Hands on with the new Nintendo 2DS: Plenty of bang for not many bucks

The new Nintendo 2DS is out and we got our greedy little paws on the first one we could! Mmm…we love the smell of new game systems in the morning!

It’s not foldable and it doesn’t have a 3-D screen. On the other hand, it’ll play 3DS games with no problem and it’s significantly cheaper.

But is it worth your cold, hard cash? Find out below!

Affordability is the name of the game

Now, as you already know, the device can’t be folded up like it’s predecessors, and it doesn’t have a 3-D screen. While this may seem like a step in the wrong direction, you have to consider its pricing–only US$130. That’s about $70 dollars less than most recent 3DS XL, which is around $205 new on Amazon. Obviously, you can pick up an older, regular-sized 3DS for less than that, and used is always a less expensive option, but if you’re in the market for a new Nintendo handheld, the 2DS is going to have everything else beat in terms of price.

A solid gaming experience

Considering the size and shape of the unfoldable 2DS, it ended up reminding us of one of those retro handhelds which only had one game, like “Game and Watch.” For those of us who remember them, this lends the new 2DS a sense of nostalgia, which isn’t a bad thing at all.

Game and Watch image via Wikipedia

In general, we found device to be solid and easy to get a good grip on without it feeling awkward. It was overall more comfortable to game on than the 3DS, though it was a little heavier than we had expected. Also, as you might guess from the design, it was a bit top-heavy, but not enough to become a problem as, unlike the regular 3DS, you hold the console towards the upper screen.

It feels like a toy

To be perfectly honest, the exterior feels much cheaper than the 3DS, making it seem more toy-like. But, you know what, it is a toy! So, for us anyway, this was a good point, and we think it’ll appeal to a lot of gamers, and definitely younger kids who don’t care about flashy exteriors and the newest tech.

But of course, there’s still that region lock…

▼Sorry! No Japanese games for you!

Like the Nintendo 3DS before it, the new 2DS is region-locked, which, unfortunately, means that devices can only play games with the same region codes, and you can’t access online stores from different regions. Since the 2DS isn’t even available in Japan yet, it means that we couldn’t play our Japanese 3DS games in the new 2DS. What a bummer that was.

3-D photography? Sure, why not!

Though the new 2DS cannot display 3-D content, it can still take 3-D photos and videos as the device comes with two cameras like its predecessor. You can transfer the images to a 3DS and, sure enough, you’ll be able to view them in proper 3-D! Yeah, we’re not exactly sure why this feature was included either, but if you’d liked to check out what kind of photos it can produce, you can download our sample here. Unzip it to get an MPO file which should be viewable on a Nintendo 3DS, a 3D TV, or a 3D monitor.

4GB SDHC cards

The new 2DS come loaded with a 4GB SDHC card with class 4 transfer speed, which means it should be able to read/write at a minimum of 4MB per second.

Now the rumors are that the new 2DS will only be released in Europe and the Americas, and targeted at lower-income earners, but it’s entirely unclear as to whether or not this is true. However, a Japanese release date hasn’t been announced yet, so take that as you will. Since Sony’s new PlayStation Vita Slim is currently Japan only, however, we suppose it’s only fair that the balance has sort of been restored!

Overall, we found Nintendo’s new portable to be a pretty solid gaming device, especially considering its price. And if you don’t care about lugging a larger device around on account of its non-folding design, or 3-D gaming for that matter, this will probably serve you just fine. But please be sure to try before you buy!

Don’t forget to check out more unboxing images below!

Unless otherwise noted, all images by RocketNews24

▼Let’s get this started!