# Nintendo Reveals The Hideous $130 2DS, Will Cut Wii U Price To $299



## Kid_Eternity (Aug 28, 2013)

Nintendo's denial continues; rather than shitting themselves over the rise of tablets and smartphones they should release their games on all profitable platforms. Otherwise they risk irrelevance within the next decade...





> Nintendo wants to compete with cheap tablets more than ever, just not the way you think. The company will release a new version of the 3DS, the Nintendo 2DS — it has a tablet-esque form factor. As the name suggests, it is a 2D-only handheld console compatible with 3DS and DS games. At $129.99, the 2DS is $50 cheaper than its sibling. The company also announced a $50 price cut for the Wii U on September 20, ahead of the releases of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.


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## fen_boy (Aug 28, 2013)

They say it's for young kids and it's released same day as pokemon x nd y, so maybe its for that. It's all a bit baffling though.


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## FaradayCaged (Aug 28, 2013)

So it basically a 3ds, in 2d and not in a clamshell form?


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## Fez909 (Aug 28, 2013)

Denial? Someone posted the numbers on the other thread which proves Nintendo are doing fine.

And tablets are shit for games at the minute. Hideous is a word I'd use to describe the fake on-screen controls that any of the potentially decent mobile games have. Touch screen just doesn't lend itself to complex gaming. Yet(?)

This will sell bucket loads and I actually prefer the look of it to the 3DS - 3D is a horrible gimmick.


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## ChrisFilter (Aug 28, 2013)

As fez says, tablet gaming is shit. 

Why the anti-Nintendo obsession, ke?


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## Fez909 (Aug 28, 2013)

ChrisFilter said:


> As fez says, tablet gaming is shit.
> 
> Why the anti-Nintendo obsession, ke?


 
It's not anti-Nintendo. It's anti anyone Apple are in competition with.


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## ChrisFilter (Aug 28, 2013)

Fair point.


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## Crispy (Aug 28, 2013)

Nintendo is sitting on an enormous pile of money. They can afford to have an off generation with both their consoles at the same time. As long as people keep on buying Mario and Zelda, the company will do just fine. Sometimes they can have a massive successes, NES, Wii or DS style. Sometimes they just do so-so and get by on their faithful fans (Gamecube I'm looking at you).


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## tommers (Aug 28, 2013)

I had never heard the term "form factor" until today, when reading about this.

It just means "shape", doesn't it. So just say "shape" you pretentious wankers.

"tablet-esque form factor" FFS.


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## tommers (Aug 28, 2013)

It doesn't even look like a fucking tablet.  It looks more like the pretend laptop I bought for my 3 year old.


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## magneze (Aug 28, 2013)

Form factor is more than shape.


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## skyscraper101 (Aug 28, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> And tablets are shit for games at the minute. Hideous is a word I'd use to describe the fake on-screen controls that any of the potentially decent mobile games have. Touch screen just doesn't lend itself to complex gaming. Yet(?)


 
Completely agree. I was playing Sonic on my phone recently and its crap compared to the physical joypad I used to have on my megadrive. I lose the game because the controls aren't as responsive and I can't feel them. It's Rubbish.

That said, you can get cheapish iphone/ipad controllers for gaming can't you? I think I'd be more willing to invest in something like that than a new bit of hardware with its own platform which will run the risk of platform/format obsolescence and depreciation in value.

I know it sort of defeats the point to attach controller devices to touch screens, but it's probably cheaper in the long run as iOS and Android aren't going to disappear anytime soon. I'd wager that they'll be around a lot longer than whatever incarnation of console Nintendo keep coming up with. At least you can re-download the games.


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## Kid_Eternity (Aug 29, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> It's not anti-Nintendo. It's anti anyone Apple are in competition with.


 

Like fuck it is; Nintendo are threatened by *ALL* smartphones and tablets not just Apple's, everyone's.

The shift in consumer buying and usage patterns has already begun and it's clearly pivoted toward mobile. Nintendo is the weakest of the three when it comes their console business' long term viability in the face of that. The other two have other businesses or ways of turning their boxes into all in one content providers. Nintendo has...er...a new crappy version of the DS, a Wii which is new but barely as powerful as a last gen Xbox...and a HUGE denial about mobile and publishing their content on other platforms that will kill them if they're not careful.


