Ever fashion forward, and just in time for swimsuit season, Nintendo has announced the availability of a new color for the handheld 2DS, and will hit the states early next month.
A Closer Look at Nintendo's Latest Handheld, the 2DS
As of June 6, in addition to the bold blue and red, gamers have the option of purchasing a nautical sea green 2DS in North America. Seen above, and describes a press release, "the portable device has a white front and back with sea green accents on the directional pad, face buttons and stylus."
The new bright white of the handheld is a similar shade to Nintendo's Wii and Wii U consoles, and does have a nice summery feel to it. It will retail for the same price as the other colors of 2DS, $129.99.
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The 2DS was first introduced in August, and hit store shelves in October. Nintendo of America's COO, Reggie Fils-Aime, says the gadget is meant for "the entry-level consumer looking for lower-priced access to a fantastic library."
This version of the handheld boasts about every feature as the regular and XL 3DS, but without the 3D view: the same amount of controls, screens (1 touch, 1 standard widescreen), plays all the DS and 3DS games, has motion and gyro sensors, cameras, etc, but features subtle differences in design.
For example, the analog stick and buttonsare significantly closer to the game's top screen, but it should to keep players' thumbs from sliding onto the bottom touch screen during bouts of intense play. But the most glaringly obvious feature is the handheld's size.
Both the 2DS's screens are the same size as the traditional 3DS at roughly 3.5 inches for the wide screen, and 3 inches for the touch screen. However, the 2DS screens are outsized by the XL, but that's to be expected, it IS XL after all. In terms of actual dimensions, the 2DS as is is smaller than both the 3DS and 3DS XL when unfolded, measuring 5 inches high, and 5.7 inches wide. At .8 inches thick, it's the thinnest of the DS's, barely edging out 3DS by a smidge.
Unlike the 3DS and 3DS XL, the 2DS doesn't fold, which has a two fold effect. First, it's not nearly as potable, and it also loses the simple "snap to sleep" mode. To counteract this, Nintendo added a sleep switch. The remaining differences between the handhelds are minute:
- the 2DS heavier than the 3DS, but lighter than the XL.
- in terms of battery life, the 2DS is said to play games a bit longer than the 3DS, but not quite as long as the XL
- like the 3DS, a power adapter is included with purchase of the 2DS, unlike the XL
- it has speakers chirping monaural sound, and stereo with headphones. The 3DS and XL both have stereo sound regardless
It's the price that's easily the best difference. The 2DS launched with a retail price of $129.99, where it's stayed since, compared to the current price of the 3DS and 3DS XL, which fluctuates between $149 and $169 depending on the retailer.
