Nintendo 2DS
Variant of Nintendo 3DS
- Manufacturer
- Nintendo
- Released
- 2013
- Generation
- Gen 8
- Type
- Handheld
- Launch price
- $129
- Units sold
- 75.9M
About Nintendo 2DS
The Nintendo 2DS is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced on August 28, 2013, the device was released in North America, Europe and Australia on October 12, 2013. The Nintendo 2DS is an entry-level version of the Nintendo 3DS which maintains otherwise identical hardware, similar functionality, and compatibility with software designed for the Nintendo DS and 3DS. However, it lacks the Nintendo 3DS's signature autostereoscopic 3D display and was released in a new slate format rather than a clamshell format. Former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé stated that the 2DS was primarily targeted towards younger players, whom Nintendo had previously advised not to use the 3D functionality on the 3DS due to potential eye health concerns.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Library & collector facts
1,432licensed games
- North America: 807
- Japan: 725
- PAL: 765
What's different from Nintendo 3DS
- Slate/wedge form factor (no clamshell hinge to break)
- Lower price point ($129 launch vs. $169 3DS)
- Single combined LCD panel under two cutouts
- Mono speaker (single driver)
- Sleep switch (no clamshell to close for sleep)
- 3D stereoscopic display — defining 3DS feature gone
- Clamshell folding design
- Stereo speakers (downgraded to mono)
- display: Two separate 3D-capable LCDs → single LCD with two viewport cutouts (still touch on bottom)
- ergonomics: Foldable pocket-friendly → always-open tablet-like wedge
- target audience: Mainstream all-ages → kid-targeted entry-level (Nintendo explicitly marketed for ages 7+)
Lineage
Release timeline
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- February 27, 2016
- 🇺🇸 North America
- October 12, 2013
- 🇪🇺 Europe / PAL
- October 12, 2013
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- October 12, 2013
Pricing
Launch price (2013)
- 🇺🇸 USD
- $129
- 🇬🇧 GBP
- £110
Launch titles & exclusives
Pilotwings Resort · Nintendogs + Cats · Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition · Steel Diver · Madden NFL Football · The Sims 3 · Ridge Racer 3D · Lego Star Wars III · Dead or Alive Dimensions · Bust-A-Move Universe
None at launch; Mario 3D Land bundle later popular
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D · A Link Between Worlds · Majora's Mask 3D · Super Mario 3D Land · Mario Kart 7 · Fire Emblem: Awakening / Fates / Echoes · Pokemon X/Y/Sun/Moon/Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon/Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire · Animal Crossing: New Leaf · Bravely Default / Second · Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate · Shin Megami Tensei IV / Apocalypse · Persona Q 1 & 2 · Etrian Odyssey IV/V/Nexus · Kid Icarus: Uprising · Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon · Yoshi's Woolly World / Yoshi's New Island
Just Dance 2020 (2019) was among the last major Western releases; JP eShop continued briefly before the 2023 eShop closure
Pokemon Bank exclusives; Cubic Ninja (Ironfall vulnerability vector, prices spiked post-modding interest); Culdcept Revolt sealed; Etrian Odyssey Nexus boxed; gold/silver Zelda Anniversary 3DS XL bundle
Hardware specs
- Os
- Nintendo 3DS system software
- Cpu
- Dual-Core ARM11 MPCore, single-core ARM9
- Gpu
- DMP PICA200 GPU
- Ram
- 128 MB FCRAM, 6 MB VRAM
- Power
- 3DS games: 3.5 to 5.5 hours, DS games: 5 to 9 hours, Sleep Mode: ≈ 3 days
- Sound
- Mono speaker, microphone
- Weight
- 260 g
- Dimensions
- Width: 14.4 cm, Height: 12.7 cm, Depth: 2.03 cm
- Display Output
- Upper: 3.53" LCD @ 400×240 px (WQVGA), Lower: 3.02" resistive touchscreen LCD @ 320×240 (QVGA)
- Storage Internal
- Included 4 GB SD card, 1 GB internal flash memory, Cartridge save
Hardware revisions
- Original 3DS CTR-001(2011)
launched at $249, dropped to $169 after just five months in the 'Ambassador Program' (offered free NES/GBA VC games to early adopters)
- 3DS XL SPR-001(2012)
~90% larger screens, no second analog stick
- 2DS FTR-001(2013)
budget non-folding flat form factor, no 3D effect, locked-hinge design
- New 3DS KTR-001 / XL RED-001(2014)
faster CPU, C-Stick, ZL/ZR buttons, NFC, exclusive games (Xenoblade Chronicles 3D)
- New 2DS XL JAN-001(2017)
folding 2DS with New 3DS internals, no 3D
Launch colorways & special editions
- Pokemon Red/Blue Transparent Edition (2016, 20th anniv)
- Mario Kart 7 Bundle
- Crystal Red/Blue Transparent (2016)
- New Super Mario Bros 2 Bundle
- Tomodachi Life Bundle
Modding scene
- Difficulty
- soft-mod
- Custom firmware
- Luma3DS (CFW); Boot9strap (the underlying exploit chain); FBI installer; Anemone3DS for themes
Reception & legacy
Disastrous launch — $249 price was too high, library was thin, and the dramatic 'Ambassador Program' price cut alienated early adopters; recovered strongly through 2012
Loss of 3D was controversial — undermined Nintendo's 3D marketing for the platform; wedge form factor cannot fit in pockets; single mono speaker downgrade noticed in audio-heavy games; some saw it as admission 3D was a failed feature
Defined the early-2010s handheld market against the smartphone tide; eShop closure became a flashpoint in the game-preservation movement; final dedicated Nintendo handheld before the Switch unified handheld and home console
References
More from Nintendo
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