This morning, Nintendo announced the Nintendo 2DS, a low-priced budget version of the Nintendo 3DS without stereoscopic 3D and the clamshell design. However, Nintendo say that the introduction of the 2DS doesn’t mean they’re moving away from 3D gaming or the original 3DS itself.
When asked by US Gamer if the new 2DS represents a shift away from 3D, Nintendo’s vice president of sales and marketing Scott Moffitt replied, “Not at all. Clearly our development efforts all include 3D games. Our installed base, we have eight million units installed. If 3D wasn’t selling and wasn’t part of our future, we wouldn’t be seeing and enjoying the robust sales we have on 3DS right now.”
He elaborates later in the interview, “I’d say that our fan feedback, gamer feedback, has been that they very much enjoy 3D as a feature. Games like Super Mario 3D Land play fabulously well in 3D. There’s a lot of great 3D experiences that gamers have come to love. We don’t want to walk away from that at all.”
Instead, Moffitt says, the decision to remove the 3D screen was driven by the desire to reach the system’s $130 price, which he says wouldn’t have been possible without removing stereoscopic 3D and the clamshell design.
