Nintendo Reveals New Handheld Console: The 2DS

Nintendo 2ds In what is most likely an attempt to regain revenue lost by a switch to exclusively 3D games and the disappointing sales figures of the 3DS itself, Nintendo has revealed its latest product: the 2DS. A handheld console that has more or less the same specifications of the 3DS apart from its 3D capabilities, but can play both original DS games and 3DS games. Allowing for Nintendo to keep or regain customers who have no interest in 3D gaming. Also, despite its 2D only display, it is still possible to take 3D photographs using a 2DS but they cannot be viewed in 3D unless transferred to a 3DS. The 2DS is set to be released on the 12th of October this year. This is the same release date as Pokémon X & Y, which means that Nintendo may attempt to use them as console-seller. Especially since Pokémon is among Nintendo's highest selling franchises and people not being willing to buy a 3DS to play the new games (as I personally am) could potentially put a serious dent in their sales figures as well as in the sales figures of Nintendo's other franchises. The console's size presents a something of problem as it lacks a folding screen and therefore is twice as high as the previous DS models. It not being as compact as the earlier consoles is an odd change since the size of a handheld console is an important factor and the 2DS not having the foldable screen of its predecessors and thus being larger doesn't make much sense. After all, a console that's 5 inches by 5.7 inches isn't the easiest thing to carry around. But despite its size problem, the 2DS does have an edge on the 3DS by having a slightly longer battery life. But size and performance aside, the biggest point in the 2DS's favour is that, at £109.99, it's considerably cheaper than the 3DS which originally retailed at £170 before getting a hefty price cut of almost a third, indicating that Nintendo's new sales strategy is to make its profits by selling a higher number of units at a low cost rather than the other way round. An idea that, considering the initially disappointing sales of the 3DS and that a lot of developed countries are still recovering from financial difficulties, is likely pay off hugely. Theoretically the same amount of research and development that went into making the 2DS could have gone into making the game cards themselves compatible with the previous DS models but that would mean Nintendo wouldn't have a new product to sell for £110 a time. In fact, don't be surprised if a 2DS XL gets announced in the next year or so. Though I doubt the 2DS can get much larger without having to be reclassified as a tablet. Do you think the 2DS looks like a good addition to Nintendo's product line-up? Let us know in the comments section below...
Contributor
Contributor

JG Moore is a writer and filmmaker from the south of England. He also works as an editor and VFX artist, and has a BA in Media Production from the University Of Winchester.