On October 31, 2013, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata admitted that the Nintendo 2DS lacked awareness among prospective purchasers. Additionally, he went on to say that some potential consumers believed that the product was too large and heavy to carry.

Nintendo 2DS can play all Nintendo 3DS games in 2D, and with an amazing catalogue of Nintendo 3DS games that's growing every month, there's something for everyone to enjoy. Nintendo 2DS is backwards compatible, so you also have the entire library of Nintendo DS games to replay or discover!

The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tandem (the bottom one being a touchscreen), a built-in microphone and support for wireless connectivity.

New Nintendo 2DS XL plays all existing Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS games* in 2D, including New Nintendo 3DS titles such as Super Nintendo Virtual Console games. Enjoy improved performance that allows for faster download speeds and software loading times.