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Nintendo Just Announced the 2DS, a No-3D “Entry-Level” Handheld

2ds-610x486Scheduled to coincide with the launch of Pokemon X and Pokemon Y on October 12th is the just-revealed Nintendo 2DS. It seems that the best way to describe the 2DS is to imagine the 3DS open all the way, without the clamshell configuration or 3D screen. It also comes with a significantly lower price point. At $129.99, the 2DS is $50 cheaper than the 3DS, and $70 cheaper than the 3DS XL. All the other features and functionality are there including WiFi, all the same system software, and everything else- The only real change is that there’s a slider to put it to sleep instead of how you would just close the 3DS.

The 3DS comes bundled with all sorts of warnings about the 3D and younger gamers, so, I guess it makes sense to release a handheld that they can just solely target at the super-young audience who aren’t really supposed to be doing the whole 3D thing while their eyes develop. The lower price point helps too, as kids are going to be able to pick up a 2DS and Pokemon for less than the price of the 3DS, and significantly less than the price of the 3DS XL.

You could make the argument that another SKU is just going to further complicate Nintendo’s handheld lineup, but it seems somewhat inevitable that there’d be some kind of Pokemon bundle that’d make these things fly off the shelves. Either way, October 12th isn’t that far off to see whether we’re right or wrong on that.

[via IGN]