On the surface, the price hike is to be expected with our struggling dollar, but I don't recall games being more than $69.99 back when it was much weaker.
I personally don't have a problem waiting for games to drop, given time constraints and an ever-growing backlog - but this definitely sucks for early adopters.
Will the new 3DS XL fit in regular 3DS XL cases?
And any good deals on cases in general?
It looks pretty much identical to me, so I don't see why it wouldn't. I saw drawstring pouches being sold at ToysRUs for $5; not ideal for protection, but if you just want it covered in your jacket pocket, it'd do the job. For what it's worth, I keep mine in the foam sleeve-thing it came with and did the same with the old 3DS XL with zero issues (it kept the old XL in immaculate condition).