Meet the Nintendo 2DS.

[SunnyD]

No, this isn't a joke.

Nintendo link --> http://www.nintendo.com/3ds/new/

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Edit: Now for some useless commentary since I got a minute to digest this, and clean my iced tea off my monitor.

No more hinges == 1 less thing to break. I kinda like it.

 

[Rakehellion]

Beat me to it. :awe:

http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/28/nintendo-reveals-the-hideous-130-2ds-will-cut-wii-u-price-to-299/

Nintendo wants to compete with cheap tablets more than ever, but just not the way you think. The company will release a new version of the 3DS — the Nintendo 2DS, which has a tablet-esque form factor. As the name suggests, it is a 2D-only handheld console compatible with 3DS and DS games. At $129.99, the 2DS is $50 cheaper than its sibling. The company also announced a $50 price cut for the Wii U on September 20, ahead of the releases of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

 

[purbeast0]

umm ... correct me if i'm wrong since it's been years since i've used a 3ds, but isn't there a switch on the 3ds that will turn off the 3d effect, thus turning a 3ds into this "2ds" product?

 

[Rakehellion]

No, this isn't a joke.

At least it isn't a Vita. (Awww, snap!)

 

[Rakehellion]

umm ... correct me if i'm wrong since it's been years since i've used a 3ds, but isn't there a switch on the 3ds that will turn off the 3d effect, thus turning a 3ds into this "2ds" product?

It's cheaper and has a different form factor.

 

[purbeast0]

It's cheaper and has a different form factor.

yes, i realize both of those.

 

[Aikouka]

I was rather excited by this at first as I don't care much for the 3D effect and it's cheaper. At first, I thought I read "slider", which in my mind, meant it was like those sliding phones, but then I saw "slate." Once I saw that it was some ugly, solid device I lost any interest. Way to kill the portability of a portable console, Nintendo. :|

 

[smackababy]

umm ... correct me if i'm wrong since it's been years since i've used a 3ds, but isn't there a switch on the 3ds that will turn off the 3d effect, thus turning a 3ds into this "2ds" product?

Yes. I know people who can't use the 3d feature of the 3ds due to being some kind of deformed mongoloids without depth perception. >_<

I can see this for people who want to play 3ds games on the cheap. Nintendo has always done stuff like this though, so it doesn't surprise me. They had the Gameboy Pocket, Gameboy Light, Advanced SP, Advanced SP Micro. They love making each iteration smaller and selling another couple million.

 

[Aikouka]

Also, they've yet again ignored the second joystick, which means you'll have to wait for them to create another peripheral to work with this model instead. FFS Nintendo! :|

 

[mmntech]

When you launch a new console and have to tell people it isn't a joke, that's never a good sign.

 

[purbeast0]

Yes. I know people who can't use the 3d feature of the 3ds due to being some kind of deformed mongoloids without depth perception. >_<

I can see this for people who want to play 3ds games on the cheap. Nintendo has always done stuff like this though, so it doesn't surprise me. They had the Gameboy Pocket, Gameboy Light, Advanced SP, Advanced SP Micro. They love making each iteration smaller and selling another couple million.

why change the form factor though? the design is just horrible on this.

 

[smackababy]

why change the form factor though? the design is just horrible on this.

No idea. Nintendo loves to make things stupider looking I suppose.

 

[Rakehellion]

Most people are probably better off here.

 

[Dankk]

Christ, everyone in this thread is completely missing the point.

It's a budget alternative to the 3DS with some features cut out, intended for children 7 and under. If you think it's a joke, or you don't "get it", then it's not for you.

 

[purbeast0]

Christ, everyone in this thread is completely missing the point.

It's a budget alternative to the 3DS with some features cut out, intended for children 7 and under. If you think it's a joke, or you don't "get it", then it's not for you.

1. the video shows more adults playing it than children.

2. the folding design of the 3ds is a lot more protective of the device than the 2ds is. there is no way for the 7 year old and under kids to protect the screen with it's current design, like they could just shut it with the 3ds.

i'm not saying it's not for children in general, cause i think all ds consoles are marketed for children, but their marketing strategy from that video is far from screaming "this is for kids 7 and under".

i also don't see how something that is "designed to compete with tablets" is designed for someone 7 and under, when tablets are primarily "adult toys".

