Nintendo uncages limited edition Pikachu 3DS XL release date

The limited edition Pikachu-flavoured 3DS XL will be available in the UK from 7th December, Nintendo has announced.

The specially-coloured hardware was previously available in Japan for a short time.

It joins two special edition white 3DS XL versions to be released later this month. One comes with Mario Kart 7 pre-installed (available 16th November), the other with Super Mario 3D Land (30th November).

All three offers will be available in limited quantities.

Pikachu's 7th December date is the same day as Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Nintendo's only major handheld release this Christmas.

3DS sales data shows the machine as being roughly just as popular as the original DS over the same life-span, although sales outside Japan are still "weaker" than Nintendo had hoped.

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