Nintendo 2DS.

[Lance]

^ I think this is one of the problems Nintendo has. By interchangably using the terms 'DS' and 'Wii' for different systems, they've inadvertently confused consumers who mistake them all for being variations of the one system, rather than being brand new ones.

It wasn't such an issue with the Gameboy brand, but I actually know people ('casuals', shall we say) who still think WiiU is some sort of upgraded Wii, rather than a new console. At least there was a clear delineation between the NES/Super NES/Nintendo 64/Nintendo Gamecube/Nintendo Wii.

This 2DS is just muddying the waters even further. How many people are going to think, "If the 3DS is a DS with a 3D screen, then a 2DS is just a DS, right?".

 

[ATimson]

^ I think this is one of the problems Nintendo has. By interchangably using the terms 'DS' and 'Wii' for different systems, they've inadvertently confused consumers who mistake them all for being variations of the one system, rather than being brand new ones.

It wasn't such an issue with the Gameboy brand, but I actually know people ('casuals', shall we say) who still think WiiU is some sort of upgraded Wii, rather than a new console. At least there was a clear delineation between the NES/Super NES/Nintendo 64/Nintendo Gamecube/Nintendo Wii.

I guess I'm not really seeing how NES/Super NES or Game Boy/Game Boy Color/Game Boy Advance are magically any more informative than DS/3DS or Wii/Wii U. They're all throwing prefixes/suffixes on to delineate the difference. Is it just because the prefixes/suffixes are shorter now?

 

[Kelthaz]

I guess I'm not really seeing how NES/Super NES or Game Boy/Game Boy Color/Game Boy Advance are magically any more informative than DS/3DS or Wii/Wii U. They're all throwing prefixes/suffixes on to delineate the difference. Is it just because the prefixes/suffixes are shorter now?

It has to do with the prefixes/suffices meaning something on those other systems. Super and Advance both imply an upgraded, superior version of the original system. What does a U imply?

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I guess I'm not really seeing how NES/Super NES or Game Boy/Game Boy Color/Game Boy Advance are magically any more informative than DS/3DS or Wii/Wii U. They're all throwing prefixes/suffixes on to delineate the difference. Is it just because the prefixes/suffixes are shorter now?

It has to do with the prefixes/suffices meaning something on those other systems. Super and Advance both imply an upgraded, superior version of the original system. What does a U imply?

But that's silly I mean you can't say 2 and 3 or 360 and One denote upgrades, because there was Master System 2 and 3 and Mega Drive 2 and 3 and they were basically the "slim" of their generations. And 360, as far as I know, would denote full circle and One would mean "We have no clue how naming schemes work".

 

[RoJoHen]

I guess I'm not really seeing how NES/Super NES or Game Boy/Game Boy Color/Game Boy Advance are magically any more informative than DS/3DS or Wii/Wii U. They're all throwing prefixes/suffixes on to delineate the difference. Is it just because the prefixes/suffixes are shorter now?

It has to do with the prefixes/suffices meaning something on those other systems. Super and Advance both imply an upgraded, superior version of the original system. What does a U imply?

But that's silly I mean you can't say 2 and 3 or 360 and One denote upgrades, because there was Master System 2 and 3 and Mega Drive 2 and 3 and they were basically the "slim" of their generations. And 360, as far as I know, would denote full circle and One would mean "We have no clue how naming schemes work".

Well, with the XBOX, that's the device that has had a long-anticipated arrival. Nintendo seems to have all sorts of different consoles and handhelds available right now, and maybe it's just me, but they don't seem to enter the market with as much excitement or anticipation as some other systems.

People know that XBOX One is the next generation of XBOX because, well, there hasn't been a new XBOX in nearly 8 years!

I'm not saying Nintendo's naming system is incomprehensible, but to someone who doesn't follow it that closely, it would be a little confusing if I wanted to invest in a Nintendo system.

 

[Kelthaz]

Here's Nintendo's DS family beginning in 2004:

Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS Lite
Nintendo DSi
Nintendo DSi XL
Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo 3DS XL
Nintendo 2DS

Nintendo use the same naming scheme (adding one or two letters as a suffix or a prefix) for revisions and successor systems. That's what causes the confusion. I can completely understand why many people thought that the 3DS was just a 3D version of the DS after the DS Lite, DSi, and DSi XL.

 

[ATimson]

Nintendo use the same naming scheme (adding one or two letters as a suffix or a prefix) for revisions and successor systems. That's what causes the confusion. I can completely understand why many people thought that the 3DS was just a 3D version of the DS after the DS Lite, DSi, and DSi XL.

The DSi was also a separate system; there just weren't very many DSi-only games released.

 

[Kelthaz]

Nintendo use the same naming scheme (adding one or two letters as a suffix or a prefix) for revisions and successor systems. That's what causes the confusion. I can completely understand why many people thought that the 3DS was just a 3D version of the DS after the DS Lite, DSi, and DSi XL.

The DSi was also a separate system; there just weren't very many DSi-only games released.

Really? Wow, I had no idea. I knew about the DSi store, but I had no idea that there were cartridges that only worked on the DSi.

 

[Kemaiku]

Nintendo use the same naming scheme (adding one or two letters as a suffix or a prefix) for revisions and successor systems. That's what causes the confusion. I can completely understand why many people thought that the 3DS was just a 3D version of the DS after the DS Lite, DSi, and DSi XL.

The DSi was also a separate system; there just weren't very many DSi-only games released.

Really? Wow, I had no idea. I knew about the DSi store, but I had no idea that there were cartridges that only worked on the DSi.

6, DSiWare titles experimentally put on cartridge to test if it was really worth it. The 3DS came out a few months later.

They're white like the 3DS ones but have DSi on the box and cartridge.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

There were also some games that were officially DS games but supported some DSi features (such as the camera.) Those work fine on a 3DS, too.

I think the DSi concept was really just a testbed for some of the 3DS infrastructure, as it doesn't seem like it was ever seriously pushed on its own.