Nintendo recently announced the newest entry in their 3DS line of products, the New Nintendo 2DS XL. The 3DS already has several iterations, including the original 3DS, the 3DS XL, the original 2DS, the New 3DS and the New 3DS XL, so the announcement of yet another iteration has left some people wondering why. Luckily, GameSpot reports that Reggie Fils-Aime, the President of Nintendo of America, opened up about Nintendo’s decision to make the new product.
Fils-Aime explains that the original 2DS was intended for the “entry level gamer.” He explains that the target consumers for the handheld console were young kids just getting into gaming. That’s why the 2DS was not as powerful as the 3DS, excluded 3D capabilities, had a large, sturdy design rather than the clamshell design the entire DS line has been known for and why the 2DS is significantly cheaper than the 3DS.
Fils-Aime goes on to explain that the New 3DS XL is “the Cadillac of handheld gaming,” costing much more than the 2DS but delivering more. Fils-Aime basically says that the 2DS and New 3DS XL appear at opposite ends of the gamer spectrum; on one side you have the 2DS, the cheap device intended for new gamers, and on the other side is the New 3DS XL, the expensive console made for more hardcore gamers. Fils-Aime says that Nintendo “heard from consumers, ‘Boy, I wish there was something in between.'” And thus the New 2DS XL was born, a handheld console as powerful as the New 3DS XL but cheaper to make it more accessible to a broader audience.
The New 2DS XL hits stores in North America and Europe on July 28 for $149 or £133 and will come to Australia even sooner on June 15 for AU $200.