Following nearly a decade of becoming increasingly irrelevant, Nintendo has done a great job of staying in the news this year. After the launch of the wildly successful Switch console, the video game giant has announced the arrival of the new Nintendo 2DS XL. The portable gaming system still boasts the same large screen and features as the 3DS XL, but will only display 3DS games in two-dimensions. It’s actually a pretty clever move. While it may seem like a bit of a downgrade, it’s actually a pretty clever move. With the 2DS XL, Nintendo is targeting consumers who may have an interest in mobile gaming but could probably pass on the system’s less-than-impressive 3D capabilities.
Overall the design appears to be sleeker than the original 2DS, offering larger displays, improved processing support, and built-in amiibo support. Even though both consoles will feature the same games, 2DS XL owners may notice a performance boost on some DS titles that had previously struggled on the original hardware.
Here’s the full list of the 2DS XL features:
- Costs $150
- Plays Nintendo DS and 3DS games
- Includes a stylus
- Same extra buttons and second mini-analog control stick as the New Nintendo 3DS systems
- Can play SNES games on the Nintendo eShop — something that, oddly, older 3DS and 2DS systems couldn’t do
- Supports Amiibo via NFC
- Boasts “more ergonomic design” (we haven’t held one yet)
- Nintendo claims “faster load times” and extra parental controls for software
The console is available on July 28th for $150.
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