Hey, everyone.
I'm Jeff Bakalar for CNET.com.
Right now I'm taking a look at the Nintendo 2DS.
So I'm sure you've heard about this.
This is Nintendo's brand-new 3Ds.
Even though it's called the 2DS it can still play any 3DS game, any DS game but it just can't play it in 3D, so you got that?
Good.
So here's the deal.
It feels pretty cheap because it is cheap.
It's only $130, but it's not really for the adult portable gamer.
So it's not really for me and it's not really for any older gamers.
It's for your kids because they break stuff and this is kind of unbreakable.
It doesn't have a hinge like the 3DS so it makes it a little less breakable.
The only real moving parts on this thing are the joystick and I can't really see a little kid breaking this as easily as he or she would with the
3DS.
So that's basically the idea behind the design.
So it's got this really interesting sort of wedge-shaped design kind of looks like a doorstop in many ways.
The back buttons, the L and R shoulder buttons are enormous.
They're a lot bigger than what you're used to on the 3DS or the 3DS XL.
That said, that's really the biggest sort of changes you'll notice.
There's also a different location for the headphone port, the home button feels a little differently and to shut the screen off, you now have
this sleep switch instead of being able to close the screen like you could on the 3DS.
Around here on the side is an SD card slot, and Nintendo is nice enough to include a 4-gigabyte SD card.
What else is different?
Well, they've changed the location of the joystick and the buttons.
So if you recall on the 3DS they flanked the lower touchscreen.
On the 2DS, they are higher up so when you're holding it, it does feel a little
awkward.
I'm not gonna lie.
It definitely feels a little strange.
You're gonna have to hold it with one hand like you would the 3DS to use the stylus, which is included here on the back.
Other than that, like I said not a gigantic difference.
Here's something that's a little weird.
Why does it have 2 lenses on the back?
It could take 3D photos but you can't see anything in 3D because it's for kids and kids, they're not supposed to look at the 3D pictures because it's like, you know, messes up their eyes and what not.
Nevertheless,
you can still take 3D photos on the 2DS which you can only view on the 3DS, so I hope you're taking notes because this is really confusing for me, all right?
I can only imagine what a mom or dad would be experiencing trying to understand all this as well.
Okay.
So this doesn't really have any protection on it, right?
The 3DS you can close and not really worry about scratching the screen.
What's gonna happen when you give this to a 5-year-old?
That's gonna get really gunky
and messy and it's gonna get food and all the other things that these kids find themselves playing around with.
It's gonna get on the sides here.
It's gonna be a disaster.
So Nintendo is selling for $12.99 a little pouch here that can fit the 2DS very easily, nice little sandwich pouch it's got here and there you go and you're all set and that's the kind of protection, well it's really the only protection you can do on the 2DS, so that will just about do it.
Interestingly enough, the cartridge, little slot in the back here is just moved off to the side, no big deal.
It's got that same power interface as the 3DS and the 3DS XL and that is just gonna about do it for my First Look at the Nintendo 2DS.
For CNET.com, I'm Jeff Bakalar.
Thanks for watching.