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## Fez909 (Aug 29, 2013)

skyscraper101 said:


> Completely agree. I was playing Sonic on my phone recently and its crap compared to the physical joypad I used to have on my megadrive. I lose the game because the controls aren't as responsive and I can't feel them. It's Rubbish.
> 
> That said, you can get cheapish iphone/ipad controllers for gaming can't you? I think I'd be more willing to invest in something like that than a new bit of hardware with its own platform which will run the risk of platform/format obsolescence and depreciation in value.
> 
> I know it sort of defeats the point to attach controller devices to touch screens, but it's probably cheaper in the long run as iOS and Android aren't going to disappear anytime soon. I'd wager that they'll be around a lot longer than whatever incarnation of console Nintendo keep coming up with. At least you can re-download the games.


 
Kid_Eternity actually posted a thread about IOS gaming where they were planning to release a semi-official joypad attachment. If that happens then I think it'll definitely work, but currently you have the possibility of making your game joypad aware, but hardly anyone does because hardly anyone has the attachments. And as a developer, you can't know which one they've got. So the game has to be developed to the lowest common denominator: the touch screen 

Make them 'official' though, and you will have a set of constraints to work within and you might know that say 60% of the people buying your game are likely to have the adapter, so you can make the call to include the advanced input and only lose 40% of your potential audience, instead of anything up to what? 99%?

Standardisation is the key. Until that's nailed, touch screens are not there yet.


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## skyscraper101 (Aug 29, 2013)

^ nail on head.


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## Kid_Eternity (Aug 29, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> Kid_Eternity actually posted a thread about IOS gaming where they were planning to release a semi-official joypad attachment. If that happens then I think it'll definitely work, but currently you have the possibility of making your game joypad aware, but hardly anyone does because hardly anyone has the attachments. And as a developer, you can't know which one they've got. So the game has to be developed to the lowest common denominator: the touch screen
> 
> Make them 'official' though, and you will have a set of constraints to work within and you might know that say 60% of the people buying your game are likely to have the adapter, so you can make the call to include the advanced input and only lose 40% of your potential audience, instead of anything up to what? 99%?
> 
> Standardisation is the key. Until that's nailed, touch screens are not there yet.


 

If there are more touch screen devices than consoles who do you think companies will prioritise game releases for? People really have their head in the sand on this one.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Aug 29, 2013)

As others have said anything requiring a fast response time like a platform game, shooter or driving game is suitable on a touch screen. 

The biggest competition from tablets and phones is that people have limited disposal income to spend on toys, so may choose to make do if they aren't a hardcore gamer. 

I bet one of those things survives being dropped a lot better then my note as well.


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## Fez909 (Aug 29, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Like fuck it is; Nintendo are threatened by *ALL* smartphones and tablets not just Apple's, everyone's.
> 
> The shift in consumer buying and usage patterns has already begun and it's clearly pivoted toward mobile. Nintendo is the weakest of the three when it comes their console business' long term viability in the face of that. The other two have other businesses or ways of turning their boxes into all in one content providers. Nintendo has...er...a new crappy version of the DS, a Wii which is new but barely as powerful as a last gen Xbox...and a HUGE denial about mobile and publishing their content on other platforms that will kill them if they're not careful.


 
Kill them? lol. They've got some of the biggest selling games of the year, and they're (mostly) all made in-house. Animal Crossing on the 3DS has sold 5.5 million copies. That is almost all profit for Nintendo. The sales from the 2DS (which will be substantial) will be almost all profit. They're under no threat at all at the minute.

Oh, and btw. The biggest selling game on mobile platforms? Tetris. A Nintendo title.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Aug 29, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> If there are more touch screen devices than consoles who do you think companies will prioritise game releases for? People really have their head in the sand on this one.



How much is the average game on a phone?


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## Shippou-Sensei (Aug 29, 2013)

to be honest most touchscreen games  are mediocre.  there are some good ones i'm sure  but  not a great many.

also playing conroller based games on a touchscreen  suuuuuucks  turn based games  like jrpgs  are a little less frustration but action games  suck arse on a touch screen.

yeah you can get adapters and stuff but  when you can  just  buy a ds  i think most  people into games  will go that route  not to mention the awesome back catalouge of nintendo games.

the problem is  getting a physical d pad and buttons onto a phone/tablet    without them  the  game interface is massivly inferiour   and  i'm guessing 75% of phone users  won't want them on their phone.  your stuck  with wiered  bluetooth  combination gamepad and  phone holder.

unless there is some real revolution in controllers  i don't  think  the ds is all that threatened


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## skyscraper101 (Aug 29, 2013)

That's why in a way Apple have always been the best bet for hardware developers. There's only one, or two viable form factors to design a controller case for - unlike with Android where you've got a gazillion different makes and models of phones and its not pontless trying to sustain any level of consistency.

