Nintendo made a surprise announcement on Wednesday with the announcement of another ‘member of the Nintendo 3DS family.’ The Nintendo 2DS will launch as an affordable entry into Nintendo handheld gaming.
Nintendo 2DS will be available in Red or Blue and will hit retail stores on October 12th at a suggested retail price of $129.99. The new hardware will launch alongside Pokemon X and Pokemon Y.
The Nintendo 2DS hardware is essentially a 3DS sans the 3D component and will play all existing DS and 3DS games. The system also features a distinctive fixed, slate-type form factor. Gone are the clamshell design and the hinges. The system will then also have an optional carrying case also available in Red or Blue at launch at a suggested retail price of $12.99.
The launch of the new hardware will allow for even more penetration into the marketplace. The lower price point, which is $50 cheaper than the Nintendo 3DS, should allow for increased sales of the platform, especially among buyers who aren’t concerned with 3D gaming.
But is 3D gaming going away? Nintendo recently spoke with GameSpot.
“It doesn’t mean that we are not committed at all to 3D and that we don’t think that’s a really valuable, unique eye-popping feature for a lot of gamers,” Moffitt told GameSpot. “We just wanted to continue growing the installed base and needed to find a way to get to a price point that was more accessible for a broad swath of consumers.”
“As we surveyed the marketplace, it seemed to us that there was an opportunity for something at that lower, entry level price point,” he added.
What do you think of this 2D version of the 3DS?
