Yesterday was an awesome day!  Not only was it a BIG release date for Nintendo gamers, but I also hosted my first StreetPass Long Island meet up!

First thing in the morning, JDubz and I went to GameStop to pick up our pre-ordered 3DS XL consoles and NSMB2 games.  I opted to wait and trade in my original 3DS later in the year, towards the the cost of a Wii U, so I didn’t have to worry about the stress of doing an in-store data transfer.  This allowed me to get started faster – YAY!

As soon as we got home, I immediately pulled my new console out of the box, to set it up for the 3DS to 3DS XL data transfer.  It takes a little while so I wanted to get it started asap.  Total time spent on the data transfer was about 20 minutes, plus the time it took to copy the data from my 2GB SD Card to the computer, and then from the computer to the 4GB SD Card that comes with the new XL console.  So maybe 25-30 mins over all.  The transfer process is really cute, a bunch of Pikmin come out and “move” the data for you.

Where were these Pikmin guys I was moving from the city to Long Island?  They would have been a big help lol!

JDubz and I only had a few minutes to try out the New Super Mario Bros. 2 game before we had to head out east to our first StreetPass Long Island meet up.  We kinda decided to do it at the last minute, so most of the group wasn’t able to come.  However, we did meet one guy from the group and we got to talk to him for a while; and I also left a lot of flyers around at GameStop’s and at the Game Play! event that was being held at the Smith Haven Mall.

The Game Play! event was pretty cool.  I was expecting to see some unreleased Nintendo games… but they didn’t have any.  What they did have was a bunch of consoles tethered to tables, and people were playing out all kinds of games.  There was also a set up for Xbox and PS3.  Some guy was giving out free Coke Zero to everyone.

While our event wasn’t very big, I’ll chalk that up to last minute notice and the fact that we don’t have that many members to start with.  But the big success was that someone DID come and that’s a small sign that the demand is there for a Long Island StreetPass group.  Everyone who saw my flyers was very excited about the idea, so at this point I’m just…  ‘planting the seeds’ as they say.  It will take time.  I will document everything here on the blog, hopefully we can watch my group grow and flourish over time!  🙂

Speaking of which, I’d like to invite all of my readers to join the StreetPass Long Island Forums.  This is a free forum open to all who want to discuss Nintendo games and 3DS with other gamers.  Obviously we’ll also have some local event stuff posted on the forums, but there is plenty of space to talk about games in general, and you guys are my invited guests to join in any WIFI Tournament we might host in the future.  Please take a minute to click the forum link and sign up, I would really love to see this forum be a resource for all gamers, not just those who live in NY.

Anyway, back to the 3DS XL and NSMB2.  I have to say, I really do LOVE my new console.  I was slightly worried at first, because I’m so used to having a Nerf armor case on my handhelds, I thought it might be uncomfortable in my hands.  But the new 3DS XL is so smooth, it doesn’t really need Nerf.  All the corners are rounded out, so nothing is jutting into your palms as you play.  The feel of the console is so smooth, it has almost a satin feel.  The upper screen is HUGE – I am excited to try watching a show on Netflix on this new device.  I am VERY satisfied so far!  And for those accessory-a-holics like me, you’ll be happy to know that any DSi XL case will fit the 3DS XL.  The DSi version is actually a teeny big wider than the 3DS XL, so all cases will work for both consoles.  I couldn’t leave GameStop without SOME kind of protective casing, so I got a cheap DSi XL case and my 3DS XL fits snugly and safely inside.

Now, onto the New Super Mario Bros. 2!  What an awesome game so far.  I’ve made it up to World 3 – meaning I’ve completed World 1, World 2 and World Mushroom(?).  I’ve collected over 13,000 coins in the game so far.  Far from a million, but one step at a time!  I found a guide to help everyone improve their StreetPass scores in the Coin Rush mode.  Check out this article!

Let me know how many coins you’ve obtained so far!  Let’s see who can get the most, the fastest!  🙂