Nintendo Announces 2DS Handheld — Plays 3DS Games In 2-D 156
Today Nintendo announced a new handheld gaming console called the 2DS. It will play all games from the DS and the 3DS, but games from the latter will be shown in 2-D (essentially as if the 3DS's depth slider was turned all the way down). The 2DS abandons the clamshell design of the earlier handhelds; instead, the device is a slightly wedge-shaped tablet with two small LCD screens — thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom. "It's a design that seems calculated to reduce manufacturing costs and durability issues, but it also seems fated to make the system nearly impossible to fit inside most pants pockets. The buttons and controls that were on the bottom half of previous DS and 3DS systems are now shifted toward the top, so you can reach the shoulder buttons that now rest above the top screen. This means you grip the 2DS from the sides rather than supporting it from the bottom with the corners resting in palm of your hand, like previous DS models." Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said the new console is target at younger children, as the 3DS is recommended for players age 7 and up. It's also cheaper than the other models at $130.
Numbering .. (Score:5, Funny)
So we have, chronologically, the original DS, then the 3DS, then the 2DS.
Apparently Nintendo is taking a page from Microsoft's console numbering playbook.
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Re:Numbering .. (Score:5, Funny)
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It's a sequence. What is the next number in the sequence? 1,3,2... the correct answer is 4. From this we can deduce that Nintendo has a 4 dimensional game device in the works, and that it will require inter-dimensional space travel to play.
I'm expecting the 0DS - now in black and white!
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Since you have three data points, the correct model is clearly a parabolic function, which gives us the next Nintendo handheld as the -2DS.
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"But... isn't it just a single blinking pixel?"
"Pffft. You just don't understand gaming technology."
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That would be Odius
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The Nintendo DDS ships with one game, a dentist simulator.
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I hope it comes in blue. It's probably also bigger on the inside.
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It's a sequence. What is the next number in the sequence? 1,3,2... the correct answer is 4. From this we can deduce that Nintendo has a 4 dimensional game device in the works, and that it will require inter-dimensional space travel to play.
Hoenn Confirmed!
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You can have a sequence defined as +2, -1, skipping any repeats.
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Well, they've done so well with the "Wii U", which has seriously confused people who are not gaming enthusiasts.
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Maybe because there are no worthwhile Wii U games compared to the 3DS?
This.
The Wii U is fine as a console (yes, yes, it doesn't have a gazillion pixels or whatever), and there are some great examples of what you can do with the tablet-screen. There's just no damned games for the thing.
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They were going to develop the 4DS, but the research and manufacturing costs were considered prohibitive.
Nintendo's taking a lot of flak for this... (Score:5, Insightful)
No defending the shape, though.
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Re:Nintendo's taking a lot of flak for this... (Score:5, Insightful)
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If you include Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass, which requires you to close the clam-shell to continue past the first third of the game, it could be said that it does limit content...
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Re:Nintendo's taking a lot of flak for this... (Score:5, Insightful)
parents like myself don't want my kid playing in 3D so its not a feature loss
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Yeah, me too. 3D is the work of the devil.
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Can't tell if you're serious or not, but we live in a 3D reality, are you really worried 3D is going to hurt their vision?
Re:Nintendo's taking a lot of flak for this... (Score:5, Informative)
Can't tell if you're serious or not, but we live in a 3D reality, are you really worried 3D is going to hurt their vision?
Yes, there are reports and warnings that forced 3D perspective has negative effects on eye development of young children. While there's also reports to the contrary, it's worth paying attention to (and doesn't appear to be just ignorant fear-mongering):
A report, for example [nbcnews.com]
And a counter report [nbcnews.com]
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There's just a small world of difference between real 3D and the '3D' that a handheld game device can manage. It's not unreasonable to be worried about the long term effects.
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I know I'm late to this thread, but I didn't see anybody else say this.
After my son had corrective surgery for a crossed eye, the surgeon warned us that artificial 3D would inhibit his development of real 3D. He was born with the crossed eye, so he never had stereoscopic vision. It took about 6 months after the surgery to get a bit of depth perception, and about 18 months before he could pass all of the 3D vision tests.
