Best Nintendo New 2DS XL Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020:
New to the range, the New 2DS XL is positioned right between the 2DS and the New 3DS XL, drawing on the characteristics of its two big sisters. The result is a compact, attractive mid-range console in many ways.
Presentation
March 2011: Nintendo’s first 3DS arrives in Europe and intends to take over from the venerable DS which, from the top of its 154 million copies sold, is nothing less than the second best-selling console of all time (behind the PlayStation 2, which peaks at over 157 million). Difficult bet for Nintendo, but the 3DS manages to find its public, so much. So that the versions of the laptop are linked at a regular rate: 3DS XL , 2DS, New. 3DS, New 3DS XL … and now New 2DS XL.
The newcomer is a kind of mixture between all the previous versions. The New 2DS XL indeed takes up the size of the screens of the New 3DS XL (4.8 inches for the top one, 4.2 inches for the bottom one) and has the same additional buttons as this one, notably the famous stick “C” on the right, extremely practical in some games.
As on the 2DS, the 3D function of the upper display disappears. A choice that may seem risky on the part of the manufacturer, but we have to face the facts: over the years, 3D mode has become less and less useful and used in games, and we cannot therefore not really regret it, especially since it keeps the price of the console at 150 €. A very attractive price for a machine with hardware which is certainly aging. But which offers a catalog of games which is extremely supplied and of high quality.
Best Nintendo New 2DS XL Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020
1. Nintendo New 2DS XL – White + Orange
2. New Nintendo 2DS XL – Purple + Silver With Mario Kart 7 Pre-installed – Nintendo 2DS
3. Nintendo New 2DS XL – Black + Turquoise
4. New Nintendo 2DS XL Handheld Game Console – Orange + White With Mario Kart 7 Pre-installed – Nintendo 2DS
5. Nintendo 2DS – New Super Mario Bros. 2 Edition
Ergonomics and design: a nice slimming cure
The New 2DS XL is perhaps the version of the laptop that differs the most from previous models. The small console indeed offers a mat finish very pleasing to the eye and to the touch, with in particular a “staircase” effect on the hood which is quite successful, and a shiny and colorful rim. Design choices that give the product an undeniable “toy” side, which unfortunately has a little to do with the build quality. The level of finish is very good, but there are some doubts about the solidity of the hull in the long term, and especially on the hinge that separates the two parts.
The latter seems indeed not very stable when the hood is open. There is a fear that a good helping hand down will permanently damage it. It is all the more unfortunate that the New 3DS XL is, on this point, much more convincing. And let’s not talk about the first 2DS which seems simply indestructible. Therefore particularly suitable for the hazardous manipulations of a young child. Here, despite the colorful, almost childish look, we will avoid putting it too long in careless hands.
The New 2DS XL, on the other hand, is much more convincing as regards its “screen / chassis” ratio. This is even its biggest strength: Nintendo has greatly reduced the margins below and above the screens, in particular by moving the front camera on the hinge. This optimization allows the New 2DS XL to be much more compact than its big sister. Since we go to 159 x 86.4 x 20.8 mm for the New 2DS. XL, against 160 x 93.5 x 21, 5 mm for the New 3DS XL.
Range and temperature: a small drop in speed
According to Nintendo, the New 2DS XL is not supposed to enjoy better autonomy than the New 3DS XL, which we did indeed see during our test. So we ran Mario Kart 7on both models (brightness at 3, energy saving disabled, 3D disabled for the New 3DS XL) and the older of the two won. The New 2DS XL thus ran for 5:30 am before cutting off, while the New 3DS XL reached 6:15 am. A gap of 45 minutes which is certainly not huge, but which must still be noted.
The autonomy of the New 2DS XL remains however in the average of the previous 2DS / 3DS models. Finally, you will not be surprised to learn that the New 2DS XL hardly heats up. With an ARM11 SoC with 4 cores clocked at 268 MHz, 256 MB of RAM and 10 MB of video memory, it displays a power equivalent to that of the New 3DS XL and does not exceed 34.1 ° C at the front and 33.6 ° C at the rear.
Image and sound: the two Achilles heels (of all 2DS / 3DS)
Since its launch, the Nintendo 3DS has always positioned itself as a product that is not very powerful compared to the competition and that does not really shine its display and sound qualities. This new model will not change much and there are still two screens of 4.8 and 4.1 inches with a low definition of 400 x 240 pixels. We were able to apply our test probe, usually used on laptops, smartphones and tablets, on the upper screen and noted the following results: maximum brightness of 145 cd / m², contrast ratio of 1,100: 1 , Delta E at 9.4 and color temperature of 11,770 K. The last two particularly mediocre figures and therefore a particularly unreliable rendering of colors, with a big tendency to draw towards cool shades.
Regarding the headphone output, the observation is just as bad: between distortion rate of 4% and a very low power output. You will be well advised to avoid using headphones that are too insensitive, otherwise you will hear very badly. Two observations unfortunately common to the entire 2DS / 3DS range. There must therefore be a reason: the Nintendo laptop is not made for aesthetes of image and sound.
CONCLUSION
Offered at 150 euros, the New 2DS XL is undoubtedly the best choice if you want to discover the huge catalog of games available since 2011 and you have little taste for the 3D effect. With its two large screens, its light weight and its reduced dimensions, the latest from Nintendo displays a real sex appeal. However, it is necessary to ignore the more than average quality of its screens and its mediocre headphone output, which are unfortunately not exceptions in the range. It is undoubtedly the latest version of the venerable portable console and it manages to offer (almost) the best of all the previous models.
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