Nintendo New XL - Poke Ball Edition - Nintendo 2DS

Heads up: I'm coming from a New 3DS XL (Triforce Heroes LE)!So, I love this 2DS XL for numerous reasons. Let me point that all out.TL;DR: Design is simple and obvious, pokeball button is functional, easy access to SD card, safety from accidental ejection for Games, but glossy top screen and speaker vibrations are added factors to consider. Comes with its own charger to add to its nice price point!Design of this edition:This Pokeball edition is totally one of the best collector's edition 3DS on the market. It's simple and easy to make out without having to go too simple or too complex in design. Fundamentally, this is designed after a pokeball (I wish there were options to purchase of changable faces depending on which ball you prefer (luxury ball, for example), but it is great. In addition to the visual component, yes, the button on the cover is functional. :D It doesn't have any purpose, but I'm glad to know that you can at least push it down with a satisfying response. :)The upgraded features:I'd be upset to find out that this was just an experiment for an upcoming Newer 3DS XL DX CLE--or something, because these new features present on this model are very good additions in my book.-silent hinge; I hated all my previous models for their loud obnoxious CLICK every time I open or close the thing. This has a silent click to it, so a definite plus.-protected game cart slot and easy access to SD card! Probably the best upgrade here is this. No more accidental game ejecting or screwing off the entire world to get to your SD card.Charger included!!Objective Aspects:-screen seems crisper to my eyes, but may just be a screen protector brand difference.-shoulder buttons are easier to precisely hit; the lip on them are a welcome change, imo-plastic thinness. some of the status lights like to bleed through the casing. Namely the orange, red and yellow colored lights.Potential Issues:With all the good out of the way, I want to talk about potential issues.-rear-facing cameras are on the bottom of the two parts; this may get scratched if not cared for when laying the system on it's butt. Although, Nintendo took this into consideration and dropped the lenses into the system a tad deeper just in case.-speaker placement is now on the bottom front of the system. The issue here is the vibrations caused by the sounds emitted by the speakers run through your hands. Not a bothersome issue, but since the vibrations were always on the top half and never connected to my hands, it is something I notice now, but nothing detrimental to usage.-glossy top screen frame; I recommend a screen protector for this one. It is not bad, but if you like to touch your screen and add fingerprints to it for some reason, this is an item to consider.-lower battery life; arriving to me it only had one bar of factory charge left. This may not be a definitive way to check upon launch, but normally I receive nicely charged systems from nintendo, and news of the first runs of 2DS XL models have shown lower battery life, anyway, this is the same, but not too big an issue thanks to portable battery chargers being so prevalent in the market now.Transfer issue: I came across an issue where some of my games disappeared after a PROPER transfer. I went to the SD card and they were there but grayed out with an X. After digging around, I went to the eShop and repaired a small game to try the fix, and upon doing so, ALL games just popped out on the home screen as if they were ALL new (still wrapped). Just a heads up just in case anyone else comes across that issue.

Plays every 3DS game (even DS games), but cheaper than the new 3DS XL models. If you see side-by-sides of the two consoles, the 2DS XL is slightly smaller than the 3DS XL, but you may not notice that the screen sizes are identical, and the 2DS XL weighs slightly less... making it more comfortable to play for extended periods. The 2DS XL does NOT have the 3D switch, but you're not missing out on anything. You know those movie cases that have the scratchy-looking surface, and if you look at it from a different angle, the image changes? That's basically what the 3D effect is, and it's very eye straining as well. I don't have children (I'm in my 20's), but I definitely wouldn't recommend the 3DS counterpart for children, I wouldn't even recommend it to adults! On top of that, newer games don't really utilize the 3D feature to it's full potential, so really, the games really don't look good.Now, as mentioned above, it's very lightweight. The console is actually pretty comfortable to hold while playing, though if you play for say over 30 minutes, your hands will likely start getting a little tired. It's fairly small, but you'll need larger pockets to carry it around, but it should fit in any kind of backpack or messenger bag or whatever. The controls are just like the SNES (with an added little joystick, a tiny touchpad-like joystick, and one extra button on the top on each side, and of course the button screen is a touchscreen), so easy to get used to. Although, the two added top buttons are almost useless, as most games don't even use the buttons. It's really only useful for scrolling left and right on the home screen. It comes with a stylus, it's very tiny... but surprisingly, fits in the hands comfortably. And my hands are above average sized too!I totally love the little non-functional Poke-Ball button on the outside of the console... lots of fun to push the button over and over. The console comes with no games, but has an SD card with 4 GB. It's plenty of space if you primarily get physical copies of games, but there are plenty of games that are exclusively downloaded, such as classic NES & SNES games. The same kind of SD cards used for android phones are compatible for the console (or at least certain ones do). I already had a 32 GB SD card, worked just fine, and it's very cheap (I got it directly on Amazon, this is the exact one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004G606Q2/)Graphics aren't the best, especially for how recent the consoles are (most PSP games had better graphics), but the quality of available games makes it worth it. Great console, for adults and children... but let's face it, you'll probably constantly "ground" your children from playing their 2DS so you can play it!

Should’ve provided a SD card because now I have the hassle to getting one. Other then that I’m happy with it and can’t wait to play on it once I get the SD card