I mean, look how well bedside ipod alarm clocks have done, or the market for cheap cases, or any number of peripherals you can plug into an iphone or ipad. They're so much more plentiful because of the standardization of iOS and the hardware which runs on it (rare docking connection point changes aside).

As Fez said, if Apple or someone were to release an official controller, it'd be a lot more encouraging to developers to create games which can be controlled by its buttons. The only reason I'm ever slightyly tempted to switch to iOS is because I know the market for peripherals is way better. And I'm not just talking games. I'd rather like an iphone bedside clock too


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## Crispy (Aug 29, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> If there are more touch screen devices than consoles who do you think companies will prioritise game releases for? People really have their head in the sand on this one.


 
There are also many more laptops than there are games consoles. Why then, can you only play Skylanders on a console?
Answer: Because consoles are designed for playing games on. Until touchscreen devices can offer responsive and accurate interfaces, they will be crap for playing most types of game.


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## mauvais (Aug 29, 2013)

Have You Ever Thought Of Writing Headlines For Gizmodo?


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## mauvais (Aug 29, 2013)

Oh, my mistake, hold that CV back. It's a C&P from _Tech Crunch_.


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## mwgdrwg (Aug 29, 2013)

Change the fucking record.


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## Yetman (Aug 29, 2013)

If they'd had just made the 3DS games playable on the original DS this wouldn't have been a problem 

*looks at redundant DS sitting under the bed*


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## Kid_Eternity (Sep 2, 2013)

Heh yeah it's pretty piss poor to promote the lack of the key feature of the 3DS as a big thing. It's great, it plays ALL your 3DS games except without 3D!!


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## Kid_Eternity (Sep 2, 2013)

mwgdrwg said:


> Change the fucking record.



Mate, if you don't like it kindly fuck off to another thread instead of whining like a bitch on this one.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Sep 2, 2013)

actually  i listened to a couple of game people  talking about  how it's actually  a good  babys first DS  kids seems to break   the hinged DSs 

no hinge  plus a smaller size   and cheaper price means it  better catered for  younger users.

get the kids hooked young.


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## DotCommunist (Sep 2, 2013)

grown men, getting the hump with each other over a games console.


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## Crispy (Sep 3, 2013)

The ever astute John Siracusa writes: http://hypercritical.co/2013/09/02/nintendo-in-crisis


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## Citizen66 (Sep 3, 2013)

Fez909 said:
			
		

> Denial? Someone posted the numbers on the other thread which proves Nintendo are doing fine.
> 
> And tablets are shit for games at the minute. Hideous is a word I'd use to describe the fake on-screen controls that any of the potentially decent mobile games have. Touch screen just doesn't lend itself to complex gaming. Yet(?)
> 
> This will sell bucket loads and I actually prefer the look of it to the 3DS - 3D is a horrible gimmick.



Tablets lend themselves well to board and mouse click games. Shite if any kind of joystick would be suitable.


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## elbows (Sep 3, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> Kid_Eternity actually posted a thread about IOS gaming where they were planning to release a semi-official joypad attachment. If that happens then I think it'll definitely work, but currently you have the possibility of making your game joypad aware, but hardly anyone does because hardly anyone has the attachments. And as a developer, you can't know which one they've got. So the game has to be developed to the lowest common denominator: the touch screen
> 
> Make them 'official' though, and you will have a set of constraints to work within and you might know that say 60% of the people buying your game are likely to have the adapter, so you can make the call to include the advanced input and only lose 40% of your potential audience, instead of anything up to what? 99%?
> 
> Standardisation is the key. Until that's nailed, touch screens are not there yet.



It's not an if, its a definite. The spec & software side of things is official Apple, coming with iOS 7, while the hardware itself will be made by a range of other hardware companies rather than Apple. There are a couple of different versions of the spec, including one which does not not act as a case round the iOS device and is therefore well suited to tablets. The number of buttons etc, their sensitivity and the deadzones of the sticks are part of the spec and Apple will strictly enforce such standards. I don't know when the first versions will be out but it should be well before the end of the year.

The main limitation to this plan is that Apple are not allowing software developers to make games that only work with the hardware controller, you still have to include support for those who don't own any kind of joypad and will just be using the touchscreen.


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## ffsear (Sep 3, 2013)

Nintendo have a complete gaming niche.   They are not under threat at all.


