Introducing the Nintendo 2DS!

[Phillyman]

Nintendo will be launching a new portable gaming system in October. It's called the Nintendo 2DS. It's a 3DS without the 3D, and it's shaped like a thin piece of cake.

"This is an entry-level handheld gaming system," Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime told Kotaku earlier this week when we got our hands on the unusual device.

The system is compatible with all 3DS and DS games. Its two screens are the same size as those of the original 3DS, smaller than those on the Nintendo 3DS XL. The 2DS' upper screen will not render graphics in 3D, though the system's two outward-facing cameras will still take photos and video in 3D, saving those files on a memory card so that they can be transferred to hardware that does display stereoscopic 3D imagery.1

The system launches on October 12 in North America, the same day as the release of the first major next-gen handheld Pokemon games, Pokemon X and Y. Those games will only work on post-DS systems, a line that now includes 3DS, 3DS XL and 2DS.

Who are you?

The 2DS will sell for $129.99 and will be available in red or blue. That price makes it $40 cheaper than the Nintendo 3DS and $70 cheaper than the Nintendo 3DS XL (and recently price-dropped PlayStation Vita).

"We expect consumers to use it just the way they use a current 3DS," Fils-Aime said. "And, really, from a target standpoint, this is designed for that entry-level gamer. For a family of four with two kids, when you're looking at spending either $169.99 or $199.99 for two this holiday, now you've got a more affordable choice with Nintendo 2DS."

The system will also launch in Europe but is not announced for release in Japan.

[KiwiArcader]

Seriously, only $40 less than a 3DS with the clamshell screen protection/smaller form factor. And soooo ugly .... ugh!!! If that's Nintendo's answer to waning sales then they are in trouble.

[chad78]

I seriously thought this was a joke when I first saw the video on YouTube. But I actually kind of get it.

Not the name - I've given up on ever liking the name of a Nintendo console ever again....

But the form factor. It's for kids (primarily).

Hinges break. I've had a DS Lite hinge break on me spontaneously. Seriously, I went to bed on night, and the next morning it was broken. I lived alone at the time, with no pets, and not in an earthquake prone location - so I have no idea what happened. Nintendo generously replaced it for me. Since then I've learned that even a broken hinge can be worked around with a protective case, if that case also has a hinge.

Also, it is meant to be sat on a table. If you are 5 years old, holding a 3DS (especially an XL) for an hour can be tiring.

And the lack of 3D is a cost-saving measure, as well as a safety issue for young kids, people with epilepsy, and people who get headaches looking at a 3DS.

The name - however - is beyond justification. People will be confused. Just like they are with the Wii and the Wii U. No store is selling Nintendo 2DS games. There are DS games, and 3DS games, but no 2DS games. (There are even a few - like maybe 5 - DSi games.)

Grandmothers everywhere will be at a loss this Christmas.

[E-Day]

3DS Jr. would have been a better name. 2DS is just confusing.

[ctophil]

Well, it's not as bad as you guys think. People can buy 3DS or DS games and either will work on it. So as long as you buy a Nintendo portable game, it'll work on the Nintendo 2DS. No one really sells Game Boy nor Game Boy Advance games anymore unless it's a Pawn Shop or Flea Market these days. People who shop in those locations are pretty well informed. :-) Although some Gamestop stores still sell them, but isn't that what the sales staff is for? Hehe.

As gimmicky as the 3D on Nintendo 3DS happened to be, I still like new technology. So I would be more than willing to shell out an extra $40 for the 3D aspect.

[chad78]

The problem isn't that the store employees will be uninformed or misinformed (although they will be) - it's that the customers will be misinformed or uninformed.

If stereotypical grandma walks into a Walmart and knows that her daughter bought her grandson a Nintendo 2DS game system, when she walks the aisles of the electronics department, she's going to look for Nintendo 2DS carts.

Keep in mind, if she (and it could just as easily be grandpa making these same choices - or uncle Bob or aunt Ruth) has tried to keep up with this stuff, she knows that the Atari 2600 didn't play Atari 7800 games, and Playstation 2s didn't run Playstation 3 games. The numbers have to match. Super NES is not the same as NES. Xbox 360 is not the same as Xbox is not the same as Xbox One (although, that name is just as, if not more, stupid than the 2DS). Nintendo already had a problem with the DS, DS Lite, DSi, 3DS, DSi XL/LL, 3DS XL crap they've been putting non-gamer game buyers through for the last 8 years. They just made it worse.

Nintendo 3DS Flat would have been better. Or 3DS lite or even 3DS 2D.

When you have a console called the DS, another one called the 2DS, and another called the 3DS - it just makes sense that they would be in that order, and while the bigger numbers might be backwards compatible - no game console has ever been "forwards compatible". Technology doesn't work that way. I can't stick a BluRay in my DVD player and have it work - nor could I put a DVD in my VCR and have it work. Based on decades of not just gaming, but technology naming conventions - the 2DS logically should not run 3DS games.

Or really, it should have never been called the 2DS.... ever.

[chad78]

Oh, and "The employees will know better" thought is a lovely dream, but is not true.

I bought a Game Boy Micro from Walmart years ago - because I wanted a tiny game console - shut up, it was cool... Anyway....

I was on the fence because I really loved some old school original Game Boy games, and I was pretty sure the Micro didn't work like that. So anyway, it was towards the end of the Micro's life cycle, and this particular Walmart was wanting them off the shelves, so they were cheap. I think it was like $39.98 or whatever odd cents Walmart tacks on the end of their prices... So I asked the dude (and he wasn't a gentleman, or an associate, he was just a dude) working there in the electronics department....

"Does the Game Boy Micro play original Game Boy games?"

"Oh yeah, it does."

"Are you sure? because I thought it didn't."

"No man, I'm sure. My buddy has one, and I've totally played GameBoy games on it."

"Ok, ring me up."

Well, of course, it doesn't. So, there's no way I trust the average store employee to know what works in what system. I've worked in a retail store before (a Kmart - remember those?) - and let me tell you, you don't have to know jack about the department they stick you in. I was primarily in electronics, but because I was one of the few male employees, I also had to cover Sporting Goods whenever the other guy wasn't there. I don't know jack about fishing lures or crossbows or basketball.. um "loops" I think they are called? So, yeah, the employees are not experts on their departments. I know I wasn't.

[chad78]

3DS Jr. would have been a better name. 2DS is just confusing.

I understand the desire to not call it a "3DS" when there is no 3D. But, 2DS is just about the worst name they could have picked.