Once he passed all the vision tests, the doc said to avoid artificial 3D, because it co
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It can be controlled on or off from Parental Controls in the 3DS menu behind a pinlock.
Nintendo really needs to amp their showing off parental controls thing so people can still buy a nice clamshell portable system for their child that still has 3D disabled.
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...what? the 3D functionality of the 3DS is not necessary for any game, ever. In fact, many people never touched their 3D slider to begin with.
Re:Nintendo's taking a lot of flak for this... (Score:4, Interesting)
Though, it really does help in some games. Sure, you can play Super Mario 3D Land in 2D, but due to the camera angle, you might easily misjudge some of the jumps and die.Same with Animal Crossing, 3D really helps on judging distance with bug catching.
Is it necessary, no. Is it damn useful when properly done, definitely.
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True enough it can be helpful. I personally love the effect. I thought it was a big gimmick until I actually saw it in person on my new 3DS XL and fell in love with it while playing animal crossing. Still, I mostly just took issue with is analogy, since it implied the thing is basically worthless without the effect.
Re:Nintendo's taking a lot of flak for this... (Score:5, Insightful)
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I guess the closest thing would be a browser that only displays in grayscale.
That would be the browser equivalent of the original Gameboy.
The apparent point of the 2DS is to eliminate a flourish that the market may not feel is worth the cost. I don't think that a full color display falls into that category, but maybe you do.
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Again, all 3DS content will be playable on the 2DS. If you want to use the browser analogy, I guess the closest thing would be a browser that only displays in grayscale.
Needs more automobiles: It's like trading in your car for the same car, except the fine print lets them poke out an eye -- so you can see easier.
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No, I would agree more on grayscale v. color from the GP. The animated and stand still images are completely 2 different contents. In other words, one is displaying content in a different way compared to the other.
I would suggest another comparison which I think it is more appropriate. The 2DS would be similar to a browser that does NOT support gradient display (which imitate 3D display); whereas, the 3DS could properly display gradient. As a result, the same content is displayed in the same manner, but the
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Bingo.
The 3D screen, while being a fun gimmick, is expensive to produce. At the same time it imposes a heavy hit to battery life due to both the energy costs of running the parallax barrier and the energy costs of the more powerful backlight needed to send enough light through that barrier. That's a big reason the original 3DS, despite its relatively puny SoC, only gets 3-5 hours on a single charge (typically closer to the former). So producing a model without the 3D screen, along with solving their unsafe-
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On top of that, 2DS is a ridiculous name and it made me think I'd transported into April Fools' Day 2014.
I'll admit I did a calendar check that today wasn't April Fool's day
Re:Nintendo's taking a lot of flak for this... (Score:4, Interesting)
The nice thing about Nintendo portables for a long time has been the pocketability (depending on your definition of pocket). But the 2DS looks like a disaster. Squares don't fit in pockets nicely, especially not big squares.
Well, there is the bulk- to me, there's also the fact that the flat design looks a bit naff aesthetically, but mainly that the inability to angle the second screen *looks* un-ergonomic (whether or not it is).
But regarding those screens and the inability to fold the device, there is a very telling comment after the Ars Technica article (emphasis mine):-
Actually, according to USgamer it is a single screen, masked by the case design:
... -next-move [usgamer.net]
http://www.usgamer.net/articles/oh-so-t
This explains the hingeless design. A single screen is cheaper and more power efficient than two screens with the same area. The case merely makes it look (and function) as if it had 2 screens.
Regarding your other point:-
The D pad and buttons are halfway up the machine, making the lower touch screen a real PITA to use
I agree; I'm no gamer (though I own a DS Lite that I don't use often) and my first thought was that the buttons should have been a *quarter* of the way up (i.e. halfway up the lower screen as they would be on the original DSes and the 3DS).
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I agree; I'm no gamer (though I own a DS Lite that I don't use often) and my first thought was that the buttons should have been a *quarter* of the way up (i.e. halfway up the lower screen as they would be on the original DSes and the 3DS).
I believe the controls were placed where they are to allow the use of shoulder buttons.
