Nintendo shocked the world today by unveiling its next iteration of the 3DS line: the 2DS. That’s right, Nintendo is launching a new model of its flagship product on October 12th without any 3D support. Even more bizarre, it isn’t even in the traditional clamshell design of other DS-branded devices. While the Kyoto company has successfully raised eyebrows across the gaming industry with this announcement, this new model actually does offer some interesting benefits.
First and foremost, this is meant to serve as an entry-level gaming device. For $129.99, it will play every DS and 3DS game — exclusively in 2D. With the recent price drop of the PlayStation Vita to $199.99, and the introduction of the low-end $229 iPod Touch, Nintendo is obviously focused on keeping a substantial price cushion between itself and competitors. Considering that the 3DS has sold roughly six times the units that the Vita has, this push down-market is seemingly little more than the current leader hedging its bets to remain dominant in the face of increased competition.
In this video from our sister site IGN, it’s abundantly clear that Nintendo is pushing this model heavily towards the younger crowd. Not only is the lower price easier for parents to swallow, but the lack of 3D means that Nintendo is finally comfortable marketing towards children younger than 7. With the 3DS, Nintendo has gone out of its way to warn parents not to let their young children play in 3D-mode because it could potentially cause vision problems for immature eyes. Now that Nintendo has a model without that potential risk, parents can rest easy knowing that there is no 3D to enable.
Even with the handful of obvious benefits, this is a really strange marketing decision. The simultaneous existence of the 2DS and 3DS will undoubtedly cause some amount of brand confusion, and as we all know from the botched Wii U launch, Nintendo isn’t exactly an expert at properly clarifying its product lines to consumers. Even worse, it waters down the importance of 3D games on the platform. Now that developers know that they can’t depend on everyone having access to 3D-mode, any sort of clever 3D gameplay mechanics will be tossed right out the window going forward.
Nintendo also announced today that it plans on dropping the MSRP of the deluxe Wii U bundle to $299.99 — the current price of the basic bundle. Starting September 20th, the current 32GB SKU will drop in price, and Nintendo will launch a new 32GB bundle including the HD remake of The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. There is no official word on the fate of the 8GB basic bundle, but since it sold so poorly, it seems likely that Nintendo might axe it completely.
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