Grave Gamer News & Views — 2ds

Wii U Drops Its Price and the 3DS Drops a Whole Damn Dimension

All right.  Where to begin?  I suppose I’ll start with the news that doesn’t scramble my brains like Iwata himself stabbed a whisk through my head.

First up, the Wii U is officially seeing a price drop.  In a ploy to divert your attention from Sony and Microsoft’s Hell in a Cell, next-gen warring this Holiday, Nintendo has slashed $50 from the Wii U Deluxe Set’s tag.  The 32GB model’s newly minted price of $299 will kick in for North American retailers on September 20th.

Personal bite: I can’t complain about a console price drop.  A more affordable system pushes me closer to inviting it into my home.  Though, the fact the drop had to happen at all tells a distressing tale in regards to the system’s performance – keep in mind we’re not even a year out from the console’s November 2012 release date and a price drop is already happening.  Not fantastic.

And a discounted tag ain’t enough to catch the public’s attention by itself.  Any software not adorned with a Nintendo mascot holds up like a drop of fresh water in the ocean. You hear a story every other day about a third-party publisher ducking out of releasing a Wii U version of their hot title or, at best, releasing a watered down version.  Once more, not fantastic.Nintendo also announced a new model of the 3DS minus the 3D part.  "Isn’t that just a DS, though?“  No, simpleton.  This plays 3DS games.  But not in 3D. Also, it doesn’t have a hinge, ridding you of the frustration of being able to close the machine and protect the screen from the elements – an innovation Nintendo foolishly invested into back with the Game Boy Advance SP.

I introduce to you the Nintendo 2DS.  Soak it in, friends.  Nintendo is billing the new handheld as an entry-level portable for youngsters…which makes the damage susceptible design even more boggling.  Reduced functionality – and, seemingly, reduced versatility – means the handheld can be yours for just $129.99.  The 2DS is locked in to debut in the states alongside the release of the world’s first 3D Pokemon titles, X and Y – it just gets better and better as we go along, huh? – on October 12th.

Nintendo’s much needed intervention has not yet been scheduled.