Controversy for two-dimensional gamers

Like hearing news of the death of Michael Jackson – or Princess Diana before him – I doubt that any of us will ever forget where we were when Nintendo announced the 2DS.

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For my part, I was sitting in my mate’s lounge with a number of friends, flicking through the Kotaku gaming blog on my laptop. I told them as soon as the news broke; like many of you, we stared at those pictures, mouths agape, trying desperately to make sense of the situation. Fortunately, DeathSoul2000 of Gamefaqs was on hand to break the tension. “Look at that doorstop form,” he quipped.

We laughed. He was right, of course. It does vaguely resemble a doorstop and we’d been too slow to notice. It was the sort of witty, bitingly satirical comment that only he could make. “Taking away the 3D from the 3DS? Next thing you know, they’ll create a 1DS,” said one of my friends, smiling nervously, “And it’ll just be a line of pixels or something, there won’t even be a screen.” We didn’t laugh quite so much this time; his joke was awkward and forced, spoken with an air of desperation. But we acknowledged his point: 2 is certainly less DSs than 3. It had to be inferior in every detail. My friends were quickly bemoaning the lack of a hinge on this new slab of plastic, and I nodded sagely. “Either I’m getting old,” another added, “or Nintendo is really going downhill.” There was no need to confer on this point. We all knew it was the latter; it had to be. The evidence was right there on the screen.

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“How could Nintendo have gone astray so quickly?” we pondered, still shaken by the reveal. We cast our rose-tinted gazes upon the Gameboy Advance SP, a marvel of handheld ingenuity that was cool for one simple reason: that glorious hinge. I mean, sure, it also introduced the backlit screen (which leant the console perfectly to gaming marathons under the blanket of night) but, most importantly, the screen folded down. When you were 10, having a console that looked like a shrunken laptop or chubby Motorola was unspeakably brilliant. Luckily, it didn’t need saying. A mate would come over to you and ask: “Hey, want to trade Pokémon?” and you’d reply: “Sure, let me just get my console…” And out of your pocket would come the darndest bit of gaming nostalgia ever. You’d flip up that screen and the envy of everyone in the room was palpable. It was a better time, an age where Nintendo strode across the world of handhelds like Titans. Now everything lacks a hinge. Now everything sucks.

When you were 10, having a console that looked like a shrunken laptop or chubby Motorola was unspeakably brilliant

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Only that wasn’t the case, I quickly realised. Despite our fears, the 3DS and 3DS XL models were still in production and hadn’t immediately crumbled into dust; they were not yet a thing of the past. You could, in fact, walk straight into a shop and purchase one whenever you wanted. The hinged option was still open to us. The moment that thought hit me, the most curious of things occurred: writing on Kotaku’s ‘Talk Amongst Yourselves’, young parent Marsh Naylor revealed, somewhat furtively, that his 12 year old really wanted a 2DS. And he agreed.
His shame was understandable, given the situation, but the reasons were all the more surprising. “This kid likes the 2DS because it looks a bit like a tablet,” I told my friends, “and his dad likes it because it’s cheap. Also, you know, there are Zelda and Pokemon games coming out soon.” Instantly I knew that I’d said the wrong thing.

Their eyes darted around the room like angry flies looking for someone to blame for this affront. The 2DS was stupid. It looked like a wedge of cheese from a 1950s Tom and Jerry cartoon. It deserved no defence.
Yet once this moment of clarity had washed over me, the floodgates opened. Suddenly I realised that the lack of hinge gave the model a greater structural integrity, making it more child-friendly; the eschewing of the 3D feature allowed the model to launch at the surprisingly low retail price of £110 (or $130); and, yes, the console looked a bit like a tablet.

It was the boon for cash strapped mothers, the affordable handheld whose form could tap into the imaginations of today’s children rather than the children of a decade ago. I couldn’t stop myself from imagining the new possibilities the lack of 3D focus offered to the console’s gyroscopic tilt controls – a feature that was undermined by the infamous 3D ‘sweet-spot’ of older models. Stereoscopic 3D and movement don’t mix. 2D, however? Tilt that console any which way you please. I was frightening myself – not only was I beginning to think that the 2DS was an excellent marketing decision, I was starting to convince myself that it had the potential to win over the imaginations of their targeted audience: the children. “Could it be that we only liked the Gameboy Advance SP because we were easily entertained by cool looking things?” I uttered, “Could the 2DS be the same for today’s 10 year olds?”

They stared at me, eyes burning with fury. ‘This is nothing like our beloved SP and you know it,’ they seemed to tell me, before faltering, ‘we’re not sure why, but it isn’t.’ Thankfully, Kotaku commenter Zackasaur was able to make their point for them: “These look even MORE like Fisher Price products…” he lamented. “Ahh yes,” their misty eyes implied to me, “that must be why we hate it. Nintendo are just becoming a toy company.”

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My friends seemed placated by this; not I, however. “What’s wrong with Fisher Price toys?” I demanded, “They’re fine. Does this man frequent the Fisher Price forums demanding more edgy designs from their Chatter Telephone line of products? Does he begrudge 3 year olds their Popper Walkers? If not, why?” I suspected the reason was that he accepted that he was no longer part of Fisher Price’s core demographic. My friends’ conversation had moved on, however.
Why, then, the hatred for a Nintendo console blatantly aimed at children? Nintendo has targeted the younger demographic for a good few decades. I could understand confusion at Nintendo’s business decisions generally, but anger? These feelings of betrayal that permeated the internet forums and comment sections? As I sat there surrounded by cackling Nintendo dissidents, I narrowed it down to two possible conclusions:
These people are older Nintendo fans that bitterly wished they were still Nintendo’s target audience; these people are an entitled vocal minority that believe every facet of the gaming industry lives or dies on the back of its appeal to them personally.

I’d like to think that all those who reacted with bewilderment at the 2DS reveal fell into the former category. That would make the whole thing so much easier. Because Nintendo fall into that brilliant platform of broad appeal that is enjoyed by film studios such as Pixar and Studio Ghibli: Mario and Pokemon form a nostalgic part of our childhood and continue to be enjoyed by children and adults alike. Nobody over the age of 15 is embarrassed to admit they like Nintendo games. But that does mean that there will come a time when people have to admit they are no longer part of Nintendo’s core demographic. They used to be, and everything seemed so cool; now they are not, and everything looks twee and childish. Nintendo, they will realise, makes products that are not for them. And they may not like metaphorically letting go. But they’ll get over it in time.

There will come a time when people have to admit they are no longer part of Nintendo’s core demographic

However, the general caterwauling surrounding this reveal demonstrates more than this, I think. Even major gaming news outlets were at pains to point out that it was ‘the console no-one wanted’. Bemused gamers failed to see how the console would appeal to them, missing the point entirely: that there exists a market beyond them to whom this might appeal. That hardware on the market already covers their needs. Ironically, despite their nostalgic attachment to older hardware, they didn’t seem to understand how goofy quirks of design might appeal to younger age brackets. Some even felt cheated by the existence of a console iteration that is not for them. It’s not what they want, but it cannot merely be ignored with a shrug; it must be mocked and ridiculed into oblivion.
So am I saying that the 2DS announcement highlights a small group of sad, entitled idiots who begrudge – and actively want to steal away – the future gaming nostalgia of vulnerable ten year olds? That’s for you at home to decide. But the answer is yes.