Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) has been struggling to complete in the gaming technology market as of late. As more and more tablet users are flocking to apps, while hard core gamers are embracing PlayStation and X-Box systems, Nintendo has been left in a bit of limbo. The firm’s latest products failed to garner the attention or sales they had hoped for, and with the next holiday season coming up quickly, they will be facing a very important time for their future.
Today, Nintendo slashed the price of the struggling Wii U and unveiled the new ‘2DS’ portable game console — one of Nintendo’s strangest releases yet. As the name implies, the Nintendo 2DS strips out the novel, but not quite essential 3-D display technology that its older sibling possesses. Perhaps even more interestingly, it doesn’t fold like all other DS consoles. Instead, it’s a wedge-shaped slate. The analog stick and buttons have been moved closer to the upper screen, but otherwise the functionality is identical to the Nintendo 3DS. Same guts, same screen size, same game compatibility.
The 2DS does come with a price cut, however. While the current 3DS costs $170, the new 2DS will only cost $130. It’s arguable that a $100 price tag would have made the introduction of the 2DS a bit more impactful, but $40 can be meaningful savings for budget conscious consumers doing holiday shopping for their kids.
The entry level 2DS gaming device may help market to young children whose parents are comfortable with the brand and don’t want to drop down significantly more money for a iPad or other mobile gaming device. The new 2DS will be much cheaper, with a suggested retail price of just $129.99. It will play all 3DS and DS games in 2D. Bloomberg News is that Nintendo is predicting global unit sales of 18 million for the next fiscal year.
The Wii U price cut will take effect on September 20, and the Nintendo 2DS will arrive on October 12. Nintendo may soon find themselves at an important cross roads, where they will once again have to decide what their firm will be. While they have the highly successful Mario franchise, the graphics of their competitors have blown them away, and it is showing in the unit sales counts. They also face new competition from the ap makers selling into the tablet market, where you don’t need to buy a new device, and the games cost just a few dollars.