 

[Rakehellion]

2. the folding design of the 3ds is a lot more protective of the device than the 2ds is. there is no way for the 7 year old and under kids to protect the screen with it's current design, like they could just shut it with the 3ds.

The hinge is more likely to break than the screen.

 

[JujuFish]

The hinge is more likely to break than the screen.

Yeah, primarily because of the folding design protecting the screen.

 

[bearxor]

I can totally understand the idea behind this thing. I also hope it lets Nintendo consolidate the DS line.

But it's just really ugly. I hope it's really well built.

 

[ViRGE]

I was rather excited by this at first as I don't care much for the 3D effect and it's cheaper. At first, I thought I read "slider", which in my mind, meant it was like those sliding phones, but then I saw "slate." Once I saw that it was some ugly, solid device I lost any interest. Way to kill the portability of a portable console, Nintendo. :|

Agreed. When I first saw the thread title I was excited since this sounded like the 3DS I've always wanted: a traditional clamshell 3DS without the battery-sucking 3D screen. Instead it's some weird 3DS/tablet hybrid, which is not at all what I'm interested in.

2. the folding design of the 3ds is a lot more protective of the device than the 2ds is. there is no way for the 7 year old and under kids to protect the screen with it's current design, like they could just shut it with the 3ds.

i'm not saying it's not for children in general, cause i think all ds consoles are marketed for children, but their marketing strategy from that video is far from screaming "this is for kids 7 and under".

Of Nintendo's many sins, doing their research is generally not one of them. If they think this is a better proposition for the under-7 crowd, then I'm sure they have good reason to think that (and more than just the safety concerns of the 3D screen). It's certainly the right form factor for a moderately rugged device, and the only vulnerable part (the touchscreen) is recessed. But we'll see just how rugged it is once it's out.

i also don't see how something that is "designed to compete with tablets" is designed for someone 7 and under, when tablets are primarily "adult toys".

The number of kids with the 7" tablet de jour would astound you. Those small, cheap tablets are absolutely treated as kids toys.

 

[cmdrdredd]

What this will do is allow kids to scratch their screen even more easily.

 

[nextJin]

I thought Ars had a good article on how it could have been awesome.

arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/08/how-the-2ds-could-have-been-nintendos-first-true-portable-tablet/

 

[mmntech]

Anybody else think the controls are in an odd place? They're usually at the bottom. Maybe it's better balanced that way. I don't know, just seems weird to me.

I wonder what this means for 3D gaming. I've noticed Nintendo hasnt been playing it up lately. Hardly at all really. There's not many games that really made good use of of the effect for gameplay.

 

[ViRGE]

Anybody else think the controls are in an odd place? They're usually at the bottom. Maybe it's better balanced that way. I don't know, just seems weird to me.

The controls have to be higher so that you can use the shoulder buttons.

I wonder what this means for 3D gaming. I've noticed Nintendo hasnt been playing it up lately. Hardly at all really. There's not many games that really made good use of of the effect for gameplay.

They'll still throw in some token efforts, but I suspect they're no longer commissioning any games that extensively use 3D. Anything that uses 3D would be incidental.

 

[Arkaign]

Extreme silliness. It's way past April fools Nintendo! What the hell.

 

[ImpulsE69]

The controls have to be higher so that you can use the shoulder buttons.
They'll still throw in some token efforts, but I suspect they're no longer commissioning any games that extensively use 3D. Anything that uses 3D would be incidental.

So in essence they just put an end to 3D on the handheld and make the 3DS kind of pointless at least from a pricing standpoint. I say that because now, it's just another DS.

Essentially they've just split the customer base in an extreme fashion. While I (think) the 3DS has better specs overall than a DS...the 3D is what had the price so high on it. If they are phasing out 3D, then whats the point of getting a 3DS over this or a DS? They may as well just keep everything working on a DS and make them all compatible. Seems like a very odd move. The only thing that probably will make ppl get a 3DS over this is the design of the 2DS which is....just not good.