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The upper screen of the 3DS has a higher horizontal pixel density because of the 3D, but if you remove that, it's just a different resolution and also larger, so probably maybe even the same DPI.
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This means the entire screen is by necessity a touchscreen, with the upper screen protected by a layer of plastic that sits above it.
(Points about resolution apparently addressed in other poster's reply to your comment)
Less travel-durable (Score:4, Interesting)
Besides the larger flat design not being pocketable, the new 2DS is also missing a great feature of the clamshell design from the AdvanceSP, DS, etc... the screen and main control button protection a clamshell design gave you. Unless you were really picky about the outer casing getting any scratches it essentially was it's own protective case. Now we'll have to work about scratched screens again.
Re:Less travel-durable (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Less travel-durable (Score:5, Insightful)
Furthermore, according to the article, this device is intended for the 4-6 crowd (whereas the 3DS is aimed at the 7 years plus gamers). It's larger shape may make it - somewhat non-intuitively - easier to hold (more area to grip) and the lack of a hinge adds some robustness to the design. The kid won't be carrying it around in their pockets; Mom and Dad will have it in their bag.
I don't know if this is what Nintendo was thinking (or if I would agree with that logic) but it may explain the change.
Plus, the unibody design is probably much cheaper to produce than the hinged clamshell of the original.
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My DS Lite is unplayable now due to a loose connector somewhere in the clamshell hinge that's caused the top screen to white out.
You should get a tri-wing screwdriver and reconnect it. They're really not that complicated on the inside. I've replaced the entire top screen of my DS original before due to my younger cousin stepping on it.
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Re:Less travel-durable (Score:5, Informative)
I would check the DS Lite guides at iFixIt [ifixit.com], they're pretty good. You'd probably want to follow their upper LCD replacement guide [ifixit.com] except you'd just reconnect the one you've already got (hopefully it really is a loose connection and not a dead screen).
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I've completely disassembled one to replace a cracked chassis, and securing that ribbon cable takes a bit of a steady hand, but nothing too tedious.
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Frankly, this wouldn't be an unreasonable product if the audio was stereo instead of mono and the screen was as big as a 3DSXL screen.
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... the screen and main control button protection a clamshell design gave you.
it seems it will come with a protection case. At least is what the kid used to put away his 2DS on Nintendo's video at YouTube.
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... the screen and main control button protection a clamshell design gave you.
it seems it will come with a protection case. At least is what the kid used to put away his 2DS on Nintendo's video at YouTube.
Heh, "accessories sold separately" I'd bet.
It's wild that a portable system aimed at the under-7 crowd would intentionally have less protection from scratches. I think Big N is counting on children crying about how scratched up their 2DS is so they can get a second one.
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The main failing of the DS appears to be, from looking at "needs repair" posts on ebay, the hinge breaking. Based on that this seems like a positive step.
Getting the ribbon cable on a replacement screen to pass through the hinge requires persistence and dexterity to the point of nearly ending me a few Christmases back.
But will the games cost 99 cents? (Score:5, Insightful)
That's the battle they have to win now.
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yep
told my oldest kid that if he wants some $30 mario game for his he has to finish some online math courses before school starts
so he's now playing on the ipad a lot more than the 3ds and i'm more than willing to buy games for $.99 without a second though
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Do they, really? Tablet/phone games are rarely anything to write home about unless you like incredibly simplistic games, akin to playing browser games. They will never properly compete with full game releases when actual gamers are concerned. It just won't happen. There will always be a market for those seeking more substance in their games. The fact that they haven't gone belly up despite the iPhone/iPad being out as long as it has is a testament to that. We always hear about how doomed the handheld consol
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Do they, really? Tablet/phone games are rarely anything to write home about unless you like incredibly simplistic games, akin to playing browser games. They will never properly compete with full game releases when actual gamers are concerned. It just won't happen. There will always be a market for those seeking more substance in their games. The fact that they haven't gone belly up despite the iPhone/iPad being out as long as it has is a testament to that. We always hear about how doomed the handheld console market is over phones because of "99 cent games", but it never actually happens.
