Nintendo announces 2DS Super Mario Bros. 2 console bundle, hits next month

(Update 8/1 9:25am): Pre-orders for the New Super Mario Bros. 2 2DS console bundles are now up at Walmart for $79.96 shipped. We are yet to see anything up on Amazon this far.

After launching the New 2DS XL last week in North America, Nintendo has announced the availability of a special edition 2DS handheld bundle. The little brother to the New 2DS XL, it is a curious move on Nintendo’s part likely aimed at retaining whatever hold it has left on the casual gaming market.

The “new” bundle will release with a white and red color scheme and include New Super Mario Bros. 2. Along with sweet colorway and game, it will also come with a 4GB SD memory card. Unlike the new 2DS XL and 3DS, this will be your basic 2DS design without the folding clam shell approach. However, it can play all of Nintendo’s handheld games without the actual 3D tech, outside of a few titles exclusive to the New 2DS XL and New 3DS like Xenoblade Chronicles 3D.

While it certainly would have been nice to see Nintendo incorporate the more portable friendly design with its latest 2DS bundle, it’s hard to say if that will ever happen with the New 2DS XL on store shelves. This is in fact, not new at all. By the looks of it, this is identical to the New Super Mario Bros. 2 bundle that released in Europe back in 2014. Ok, so the box art may have gotten a slight makeover, but everything else including the paint job, looks to be the same. Nonetheless, most North American gamers didn’t have a shot at getting this particular setup.

Now if you’re getting confused with Nintendo’s horrible handheld console naming scheme here, we don’t blame you. Think of it this way: the 3DS is for hardcore gamers that require 3D technology and the New 2DS XL is for that same pro gamer without the need for all 3 dimensions, both of which come with built-in amiibo support. The 2DS is a casual, portable console that, because it can play almost all the 3DS games, has one of the most impressive mobile libraries of titles ever assembled. You can pick a 2DS out of a lineup really easily because it can’t fold up and does not have the clam shell-design like its big brothers.

The new(ish) white and red Nintendo 2DS handheld console with New Super Mario Bros. 2 will hit store shelves come August 25th for $79.99. That’s about on par with the red or blue Mario Kart 7 bundles already available.

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