Well, I think it might be for me.
I'm one of those gamers that has essentially grown out of handhelds. Like many gamers my age, I grew up playing my Gameboy Color and then later the Gameboy Advance and Gameboy Advance SP. I played every color of Pokemon game, and I even discovered some of my favorite games of all time on the system, the turn based strategy Advance Wars titles.
Then something happened. With my high school graduation money, I bought a Nintendo DS Lite. Soon after, I purchased Pokemon Soul Silver, played it extensively, and then, for all intents and purposes haven't touched my DS again, except for a brief time in which I played Pokemon Conquest. I haven't ever really picked up my DS since, and haven't been interested in picking up a 3DS, mostly because I couldn't justify the price tag for the amount of time I would be playing it and don't really see the point of the 3D functionality.
A big factor in this is that my primary time for playing handheld games as I've grown up has almost disappeared. No longer do I go on long car rides across the country with my family, or ride to school with friends or on the bus. Now I do all the driving, and obviously I can't play games while doing so. When I'm not busy with school work or my job and finally sit down in my dorm room, I rarely feel like playing games on a small screen when I can play them on my television. I also don't play mobile or social games on the go, in part because I don't have a smart-phone, but I don't imagine I would play even if I did.
This isn't to say there aren't any games I would like to play for the 3DS. I still enjoy the Pokemon games, and the upcoming X and Y titles both look to be pushing the series in an exciting new direction. The released earlier this year Fire Emblem: Awakening also looks mighty impressive and right up my alley, being a fan of turn based strategy and having played the two Gameboy Advance Fire Emblem titles. I'm also a huge Legend of Zelda fan, and a sequel to one of my favorite games, a Link to the Past, is due out in November.
And that's exactly why I'm more than a little excited for the recently announced Nintendo 2DS. Sporting a $129.99 price tag, the Nintendo 2DS by cutting out the 3D feature is now cheap enough for me to consider purchasing the console and playing many of the great 3DS games I've been hearing about but have been unable to play.
The console isn't much to look at though, and from what I can tell hardly seems to be as portable as the current fold up version of the 3DS. Ultimately, that doesn't really matter that much to me. I rarely play games on the go, so if I did decide to play my handheld it would probably be at home in my chair, and I've never factored in looks as determining factor for a gaming console.
From what reactions I've seen, core gamers seem to be more than a little baffled, and some understandably. Nintendo has had problems from right out of the gate in differentiating its products from one another, with many casual gamers still confused as to whether the Wii U is just a tablet add-on for the Wii or a brand new system. This new 2DS will only add to that confusion, as the new console plays 3DS games, not 2DS games.
In the end though, Nintendo looks to know what they are doing. It gives them a new, affordable console to launch this holiday alongside the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and make sure all eyes aren't leaving Nintendo. By offering a brand new console with a much lower price of entry, Nintendo can attract consumers like me who have been interested in a new handheld but couldn't justify the price tag for the amount of time the system would be played.
It may look strange, but the Nintendo 2DS may just be the boost Nintendo needed. I may no longer play games on the go, but with such a lower barrier for entry, the Nintendo 2DS combined with the recent release of so many great 3DS game sure do make for a tempting offer.