2DS...ugliest console of all time?

Richard Dower

http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/nintendo-2ds-and-the-ugliest-consoles-of-all-time

^ its been getting a pretty universal pasting since the announcement yesterday.....:o

Retr0gamer

It's not a looker but it's better than the PS2 which looks like the unholy union of a radiator and an 80's CD player.

Angron

I wouldn't say the ugliest ever, but it does look pretty bad.

keelanj69

Dear god, I thought it was a píss take.

Angron

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAExBTWIp3M

"It plays 3DS games in 2D!", also known as turning off the 3D on the normal 3DS. Seems it has all of the features of the 3DS, but much less portability.

Banjo

You can't hold a door open with a 3DS the same way you can with a 2DS, due to it's superior wedgey styling.

It occurs to me though that you can't play Phantom Hourglass on it, because you'll get stuck on the first island, unable to progress, or you'll snap your 2DS in half trying to touch the 2 screens together... Also, how's it going to spotpass? What happens if you buy something off the eShop and accidentally choose Sleep Mode Download? And are you expected to gouge 2 lines into the upper screen yourself for the authentic 3DS experience?

deathrider

It looks like a V-Tech.

K.O.Kiki

I like it.

*edit*
http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/7-reasons-the-xbox-one-is-better-than-the-ps4

HAHAHAHA
>takes TrustedReviews off list of sites to take seriously

Potential-Monke

I don't see the point in it...

Skerries

it's designed for young kids that would normally break the hinges

Downlinz

Skerries wrote: »

it's designed for young kids that would normally break the hinges

And for parents concerned about the 3D melting their kids brains.

gambitthefirst

deathrider wrote: »

It looks like a V-Tech.

well it is aimed at kids 7 & under, so it makes sense to make it look and feel like something they have already grown up playing on. plus the cheap price will make it a more appealing option for parents with young kids.

But yes it does look pretty damn bad

GTR63

Potential-Monke wrote: »

I don't see the point in it...

Its going to be cheap, thats the point

Thecageyone

It's Nintendo saying "The 3D was a silly idea, nobody actually uses it" - and then throwing a cheap lump at joe public and coming up with excuses as to why

Gulliver

GTR63 wrote: »

Its going to be cheap everywhere except in Ireland, thats the point

Fixed that for you

penev10

If it was April I'd reckon that was a wind up. Horrible looking and pointless imo.

I've been enjoying Fire Emblem on the 3DS but it's shape gives you numb hands after a while. I was hoping any hardware revision would be a bit more ergonomic. The flip screen is an essential too, how is that bulky yoke portable?

Banjo

This is not meant to fit in you pocket. But it can be put in the car or carried from the sitting room to the playroom or used in a buggy to keep you quiet while Daddy walks past the makeup stand for the 3rd time trying to get that eastern european lady to stop him and ask if she can ask him a question.

Personally I'd buy one to wear around my neck like Tweaky. Ninty should totally make a doctor Theopolis eShop title that can see the world through the 3D Camera, perform complex pattern recognition routines and dispense advice accordingly

seraphimvc

Skerries wrote: »

it's designed for young kids that would normally break the hinges

Downlinz wrote: »

And for parents concerned about the 3D melting their kids brains.

Thats the niche market they are aiming, nothing big like some people make out to be lol.

noodler

If its considerably cheaper than a normal 3DS then I would probably get it.

I have no need for the 3D gimmick.

deathrider

noodler wrote: »

If its considerably cheaper than a normal 3DS then I would probably get it.

I have no need for the 3D gimmick.

No need for said gimmickry myself either, but I do need something that will fit confortably into my pocket. I don't currently have a 3DS, but I play the hell out of my regular DS as I travel quite a lot. The joy of it is being able to slip it into my pocket at a moment's notice. With soemthing this size, it would really defeat the purpose, in my oppinion. Ilooks about he same size as the rerelease PSOnes.

o1s1n

noodler wrote: »

I have no need for the 3D gimmick.

There are two main uses for 3D.

• The gimmick feature (good example would be most 3D films and many 3DS games)
• Using it as an integral part of gameplay.

Unfortunately the first use detracts from the whole 3D thing, but the second is great. Have you tried Mighty Switch Force 1&2 or Pullblox? All fantastic games which need 3D to function.

It's not an 'oooh! shiny 3D effects!' gimmick, it's part of the gameplay itself.

abbir

Banjo wrote: »

It occurs to me though that you can't play Phantom Hourglass on it, because you'll get stuck on the first island, unable to progress, or you'll snap your 2DS in half trying to touch the 2 screens together... Also, how's it going to spotpass? What happens if you buy something off the eShop and accidentally choose Sleep Mode Download? And are you expected to gouge 2 lines into the upper screen yourself for the authentic 3DS experience?

It has a switch to enter sleep mode so I guess that switch will work for Phantom Hourglass too.

Dravokivich

Wasn't the 2d version of the 3ds the DS? That handheld console that they originally revised to be smaller, then shortly afterwords they reluanched a bigger version. No surprise they went from 3d to 2d.

deathrider

Dravokivich wrote: »

Wasn't the 2d version of the 3ds the DS? That handheld console that they originally revised to be smaller, then shortly afterwords they reluanched a bigger version. No surprise they went from 3d to 2d.

Not exactly, since you can't play 3DS games on the DS.

EGriff

I don't get the big deal about the appearance, looks alright to me. I don't think it would be nice to hold though, crappy ergonomics.

K.O.Kiki

Dravokivich wrote: »

Wasn't the 2d version of the 3ds the DS? That handheld console that they originally revised to be smaller, then shortly afterwords they reluanched a bigger version. No surprise they went from 3d to 2d.

No.

The DS predates the 3DS by 6.5 years.

