IGN said:

Nintendo announced the 2DS today, a new entry-level handheld system. The 2DS will be available for $129.99 on October 12th (the same day as Pokemon X and Y) and features a slate-like design rather than the clamshell seen on DS and 3DS models.

The 2DS is fully compatible with all 3DS and DS games but does not include the ability to display games in 3D. It still features all the functionality of 3DS (WiFi, local multiplayer, etc.) and can be put to sleep using a slider that replicates closing the clamshell on a standard 3DS. WiFi can still be turned off, though it’s done via controls in the software rather than with a physical switch.


“Imagine a standard 3DS laid all the way flat, and with the depth slider all the way down,” Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime explained to IGN. “Everything else is there in the system.”

The 2DS will launch in red and blue models to start and will be sold alongside the standard 3DS (still available for $169.99) and 3DS XL ($199.99). It will include a 4GB SD card and uses the same power source as 3DS and DSi. It also includes two cameras on the back side, so AR games still function and players can still take 3D photos -- they simply can’t be displayed on the 2DS, but are still viewable in full 3D if transferred to 3DS. The 2DS only includes one speaker, which plays mono sound, but features full stereo via its headphone jack.

According to Fils-Aime, the idea for the 2DS came from wanting to appeal to younger consumers, as the standard 3DS is aimed at players age seven and up.

“Imagine a standard 3DS laid all the way flat, and with the depth slider all the way down. Everything else is there in the system.

“We’re always thinking about what we can do that’s new, unique, different, and brings more people into this category that we love,” Fils-Aime said. “And so with the Nintendo 3DS, we were clear to parents that, ‘hey, we recommend that your children be seven and older to utilize this device.’ So clearly that creates an opportunity for five-year-olds, six-year-olds, that first-time handheld gaming consumer."

"We’ve always been thinking about, 'how do we approach that as one target?'" he continued. "And that certainly helped spur the idea of the Nintendo 2DS. Let’s have the consumer have access to all of these great games – Mario Kart 7, Animal Crossing – but do it in a 2D capability with a device that has a dramatically lower price point. That’s just an example of how we’re always thinking about, ‘how do we get more people playing games? How do we get more people playing Nintendo games?’”

Keep checking back to IGN for more on the 2DS as we approach its October launch.

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@TriforceBun I welcome this and hope it does happen.

@Hinph I have never wanted that, ever. I prefer to relax on the couch/chair.

Posted by

Mop it up

on: 08/30/13, 01:37

@Mop it up

The Rift shouldn't inhibit you from doing so, controller or mouse in hand as usual.

Posted by

Hinph

on: 08/30/13, 01:53

@Hinph I'm not relaxed if I'm looking all around with my head!

Posted by

Mop it up

on: 08/30/13, 01:55

*shrugs*

If you're not interested, you're not interested. Millions of people will be though. It's like the Wiimote.

Posted by

Hinph

on: 08/30/13, 02:00

@Hinph I highly doubt it will sell anywhere close to 100 million like the Wii. A few million nerds sounds about right. :P

Posted by

Mop it up

on: 08/30/13, 02:07

Edited:

08/30/13, 02:15

Yeah, it may not do much to expand the gaming audience or get Grandma playing first person shooters. Hah. I meant that it is like the Wiimote in that it is a divisive technology. I do think it will be embraced in a big way by gamers, though... especially once it is easy to plug it right into a PS4 or One.

Only time will tell... needs a killer app or two as well.

Posted by

Hinph

on: 08/30/13, 02:29

Here that Hinph? You're a nerd.

Posted by

Renjaku

on: 08/30/13, 02:30

-JKR- said:

@Hinph

I feel like, after watching the video (I had never heard of the Rift), it will be very similar to the 3DS in a way. Super exciting the first day, week, month, and then annoying so you just don't bother using it 99% of the time.

The main problem I see with it is it's such a single-person "alone" experience. Which might be great for the fringe gamers who have no family/friends, but not so great for the vast consumer who spends next to all their time with other people, like spouses.

I disagree 100% with everything you said. Every impression I've ever read of gamers who have used the Rift say it's absolutely amazing and a game changer, and no, gaming alone is not the fringe, it's how most hardcore gamers consume content. The best selling game in the world is Call of Duty, and people play that alone (in person) with people (over the internet). Couch co-op is awesome and will always have a place in gaming, but it's not the mainstream, it's the niche, you have it backwards.

Posted by

deathly_hallows

on: 08/30/13, 03:02

Renjaku said:

Here that Hinph? You're a nerd.

I stopped denying that in the 7th grade. Haha.

Posted by

Hinph

on: 08/30/13, 03:04

This is the stupidest thing I've ever seen, and I've been on safari.


Nah, I get what they're going for with this but damn that design seems quite uninspired.

Posted by

carlosrox

on: 08/30/13, 04:37

@carlosrox
It's inspired by cutting costs, no 3D, only one screen, no hinge, it probably cost 50% of what the 3DS cost to manufacture so they can lower the price and increase profits at the same time. This is what happens when spreadsheet determines design instead of aesthetics, functionality, or innovation.