The lack of good inputdev is the main thing holding back phone and tablet games. And good controllers and buttons add weight and bulk, so, complete agreement, portable dedicated consoles are here to stay.
At least until telepathic control becomes a thing.
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There's plenty of real games on phones: Plants Vs Zombies 2 and Ace Patrol, for instance. Japanese companies have also been releasing adventure and rythm games for iOS with good results.
The one disadvantage is the controls. They can release Megaman games on a phone all they want, but they'll still suck without a proper d-pad and buttons
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Hey, if your kid can live without those
Kid?
The number of adults I see playing Pokemon whenever I fly across the country is legion.
Also I really need to stop forgetting to pack my 3DS.
Also I need a 2DS so I can trade Pokemon with myself. MY POKEMANS. LET ME SHOW U THEM.
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Hey, if your kid can live without those
Kid?
The number of adults I see playing Pokemon whenever I fly across the country is legion.
Also I really need to stop forgetting to pack my 3DS.
Also I need a 2DS so I can trade Pokemon with myself. MY POKEMANS. LET ME SHOW U THEM.
Even if you don't intend to play it, Streetpass makes merely carrying it around useful. :)
But (Score:1, Offtopic)
All I can say is... (Score:1)
...that is one ugly not-quite-a-tablet they have there.
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...that is one ugly not-quite-a-tablet they have there.
It'll make a great companion device for one's similarly elegant laptop [toysrus.com]...
How are those controls supposed to work? (Score:2)
Oh the form factor!!!!! (Score:2)
Did they use left over WiiU tablet cases for that monstrosity??
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Yes and yes.
Nintendo need to understand that they aren't selling to the children that use their products, they are selling to the parents that buy them.
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They said it couldn't be done (Score:2)
Terrible form factor (Score:1)
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Almost a good idea (Score:2)
Lets be honest: 3d is a failure in this space. A huge nummber of 3DS users never turn the 3d on, and for a lot of the market it's not a selling feature. Making a cheaper unit without it is smart, as price is a huge factor in portable gaming sales.
But then they also stripped out a speaker (going to mono instead of stereo) and came up with this really awkward form factor. Why did they do that? This thing is going to be a lot more awkward to carry around because of that.
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Lets be honest: 3d is a failure in this space. A huge nummber of 3DS users never turn the 3d on, and for a lot of the market it's not a selling feature. Making a cheaper unit without it is smart, as price is a huge factor in portable gaming sales.
But then they also stripped out a speaker (going to mono instead of stereo) and came up with this really awkward form factor. Why did they do that? This thing is going to be a lot more awkward to carry around because of that.
It's a proper sequel to the ill-fated Game Boy Advance Micro. GBAM removed classic Game Boy / Game Boy Color compatibility, 2DS removes 3D compatibility. Kill compatibility with existing accessories (all GBA and GBASP attachments for the former; circle pad pro, charging dock for the latter).
No games relying on 3D? (Score:1)
My first thought was that this isn't very good idea: it will strongly discourage developers from making games which do interesting things with the 3D effects because they know that some of their audience won't be able to use it. But then I skimmed the Wikipedia articles of the top selling 3DS games looking for examples of interesting uses of 3D and this (from Super Mario 3D Land) is the "best" such feature I found:
While the game is designed to not require the 3D effect, some obstacles or points of interest are deliberately more noticeable or easier when the 3D is switched on.
So the 3D is just a gimmick, a 2D version will be fine.
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2DSXL (Score:1)
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There's no point in waiting for a 2DS XL. You can just get a 3DS XL and turn off the 3D and suddenly you have a 2DS XL with a clamshell design /w stereo sound.
Oh Nintendo, you stupid f******s (Score:1)
After reading a few reports lately over how Nintendo's handhelds are the only remaining growth market for them, they come out with this.
This pretty much kills Nintendo dead.
This is a company too full of arrogance and pride (but the Japanese call it honor and tradition) to even realize they have now completely fucked up everything that was successful.
Nintendo is now the biggest joke in gaming AND electronics. Pulling a Nintendo should mean that you took something that was successful and followed it up with
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This is a company too full of arrogance and pride (but the Japanese call it honor and tradition) to even realize they have now completely fucked up everything that was successful.