You have internet. This means you have Wikipedia.
Use it.

Radiosonde

o1s1n wrote: »

Unfortunately the first use detracts from the whole 3D thing, but the second is great. Have you tried Mighty Switch Force 1&2 or Pullblox? All fantastic games which need 3D to function.

You can play Pullblox without 3D. Nintendo actually have a rule that games developed for the system must be fully playable with 3D switched off.

I think it's a nice feature when used well though.

Dravokivich

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

No.

The DS predates the 3DS by 6.5 years.

You have internet. This means you have Wikipedia.
Use it.

That was the point of my post. The rest of it there... Read it

super_furry

I think it's genius. It's robust, sturdy and solid - perfect for the toddler to pre-teen market it's aimed at. There's no 3D because it's not recommended for children under 10 and there are no hinges because they're usually the first thing kids break on them.

The 2DS isn't for us, we've already got the 3DS and 3DSXL. It's for parents who are looking for a first console for their kids and it'll sell millions.

Richard Dower

video unboxing; http://ie.ign.com/videos/2013/08/30/nintendo-2ds-unboxing

GTR63

super_furry wrote: »

I think it's genius. It's robust, sturdy and solid - perfect for the toddler to pre-teen market it's aimed at. There's no 3D because it's not recommended for children under 10 and there are no hinges because they're usually the first thing kids break on them.

The 2DS isn't for us, we've already got the 3DS and 3DSXL. It's for parents who are looking for a first console for their kids and it'll sell millions.

I don't get that people don't see it more or less targeted at kids to put in the school bag and sad to say families on tight budgets.

o1s1n

Radiosonde wrote: »

You can play Pullblox without 3D. Nintendo actually have a rule that games developed for the system must be fully playable with 3D switched off.

I think it's a nice feature when used well though.

You can and you can also play Mighty Switch force. However as far as I'm concerned it's integral to the gameplay in both games. They're built around the concept of having 3D switched on to play them properly.

CastorTroy

It's actually not as bad looking as I thought
http://ie.ign.com/videos/2013/08/30/nintendo-2ds-unboxing

o1s1n

Yeah it's kind of growing on me. The colour design on the black one with the red stripe kind of reminds me of the Wii mini. I guess that's not accidental.

johnny_ultimate

o1s1n wrote: »

You can and you can also play Mighty Switch force. However as far as I'm concerned it's integral to the gameplay in both games. They're built around the concept of having 3D switched on to play them properly.

Not integral though Mechanically, Mighty Switch Force functions identically with or without the 3D - at very best, it's a neat flourish, not a vital element of the experience but one that adds extra aesthetic oomph. In fact, I'm pretty sure Nintendo have always had a rule that 3D can't be vital (the puzzle rooms in Mario 3D Land push it, though). 3D might add to Mighty Switch Force, but it doesn't define it.

This is my problem with 3D generally - it can removed, and the game / film will still be basically identical. Sure, it can occasionally enhance the images, and something coming at the screen looks ridiculous in 2D (the ending of Amazing Spider-Man is he worst case I've ever seen). But no one - game developer or filmmaker - has convinced me that 3D is 100% integral to the experience.

Radiosonde

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Not integral though Mechanically, Mighty Switch Force functions identically with or without the 3D - at very best, it's a neat flourish, not a vital element of the experience but one that adds extra aesthetic oomph. In fact, I'm pretty sure Nintendo have always had a rule that 3D can't be vital (the puzzle rooms in Mario 3D Land push it, though). 3D might add to Mighty Switch Force, but it doesn't define it.

This is my problem with 3D generally - it can removed, and the game / film will still be basically identical. Sure, it can occasionally enhance the images, and something coming at the screen looks ridiculous in 2D (the ending of Amazing Spider-Man is he worst case I've ever seen). But no one - game developer or filmmaker - has convinced me that 3D is 100% integral to the experience.

Could say the same about colour in a lot of cases (actually, the brown/grey palette of many games makes me think a lot of developers have decided colour is redundant!)

o1s1n

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Not integral though Mechanically, Mighty Switch Force functions identically with or without the 3D - at very best, it's a neat flourish, not a vital element of the experience but one that adds extra aesthetic oomph. In fact, I'm pretty sure Nintendo have always had a rule that 3D can't be vital (the puzzle rooms in Mario 3D Land push it, though). 3D might add to Mighty Switch Force, but it doesn't define it.

This is my problem with 3D generally - it can removed, and the game / film will still be basically identical. Sure, it can occasionally enhance the images, and something coming at the screen looks ridiculous in 2D (the ending of Amazing Spider-Man is he worst case I've ever seen). But no one - game developer or filmmaker - has convinced me that 3D is 100% integral to the experience.

You know what I mean, they're not 100% integral to the gameplay, but the gameplay itself was created around the concept of having 3D on. So for me, it's integral to the creator's vision of how the game should play/look.

Similarly, I don't like playing games in 50hz/RGBless/black and white as it's not what the creators intended.

Have you tried finishing the auto switching final level in Mighty Switch Force with 3D off? Tis a right pain in the arse.

Have you tried playing Pullblox properly with 3D off? I find it turns it into a very messy and far less enjoyable game.

Sounds like there's a couple of 3DS games that I physically can't play then. I can't see the 3D effects so I keep the 3D disabled all the time.

o1s1n

Ah, I wouldn't worry about it. Aside from a few eShop games like that, I'd say I keep it off 95% of the time.

Was a novelty when the console first came out, but now I much rather the extra battery power!

faultytool

Definitely aimed at young kids, and once you look at it from that point of view the design is fine.

Give a parent the sell about 3D effecting the kids eyes, the price, the durability...they'll fly out of the shops come Christmas. It'll even fit in a Christmas sock!