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## Fez909 (Sep 3, 2013)

elbows said:


> The main limitation to this plan is that Apple are not allowing software developers to make games that only work with the hardware controller, you still have to include support for those who don't own any kind of joypad and will just be using the touchscreen.



Pointless then.


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## mwgdrwg (Sep 3, 2013)

ffsear said:


> Nintendo have a complete gaming niche.   They are not under threat at all.



Quite a big niche it is too. 32.48 million 3DS consoles sold thus far, and Nintendo are yet to release a proper Pokemon game. I'm sure when they release Pokemon X and Y next month they will sell one or two more .


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## mwgdrwg (Sep 3, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Mate, if you don't like it kindly fuck off to another thread instead of whining like a bitch on this one.


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## mwgdrwg (Sep 3, 2013)

http://nintendo1ds.com/


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## elbows (Sep 4, 2013)

Fez909 said:


> Pointless then.



I wouldn't go that far at all. What I expect will happen is that certain genres of game continue to include crappy virtual controls on the touchscreen, but will play much better with the proper hardware. And the developers will be well aware that the casual/mobile equivalent of hardcore gamers will get themselves a hardware controller.


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## Fez909 (Sep 4, 2013)

elbows said:


> I wouldn't go that far at all. What I expect will happen is that certain genres of game continue to include crappy virtual controls on the touchscreen, but will play much better with the proper hardware. And the developers will be well aware that the casual/mobile equivalent of hardcore gamers will get themselves a hardware controller.



Well, I hope you're right, but I have my doubts. Better mobile gaming on IOS benefits everyone as it'll cause Android to up its game too


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## Kid_Eternity (Sep 4, 2013)

mwgdrwg said:


>



Yep that's exactly what you look like when you complain.


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## machine cat (Sep 4, 2013)

Time for another nintendo forum?


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## Silva (Sep 7, 2013)

It's well ugly and takes out the main selling point of the console (shitty to begin with), but I'd feel tempted to pick one to play with Korg DS-10 and M01D again


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## Kid_Eternity (Sep 8, 2013)

It's shit and won't save Nintendo from its destiny to become the gaming equivalent of AOL.


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## Fez909 (Sep 8, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> It's shit and won't save Nintendo from its destiny to become the gaming equivalent of AOL.



What do you find shit about it?


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## mwgdrwg (Sep 8, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> It's shit and won't save Nintendo from its destiny to become the gaming equivalent of AOL.



Yeah, 3DS....what a flop. Only 40 million sold.


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## Kid_Eternity (Sep 8, 2013)

Compared to 500 million Apple ID users or the billion or so Android users? You're an idiot if you can't see that 40 million of a dying paradigm is shit.


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## Kid_Eternity (Sep 8, 2013)

Good piece on Nintendos demise:



> “To quote my six year old daughter, barely looking up from her iPad: ‘What’s a Nintendo?’”



And also this:



> A kid asking “What’s a Nintendo?” may sound preposterous to the ears of an adult weaned on Mario and Zelda, but trust me, put an iPad Mini and a 3DS on a table next to each other, and most kids today will reach, if not jump, for the iPad. If you don’t see that as an existential threat for Nintendo, there’s nothing I can say that will change your mind. A Nintendo that doesn’t make games for iOS is a Nintendo that doesn’t reach today’s kids; a Nintendo that doesn’t reach today’s kids is a Nintendo with no future.



Yup. This is why some people (who's opinion I generally respect but not on this issue) are basically 30 somethings sticking their nostalgic heads in the sand.

Full article here.


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## tommers (Sep 8, 2013)

I'm not sure that's true.  I'd much rather give my son a 2ds than an iPad.  People may not want to carry more than 1 device but you're not carrying it, your kid is.  And an iPad is 600 quid or whatever.  No way am I giving that to a 3 year old (and we don't have one).

And his kid might not know who Nintendo are but that's his fault.  Mine does.  We have a Mario quiz every night before he goes to bed.


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## editor (Sep 8, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> It's shit and won't save Nintendo from its destiny to become the gaming equivalent of AOL.


As in report a profit of $25.9 million?


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## mwgdrwg (Sep 9, 2013)

In other anecdotal evidence, my 6 year old son and all of his friends all love Pokemon and Mario. So?