Nintendo's Wii U console sold only 160,000 units worldwide during the past three months, with the company blaming a lack of first-party releases for the poor performance. [slashdot.org]
Seems to me they are perfectly capable of admitting when they are at fault. Care to try again, troll?
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For self-trading Pokémon? (Score:3)
Pokemon (Score:2)
It's a cheap second machine for anyone who plans to play the new Pokemon games. You need one to play, and one to trade, in order to get the interesting evolutions and version exclusives. It works like this. You play A all the way through. Then you play B, trade over the pokemon from A, get version exclusives, and breed. Then you play A one more time, trading all the eggs/babies over for a great starter set. Yes, the Pokemon franchise forces you to own two machines.
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It's a cheap second machine for anyone who plans to play the new Pokemon games. You need one to play, and one to trade, in order to get the interesting evolutions and version exclusives. It works like this. You play A all the way through. Then you play B, trade over the pokemon from A, get version exclusives, and breed. Then you play A one more time, trading all the eggs/babies over for a great starter set. Yes, the Pokemon franchise forces you to own two machines.
Or you can just enjoy the game on one machine, with one Pokemon title. Come across someone with the alternate game and can make a trade or two? Great! Filling up the Pokedex completely isn't fun at all, it's more of a chore than grinding in a JRPG.
I have never "caught 'em all" ever, and I don't feel like I've had a diminished game experience in any way whatsoever. It's actually quite liberating.
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Jeeze, In my day we just had a Game Genie (later the Gameshark). You wanted a Pokemon, just find the code and *BAM* Mewtwo. Granted, we had to play on a yellow-tinted monochrome screen on a Gameboy that was a big as a brick and had a rechargable power supply that was also as big as a brick and hooked to your belt, but it was still fun.
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It's a cheap second machine for anyone who plans to play the new Pokemon games. You need one to play, and one to trade, in order to get the interesting evolutions and version exclusives. It works like this. You play A all the way through. Then you play B, trade over the pokemon from A, get version exclusives, and breed. Then you play A one more time, trading all the eggs/babies over for a great starter set. Yes, the Pokemon franchise forces you to own two machines.
Or, make a friend.
Next up (Score:3)
Toyota Prius non-hybrid edition
Desktop iPad
Non-instant polaroid camera
And, of course, slashdot for non-technical readers
Why kill the only unique feature of your product and name the new one for what it's lacking. If it was a radically different name, design and form factor, it could have had a chance.
With free tablet games, DS's are about finished (Score:2)
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I take it you're not an engineer? What you basically said was, "They should have designed DVDs to play in VHS players". It wasn't a trick. It was, if you want to play games that look better and have more content then you have to upgrade your hardware. I mean, if they could somehow get 3DS quality games (even without 3D) running on the DS, I think they would have just done it. It's nice having a 100 million users out there.
As for being dead, you bought one didn't you? My two kids each have one. The games are
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This is a first step toward a Nintendo Tablet (Score:2)
According to this article [usgamer.net], the cost reduction also comes from using one screen to represent the old dual-screen setup. Since both screens have the same PPI of 132, it's relatively feasible.
I have a feeling that Nintendo will release a brand-new tablet form-factor based on this very device. The single screen driving this probably has a resolution of about 400x500, so quadrupling the resolution (264ppi) will make it competitive with other devices, AND make it incredibly easy to support 3DS backward-compatib
Pokemon XY (Score:2)
I don't think it's a coincidence that the 2DS comes out the same day as Pokemon XY (the first one to have an international, simultaneous release).
The 3D is a gimmick few players want, and really, making the console cheaper helps those pokemon sales, a game that has solid sales no matter what. It means a lot of money to Nintendo, so this makes perfect sense.
Also it's fun how the consoles are red and blue in color, since XY also goes back to such coloring (X is themed blue, Y is red).
They should have called i
Almost excited (Score:2)
Once again, Nintendo shows the world that it has no clue what people actually want from their products.
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There is literally no point if you already have a 3DS.