Defending the new Nintendo 2DS

 

 

On the 29th of August, Nintendo used a Direct conference to announce a new member of the 3DS family called the 2DS. Basically it’s a stripped down version of the 3DS without the 3D screen or the ability to fold in half. The two screen is now one large single LCD with a piece of plastic in the middle. This brings down the manufacturing costs and passes those saving on to the consumer.

The 2DS will be released on the 12th of October, the same day as the new Pokémon and will have a RRP of AU$149.95. It will come bundled with an AC adapter, stylus pen, 6 AR cards and a 4GB SDHC card (same as the 3DS XL, the standard 3DS only comes with a 2GB one). The screen size and battery life (3 hours) of the 2DS will be identical to the standard 3DS.

Of course the internet decided to explode and make fun of the system, because the 2DS doesn’t feature gratuitous violence or sex in its marketing campaign. In fact most of the promotional material shows the system being played by children, which is clearly the key market for this system. I mean it’s being released simultaneously with the new Pokemon, the lower price will make it more attractive to parents shopping for a Christmas present and removing the 3D functionality will silence any health concerns parents might have with the system. In fact the user manual and packaging for the 3DS does not recommend that children under the age of 7 play the system with the 3D effect on since it might cause permanent damage to their eye sight. Obviously the 3DS has a parental lock to disable the 3D, but removing it altogether eliminates any concerns from the most paranoid of parents.

Now as for the inability to fold in half, people might be asking - how do I put the system into sleep mode and do some good old Street Passing? How do I finish that one puzzle in “Hotel Dusk” or “Phantom Hourglass”? Well Nintendo has thought of this and has added a slider on the bottom that enables sleep mode.

From a business prospective, the 2DS is a great move. It will appeal to parents, kids and of course budget conscious people. Plus with the recent price drop of the rival PS Vita, Nintendo obviously wants to stay competitive. I personally have no interest in the 2DS since I already have both the standard 3DS and the XL model. But I’ve talked with some friends who are very interested in buying the system, mainly because of the cheap price and the new form factor. Which should make it more comfortable to hold than the 3DS since the weight is now distributed evenly.