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Nintendo Announces 2DS Handheld — Plays 3DS Games In 2-D
Today Nintendo announced a new handheld gaming console called the 2DS. It will play all games from the DS and the 3DS, but games from the latter will be shown in 2-D (essentially as if the 3DS's depth slider was turned all the way down). The 2DS abandons the clamshell design of the earlier handhelds; instead, the device is a slightly wedge-shaped tablet with two small LCD screens — thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom. "It's a design that seems calculated to reduce manufacturing costs and durability issues, but it also seems fated to make the system nearly impossible to fit inside most pants pockets. The buttons and controls that were on the bottom half of previous DS and 3DS systems are now shifted toward the top, so you can reach the shoulder buttons that now rest above the top screen. This means you grip the 2DS from the sides rather than supporting it from the bottom with the corners resting in palm of your hand, like previous DS models." Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said the new console is target at younger children, as the 3DS is recommended for players age 7 and up. It's also cheaper than the other models at $130.
So we have, chronologically, the original DS, then the 3DS, then the 2DS.
Apparently Nintendo is taking a page from Microsoft's console numbering playbook.
This signature is false.
...but really it's no different than when Amazon started offering the Wi-Fi-only kindle: some people don't want the added feature, so Nintendo's giving them the option to get a device without it.
No defending the shape, though.
Besides the larger flat design not being pocketable, the new 2DS is also missing a great feature of the clamshell design from the AdvanceSP, DS, etc... the screen and main control button protection a clamshell design gave you. Unless you were really picky about the outer casing getting any scratches it essentially was it's own protective case. Now we'll have to work about scratched screens again.
That's the battle they have to win now.
Is this for all the Pokémon fans who want to run X and Y at the same time? I know I was thinking about buying a second Gameboy for when X and Y hit so I could self-trade and "catch them all". Then again, Nintendo could be trying to compete with smartphone gaming.
Toyota Prius non-hybrid edition
Desktop iPad
Non-instant polaroid camera
And, of course, slashdot for non-technical readers
Why kill the only unique feature of your product and name the new one for what it's lacking. If it was a radically different name, design and form factor, it could have had a chance.
This is a company too full of arrogance and pride (but the Japanese call it honor and tradition) to even realize they have now completely fucked up everything that was successful.
Nintendo's Wii U console sold only 160,000 units worldwide during the past three months, with the company blaming a lack of first-party releases for the poor performance.
Seems to me they are perfectly capable of admitting when they are at fault. Care to try again, troll?
You realize that this is targeted towards young (7 y. o.) kids, right? The kind of kids who are very good at breaking mechanical hinges but don't care if their screens get scuffed up a bit?
The same kind of kinds who are going to be all over the new Pokemon games coming out in a few months?
You don't like the design? That's cool, this doesn't have any features that your existing 3DS doesn't have. Continue on as if nothing as changed.
They haven't "fucked up," they're setting up for every parent of a young child to be buying a new system and game come Black Friday.
Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)