When comparing Nintendo 2DS vs Shield Tablet K1, the Slant community recommends Nintendo 2DS for most people. In the question“What are the best portable game consoles?” Nintendo 2DS is ranked 13th while Shield Tablet K1 is ranked 17th. The most important reason people chose Nintendo 2DS is:
The Nintendo 2DS retails for $99.00, but can be purchased for slightly less in various retailers. As for features, the only real difference between the 2DS and the 3DS XL is the screen size and 3D display. Almost all other features are identical, with the 2DS even able to play older DS games.
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Pros
Pro Half the price/Comparable features
The Nintendo 2DS retails for $99.00, but can be purchased for slightly less in various retailers. As for features, the only real difference between the 2DS and the 3DS XL is the screen size and 3D display. Almost all other features are identical, with the 2DS even able to play older DS games.
Pro Good deal
$200 for one of the best Android gaming tablets out there makes for a cheap option for a device with a high end GPU.
Pro Powerful portable graphics
Graphics close to last-gen consoles using the Tegra K1 GPU. There are ports of current AA games such as Borderlands 2 as well as Portal. These are high quality games that run well on the device due to the powerful GPU.
Pro HDMI output
Has a mini-HDMI port so you can connect it to your TV or monitor. This allows one to play games on a larger screen while powering them with the tablet, much like a console.
Cons
Con Missing some features
The top screen of the device is not able to display any of the 3DS games in 3D (hence the 2DS name) which may make some games that heavily rely on 3D such as Super Mario 3D Land difficult to play. There is also only a mono speaker built into the device (though the headphone jack is stereo) as well as no way to fold the device as the shell is all a solid frame.
Con No physical controls built in
Need to get a controller or use touchscreen controls. While the old model used to come with a stylus that has been removed on the new device. There is also a game controller made by Nvidia that works specifically with this tablet but it is an extra cost since it does not come with it.
Con Game selection
A few Shield exclusives, but mostly mobile games, which mainly work with touch controls rather than a gamepad.
Con Not great battery life
Maybe 3 hours of gaming battery life, or about 10 hours of web browsing. For what is a gaming centric device the screen time while gaming is quite low.