My girlfriend had the biggest laugh when I found out about this thing a few days ago and nearly flipped a table, so it gets points for that at least! :mrgreen:
Seriously though, I wish I had something constructive and/or witty to add to the debate, but most of you have already expressed my concerns and points about the shark jumping and the clever marketing, and et cetera, so I don't have much to say.
There is something that has been bothering me though. Oh what fun it'll be for all of the old timers, buying their children stuff for christmas and hanukkah and for shits and giggles and what not. The shopping list will say "3D Nintendo toy", but then they'll see the 2DS, get confused, notice the £30 cheaper price point and before ya know it... Sorry, Little Jimmy (aged 8+), but your hingey, 3D-filled christmas has been cancelled. Good luck with Mario 3D land!
Vice versa too. Parents might be asked for the 2Ds, but they'll see the 3DS, think it's a sequel of some kind, forget about the fact that they should read the instructions on that shit, and then sorry, Teeny Tommy (aged >7), but now your eyes are buggered forever.
And then all the parents will get angry that something maimed their kids/forced them to look at the instructions for once in their lives/somebody drew a 3D penis in their child's Animal Crossing game before eating their turnips or whatever, then we'll get some kind of second Jack Thompson and... well, ya get the idea.
With all that said, I might just be paranoid about this all, but I can't help but sense that there's gonna be a lot of confusion for the unknowing public...
The console's still better than the Wii Mini from Canada, but hey, just sayin'.
tl;dr: Parental derp's inevitable.
Also, here's some amusing related shiz to lighten the conversation while I sleep.
Two Dees (From GoNintendo) (http://www.gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=211033)
Japanese gamer reactions (From Kotaku) (http://kotaku.com/online-in-japan-the-nintendo-2ds-baffles-many-1220094863?utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Twitter&utm_source=Kotaku_Twitter&utm_medium=Socialflow)
Also, one last thing that just came to mind: How's the circle pad pro thing for left handed people gonna fit on the bloody monstrosity anyway?