Posted by

deathly_hallows

on: 08/30/13, 05:11

Edited:

08/30/13, 05:49

Before everyone craps on its functionality, has anyone actually held this thing yet?

Posted by

DrFinkelstein

on: 08/30/13, 05:15

deathly_hallows said:

Couch co-op is awesome and will always have a place in gaming, but it's not the mainstream, it's the niche, you have it backwards.

Which is why local multiplayer games like Wii Sports, Mario Kart, Just Dance, NSMB, etc. sell terribly.

Posted by

Jargon

on: 08/30/13, 05:50

@Hinph@Renjaku Just to be clear here, I was trying to be facetious, but it may have gotten lost in text...

Posted by

Mop it up

on: 08/30/13, 05:59

@Jargon
All those games sold great like 5 years ago, how many copies of online games like CoD have been sold since then? How many copies will GTA sell in one month?

Posted by

deathly_hallows

on: 08/30/13, 06:15

@deathly_hallows

You seem to misunderstand. My wife doesn't PLAY, she watches. And when my head is inside an ugly Darth Vader helmet, that's not really hanging out together in front of the TV. I can't glance over and talk to her while playing. It's super impersonal. I'm not saying it couldn't or isn't amazing, I'm saying it's totally lacking human interaction and as such could never be the hit of the Wii Remote or even Kinect.

@Hinph

It's the exact OPPOSITE of the Wii Remote. The Wii Remote was the monster success it was because it brought people together. It was where you grabbed some friends and stood around your living room pretending to bowl, laughing and building relationships and being together. Where when you hit some winning shot in tennis you can shake your fist in a mocking way at your buddy and grin like an idiot. This is anti-together, which is why I don't think for a second it can have the same appeal.

Will it be a huge hit with, again, the fringe gamer who plays all alone? You bet! Seems amazing. Yet it lacks what is required for mass market appeal. Namely human interaction in a personal space. It is a niche device. A great one, and I'm sure a successful one.

Go check the numbers on sales of board games, that you play with other human beings, vs. single player video games. It's not even close. Humans are social creatures, we're not built to live inside helmets. Heck, the single player games we're talking about are mostly multiplayer ones, just online! But you aren't locking yourself in a room and playing all alone most of the time. (And if you are, that's fine, but know that you're in the minority. Most people have families, especially older gamers who could afford this. Younger ones who can't afford it probably have parents who would be aghast at their kids sitting in the living room with a visor on ignoring the real world.)

Posted by

-JKR-

on: 08/30/13, 06:26

VofEscaflowne said:

Haha....

................................................. that journalism was so terrible I am now bleeding from the ears. "2dees" indeed.

Posted by

Chocobo_Rider

on: 08/30/13, 06:49

@-JKR-
But in a few years the rift won't be a giant Darth Vader helmet (although think of the branding opportunities! ), it will just be this sleek, lightweight device that won't be obtrusive or uncomfortable to wear. I see your point though, unless 2 people are wearing rifts and playing a game together there will be a lot of limitations compared to gaming on a TV, for example your friends or spouse or whatever can't see what you're seeing as you play.

I still think you're underestimating how many gamers don't care about stuff like that, they are happy to sit alone in front of their PC or Xbox and play games solo or online. Couch co-op is not the defining factor in the industry, there will always be games like Rock Band that is a shared communal experience, but for every one of those there are a dozen games like Tomb Raider, Bioshock Infinite, and The Last of Us that are all about immersing a single player into a world (offline or online with friends) and for those games the Rift is perfect.

Also you have to remember when it comes to playing single player or online games vs. playing Smash Bros. or a board game with a big group those two things aren't mutually exclusionary. I play Dominion with my friends almost every weekend but none of them besides me play video games at all. It's possible to enjoy social activities and still play games solo, many gamers (possibly even most gamers) enjoy doing both.

Posted by

deathly_hallows

on: 08/30/13, 14:55

Edited:

08/30/13, 15:06

deathly_hallows said:

@Jargon
All those games sold great like 5 years ago, how many copies of online games like CoD have been sold since then? How many copies will GTA sell in one month?

Not nearly as many as Mario Kart or Wii Sports sold.

Posted by

Shadowlink

on: 08/30/13, 15:26

Edited:

08/30/13, 15:27

deathly_hallows said:

Also you have to remember when it comes to playing single player or online games vs. playing Smash Bros. or a board game with a big group those two things aren't mutually exclusionary. I play Dominion with my friends almost every weekend but none of them besides me play video games at all. It's possible to enjoy social activities and still play games solo, many gamers (possibly even most gamers) enjoy doing both.

Good point. So then I guess my qualm was with the idea of this sort of VR taking OVER the space that currently exists. And while I still don't see it as the next step in gaming (A step, maybe, but not THE) I get what you mean much better now. Thanks for fully explaining. :)

Posted by

-JKR-

on: 08/30/13, 16:00