Whilst not currently available in Japan (the name has been trademarked so expect it in 2014) and with little need for it (why release a cheaper model when both more expensive models are selling collectively over 150,000 per week?), it is still relevant to this blog as A) as already stated it will probably release in Japan, B) its single-screen 2D-ness will probably (entirely my guess-work) take up the form-factor of the 3DS’s successor, and C) I am a proud new owner of one!
I’m sure the main questions that are most likely to be asked are how big is it, how comfortable is it, how cheap does it look and feel, how bad is the mono sound and what do the games look and play like? In short: it’s smaller than the original press photos implied with the two partitioned screens the same dimensions as the original 3DS. It is in-fact very comfortable to hold. Far more than the original and an improvement over the XL/LL. It does look rather cheap but feels very similar to the XL in build but less breakable (think original Game Boy). The sound is a disappointment but less so than I was led to believe. After playing an XL since release, the games look sharper on the smaller screen with the Virtual Console titles being a noticeable improvement.
Other points worth considering: the volume slider is far better than the XL, the buttons feels slightly highly placed but it doesn’t detract as much as one may think, the L and R buttons aren’t quite as convenient as initially supposed but again this hardly detracts. The cheap looking form is perhaps the biggest detraction (although probably less so to the targeted age group) but despite purchasing a preferred White + Red (Famicom reasons!) model, Nintendo definitely need a better team of in-house designers to improve the aesthetics of future hardware. The lack of 3D is only a loss subjectively and personally I usually play with it off other than the Arika and M2 developed 3D Classics, the Layton series and occasional other games.
All-in-all I love my 2DS and welcome that cheaper hardware (albeit attained via lack of 3D and dual screen) is the way forward as a business model for Nintendo. Hopefully improvements can be made before the 4DS (better aesthetic design, stereo sound, multi-touch screen (and a HD one) etc) is released.
