Author Topic: Talk me out of buying the Nintendo 2DS XL  (Read 3181 times)

jamesbond007

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Talk me out of buying the Nintendo 2DS XL
« on: July 28, 2017, 05:15:41 PM »
The title says it all. My fingers are itching to buy the 2DS XL. $149 is not a big deal. Each game costs about $20 used. Not a serious gamer. Have an xbox that I play FIFA on occasionally. Been wanting to buy a handheld for a long time. This time the itch is getting serious.

extremedefense

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Re: Talk me out of buying the Nintendo 2DS XL
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2017, 05:35:09 PM »
Go for it! Unless you think that 5 years from now you will look back and think "man, I should not have spent that $150. That's where everything went wrong."

JHoward

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Re: Talk me out of buying the Nintendo 2DS XL
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2017, 08:22:35 PM »
Some things to consider:
  • What do you think you can do with a 2DS that you can't do with either your XBox or something else you already own?
  • Is a 2DS actually likely to scratch your handheld itch, or are you going to be eyeing a tablet or a switch or something else next month?
  • Do you have another short to medium term savings goal/thing you'd be happier putting $150 towards?
  • Do you need the 2DS right now, or can you live another month without it?

I try to ask myself questions along those lines before I acquire additional things. A lot of the time it works (especially with kinda redundant electronics) but other times I buy the thing and even if it's not a 100% efficient use of my money I end up feeling satisfied with most of the purchases that I think through.

However, when I mentioned redundant electronics in my last paragraph, I was basically referring to things that I wouldn't like as much as my 3DS so there's that.

Scortius

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Re: Talk me out of buying the Nintendo 2DS XL
« Reply #3 on: July 28, 2017, 08:33:03 PM »
Well, I did get a New 3DS XL for $150 refurbished, so you could wait around a bit and look for deals, but hell, I'd go for it. It's a great deal if you end up using it.  Quick question though as asked before, specifically what games are you looking to play?  I would figure that out before you splurge on a new console.

kayvent

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Re: Talk me out of buying the Nintendo 2DS XL
« Reply #4 on: July 29, 2017, 05:35:41 AM »
I find it hard to talk about this because the math for games is a bit wacky. So 150$ for the device and you say you can get used games for 20$? Imagine five games each give you 20 hours of entertainment before you are finished with them. So what is the average hourly cost? 2.50$. A fraction the hourly cost of going to a movie. There are also a variety of free to play games on the Nintendo eShop that was wildly fun and some digital items sub-20$ that are neatly novel.

So someone really into the platform gets their slush entertainment for a few dozen cents an hour. I use my New 3DS XL between 0-6 hours a week. Trending more often to the bottom of the scale. Because of the amortization of cost though, per hour of entertainment it is still pretty cheap. Far cheaper than my Netflix account.
« Last Edit: July 29, 2017, 05:37:35 AM by kayvent »

jamesbond007

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Re: Talk me out of buying the Nintendo 2DS XL
« Reply #5 on: July 30, 2017, 09:31:22 PM »
I ended up ordering one. :)

mustachepungoeshere

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Re: Talk me out of buying the Nintendo 2DS XL
« Reply #6 on: July 30, 2017, 09:44:13 PM »
I ended up ordering one. :)

Enjoy! My husband has an Xbox, and kayvent is right. It's incredibly cheap entertainment when you break it down to cost per use.

jamesbond007

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Re: Talk me out of buying the Nintendo 2DS XL
« Reply #7 on: July 31, 2017, 07:52:37 AM »
Yeah. That's what I figured. I don't go to cinema to watch movies. I just pay for Netflix/Amazon. So the cost breakdown is what sold me.

prognastat

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Re: Talk me out of buying the Nintendo 2DS XL
« Reply #8 on: July 31, 2017, 08:37:13 AM »
Gaming can be a relatively frugal hobby as far as entertainment goes. Per hour cost is generally lower than cinema or buying movies/series on DVD/Blu-rays. My recommendations are buying refurb/used when possible and also I use amazon price watches to keep an eye on the prices of games I want. Most games I buy are new, but $20 or less as long as you are willing to wait for the price to drop.

ketchup

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Re: Talk me out of buying the Nintendo 2DS XL
« Reply #9 on: July 31, 2017, 09:05:49 AM »
Gaming can be a relatively frugal hobby as far as entertainment goes. Per hour cost is generally lower than cinema or buying movies/series on DVD/Blu-rays. My recommendations are buying refurb/used when possible and also I use amazon price watches to keep an eye on the prices of games I want. Most games I buy are new, but $20 or less as long as you are willing to wait for the price to drop.
It absolutely can be. 

It also can be very silly and inefficient.  I feel like most gamers will buy ten $60 games, play nine of them for 3-6 hours each, and then play the tenth for 100 hours. 

The trick is figuring out which game is that tenth one (and then finding a deal on it).  Also, the net cost is usually very low when you only buy very good games (buy desirable game for $30 used in 2003, sell for $25 in 2013).

My lowest $/hr games of all time are probably Pokémon Gold/Silver, Mario Kart 64, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Team Fortress 2.  Multiple hundreds of hours on each of those over the years.

405programmer

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Re: Talk me out of buying the Nintendo 2DS XL
« Reply #10 on: July 31, 2017, 09:28:50 AM »
Awesome! There are so many good DS and 3DS games out there that the title backlog of quality games is amazing. Keep an eye on craigslist in your area and you might be able to scoop up entire collections of DS games for 20-30! I went from only having A Link to the Past installed on my 3DS to having a small stack of games I'm excited to play for $25. Now if only I could find a cheap copy of Link Between Worlds...