600mAh? Seems like a permanent install with screws just like the others, unlike the Hyperkin. I previously had read about the “Nyko Hyperkin battery”, thus my confusion between the two batteries.

VirtualJockey wrote:
But what about the price drop from $299.99 down to $169.99 only a few mere months after launch?

The price drop was only from $249.99 to $169.99… I agree that a price drop already is kinda scary, but I don’t think it necessarily means doom for the 3DS. I think they’re either getting the price point to where it shoulda been, trying to undercut the Vita, or simply trying to get more systems in people’s hands (so they sell more games).

DogP

VirtualJockey wrote:

But what about the price drop from $299.99 down to $169.99 only a few mere months after launch?
I wish I could be optimistic and hopeful, but I’ve been more fearful than anything for good reason.

VB had horrible battery life, and what did we get after the first sudden & giant price drop?

I am with DogP on this, the 250 price was just too much, now they are making it cheaper than they would have needed to. If they started out with 200 it would have sold way better already and a little pricecut would have attracted less negative attention.

Don’t forget that this time Nintendo as a whole supports the 3DS and it wasn’t like the VB. The VB was rushed out and resources were directed to the N64. The 3DS is one of Nintendo’s ace cards, so they will certainly not make it fail.

When Mario 3DS Land comes out, it will sell like hell. And don’t forget: the VB only sold 770k units, while the 3DS is long beyond that point.

 

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