Nintendo, one of the biggest video game manufacturers in the world,  announced recently that it would be releasing a new handheld system, described by them as “the newest member of the Nintendo 3DS family,” simply called the Nintendo 2DS.

The 2DS is basically a Nintendo 3DS, but without the 3D functionality built into the system.  Many people, mostly around the internet, are complaining that the system is idiotic because the original 3DS has a slider on the side of the handheld that lets you turn off the 3D effect at will.  What most forget, however, is that the 3D function is probably the most expensive part of the system. Most people who buy a 3DS don’t even use the namesake function of the system.

The 3DS is currently priced at $169.99, which is a huge drop to its original release price of $249.99. The 2DS is being starting at $129.99.  That is $40 cheaper for something that is essentially the same system.

The 2DS plays all 3DS games, plus it’s backwards compatible, meaning it will play all the older Nintendo DS games released since 2004.

All in all, it seems like a very worthwhile product to spend your money on, if it wasn’t for one small setback.  The design of the system is one of the weirdest I’ve seen in a while.  It doesn’t fold up like the rest of the Nintendo DS systems, making it quite bulky. People have said that it looks like a door stop. It’s something I probably wouldn’t want to carry around with me even though it’s supposed to be a portable system.

But if you can look past the weird design and don’t already own a Nintendo 3DS, then I would highly recommend going and getting one when its released on October 12 and trying it out for yourself.