As I'm guessing everyone who is at all interested in Nintendo and its products already knows, the Kyoto-based company announced last night that it will begin selling a new 3DS model in Europe and North America on Oct. 12--alongside a pair of games that are sure to sell a few copies in the coming months and years,
Pokémon X and
Y--for the bargain-basement price of $129.99.
Called the 2DS, this oddly designed system is shaped like a tablet--or, as others have pointed out elsewhere, a tombstone--and reportedly sports screens that are about the same size as the original 3DS. Oh, and as you may have surmised based on its name, those screens do not feature the same glasses-free 3D technology that's been the focal point of every previous piece of 3DS hardware.
As for what I think of this curious contraption: my initial reaction was something along the lines of "woof!" (that's not a good thing, in my case), followed by the kind of face I make whenever I decide to throw caution to the wind and see if my lifelong hatred of oatmeal has waned.
Chiefly responsible for that reaction, I think, is what I consider to be the system's generic, Fisher Price-esque design. I'm also not a fan of the color schemes being offered to North American buyers (the white-and-red 2DS--see below--that will be sold in Europe is a bit better, but only a bit). Also, there's the name--which seems like a potentially disastrous idea given how consumers continue to be confused by the differences between the Wii U and Wii, let alone the DS and 3DS.
All that said, I fully understand that this product is not aimed at gamers like myself. Rather, it's aimed at children and their cost-conscious (and 3D-wary) parents. Those folks very well may welcome the 2DS with open arms, especially if they spot it while searching for copies of
Pokémon X and
Y. Then again, they may reject it due to its less-portable form factor, its scratch-prone screens and its confusing name.
Those are just my opinions on the system, though; what are yours?
