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Nintendo Announces 2DS Handheld — Plays 3DS Games In 2-D

Posted by Soulskill on from the hook-them-while-they're-young dept.

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.

10 of 156 comments (clear)

  1. Numbering .. by jxander · · Score: 4, Funny

    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.

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    1. Re:Numbering .. by puddingebola · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's a sequence. What is the next number in the sequence? 1,3,2... the correct answer is 4. From this we can deduce that Nintendo has a 4 dimensional game device in the works, and that it will require inter-dimensional space travel to play.

  2. Nintendo's taking a lot of flak for this... by barlevg · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...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.

    1. Re:Nintendo's taking a lot of flak for this... by barlevg · · Score: 4, Insightful

      All 3DS games are playable on the 2DS, so no, it doesn't limit content at all. It only limits how you can view it.

    2. Re:Nintendo's taking a lot of flak for this... by barlevg · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Again, all 3DS content will be playable on the 2DS. If you want to use the browser analogy, I guess the closest thing would be a browser that only displays in grayscale.

    3. Re:Nintendo's taking a lot of flak for this... by alen · · Score: 4, Insightful

      parents like myself don't want my kid playing in 3D so its not a feature loss

    4. Re:Nintendo's taking a lot of flak for this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      parents like myself don't want my kid playing in 3D so its not a feature loss

      Can't tell if you're serious or not, but we live in a 3D reality, are you really worried 3D is going to hurt their vision?

      Yes, there are reports and warnings that forced 3D perspective has negative effects on eye development of young children. While there's also reports to the contrary, it's worth paying attention to (and doesn't appear to be just ignorant fear-mongering):

      A report, for example
      And a counter report

  3. But will the games cost 99 cents? by Lester67 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That's the battle they have to win now.

  4. Re:Less travel-durable by Somebody+Is+Using+My · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Furthermore, according to the article, this device is intended for the 4-6 crowd (whereas the 3DS is aimed at the 7 years plus gamers). It's larger shape may make it - somewhat non-intuitively - easier to hold (more area to grip) and the lack of a hinge adds some robustness to the design. The kid won't be carrying it around in their pockets; Mom and Dad will have it in their bag.

    I don't know if this is what Nintendo was thinking (or if I would agree with that logic) but it may explain the change.

    Plus, the unibody design is probably much cheaper to produce than the hinged clamshell of the original.

  5. Re:Less travel-durable by TheSpoom · · Score: 4, Informative

    I would check the DS Lite guides at iFixIt, they're pretty good. You'd probably want to follow their upper LCD replacement guide except you'd just reconnect the one you've already got (hopefully it really is a loose connection and not a dead screen).

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