All these 'Apple advocates' (which is just another term for fanbois) and their tech blogs damning Nintendo, they ALL want Nintendo games on iOS. If that doesn't prove the rock-solid demand for Nintendo's quality games and beloved franchises, I don't know what does. Hell, wouldn't you all rather be playing Animal crossing or Pokemon, rather than 4-pictures-one word, os whatever free to play (lot to pay) shit is in vogue this week? Admit it.


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## Kid_Eternity (Sep 9, 2013)

Yeah Nintendo has a bright future....


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## Kid_Eternity (Sep 9, 2013)

I've love Nintendo to return to their glory years rather than another tired rehash of Mario Kart. I'd love nothing more than Nintendo to put their considerable creative talents to use on *ALL MOBILE PLATFORMS* thus ensuring their brand of gaming (or at least what they used to be) survives in the coming mobile computing age.

I'm not harsh on Nintendo out of some brand loyalty (I've owned more Nintendo products than any other company), I just read the numbers, the projections, look at what I see people using (I remember a time I'd see people playing a DS on the tube all the time, not anymore, not even kids) and draw the best conclusions I can.

I'm not burying my head in the sand unlike some of the gamers on here is all...hard truth but there it is...


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## Kid_Eternity (Sep 9, 2013)

tommers said:


> I'm not sure that's true.  I'd much rather give my son a 2ds than an iPad.  People may not want to carry more than 1 device but you're not carrying it, your kid is.  And an iPad is 600 quid or whatever.  No way am I giving that to a 3 year old (and we don't have one).
> 
> And his kid might not know who Nintendo are but that's his fault.  Mine does.  We have a Mario quiz every night before he goes to bed.



You can get an ipad for just over 300 quid and I'd have no problem given one to my kids if I had them at any age they could reasonably use them.


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## fen_boy (Sep 9, 2013)

Kid_Eternity said:


> Yeah Nintendo has a bright future....



I don't see the 3DS on that graph. Am I missing something?


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## mwgdrwg (Sep 11, 2013)

fen_boy said:


> I don't see the 3DS on that graph. Am I missing something?



Missing what is currently the world's best selling console


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## kabbes (Sep 11, 2013)

I don't need the 3D part of the 3DS, and I definitely want to get hold of Pokemon X/Y, so I would happily buy a 2D version of the 3DS, particularly if it was a fair sight cheaper and had a better battery life.  But it has to be clamshell so that I can put it in my jacket pocket.  This non-clamshell version is useless to me.


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## fractionMan (Sep 11, 2013)

tommers said:


> I'm not sure that's true.  I'd much rather give my son a 2ds than an iPad.  People may not want to carry more than 1 device but you're not carrying it, your kid is.  And an iPad is 600 quid or whatever.  No way am I giving that to a 3 year old (and we don't have one).
> 
> And his kid might not know who Nintendo are but that's his fault.  Mine does.  We have a Mario quiz every night before he goes to bed.





mwgdrwg said:


> In other anecdotal evidence, my 6 year old son and all of his friends all love Pokemon and Mario. So?
> 
> All these 'Apple advocates' (which is just another term for fanbois) and their tech blogs damning Nintendo, they ALL want Nintendo games on iOS. If that doesn't prove the rock-solid demand for Nintendo's quality games and beloved franchises, I don't know what does. Hell, wouldn't you all rather be playing Animal crossing or Pokemon, rather than 4-pictures-one word, os whatever free to play (lot to pay) shit is in vogue this week? Admit it.



this.  Also, regardless of the anecdote posted in that article above kids do what nintentos.  I have tons of my own anecdotes to back it up.


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## kabbes (Sep 11, 2013)

I do play games on my Android pad.  However, I have over 200 hours sunk into Pokemon Black 2 alone on the DS.  Nothing produced to date on any tablet could possibly get close to that.  £100 for a DS + £30 for the game means that Black 2 is heading rapidly towards the 50p per hour mark _even if I just bought the DS for that single game alone._  Then you add in the 200+ hours on Advance Wars 2, and the hundreds of hours on various other games and you get to the conclusion that the NDS is a seriously good value bit of entertainment in its own right.


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## editor (Sep 15, 2013)

The Guardian seems enthusiastic. 


> In a market about to present cutting-edge new consoles that are, as at some pixellated, entertainment industry weigh-in, pushing their bulky hardware credentials in each others faces, it's refreshing that videogaming can still find time for innovation amid the undercard.
> 
> The 2DS, then, is at the very opposite end of the spectrum to PS4 and Xbox One: cheap, unsophisticated and kid-friendly. A "my first games console" for a new generation, if you will.
> 
> ...


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