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Bought a 3DS XL last year
(lemmy.dbzer0.com)
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this post was submitted on 27 Jan 2026
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As a tech that attempted to repair a waterlogged flooded and rusted out 2DS, unfortunately unsuccessfully, may I ask a question?
How many versions of the Nintendo DS did they make, and more importantly, why?
DS, 2DS, 3DS, DSi, DS XL, am I missing any, and why so many variations?
DS and DSi were basically one console.
3DS and its variants were the second gen. 2DS was a 3DS with no 3D and no hinge, made for kids. 3DS XL was just a larger version. "New" 3DS was a power upgrade plus a new right stick for games that were a little too much for the base console.
It was a glorious line of handhelds, and I wish the Switch had never been invented, leaving the portable 3DS line still valid. I would love a new one.
2DS had one single screen, that motherfucker was a goddamn joke!
You think I'm shitting you, go ahead and disassemble one, it only had one single screen!
Does that really matter, though? It was designed to be cheap and rugged for kids. It still functioned as two screens.
Both fit in the toilet equally well.
You think I enjoyed wasting my time attempting to fix that shit?
Hey, at least it wasn’t infested with roaches.
You act like it wasn't..
Hey, at least I was paid by the hour to waste my time attempting to fix it. Company dime, company time, and customer paid for the replacement screen even.
Sucks that I wasn't successful, but damn, when the whole thing is literally rusted out, even the boss should have realized it was a hopeless cause. 🤷
What matters is like literally I asked a question..
HOW MANY VERSIONS OF THE DS DID THEY MAKE?
I asked a number, nobody has answered that.
And why so many versions?
Are you asking the total number across all generations, revisions, colors, sizes, limited editions, variants, and regional models?
The answer is somewhere around 202+ individual SKUs last I checked. Only Nintendo knows for sure.
I found a couple sources attempting to catalog them all, but even they probably don’t have 100% coverage as I’ve found others pointing out a handful of specific versions that weren’t listed.
https://altarofgaming.com/nintendo-ds-models-color-variations-limited-editions/
https://www.torsive.com/2024/10/nintendo-ds-consoles-all-model.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_DS
https://consolevariations.com/database/nintendo-ds
Happy? Because I don’t think anyone else is ever going to give you more satisfying of an answer. Now calm down and go to bed. People here aren’t your enemy just because they don’t quite know the exact answer. Just be appreciative they’re providing what they can, that’s all anyone can expect of anyone else.
If you’re still unhappy, ask Nintendo.
16 years, 4 generations, global audience, capitalism….
When my kid was young, the 2DS was perfect because it would survive being shaken without issues. Try shaking a 3DS when the screen is open.
Who cares that they cost-optimized both screens into one? It was cheaper and more robust. It was perfect for smaller kids.
They both fit in the toilet...
I totally wasted my time that day, so please for the love of the flying spaghetti monster, stop giving toddlers electronics!
Stop posting while drunk.
Probably reasonable advice. 👍
Yes, here they are in release order
DS - original Ds light - slimmer version Dsi &dsi xl - removed ability to play gba games, added cameras and some exclusive. I think the exclusives for this were just a few and nothing notable, but I could be wrong. Also xl has a bigger screen.
3ds- next gen ds with 3d screen. 2ds & 3ds xl - 2 ds gets rid of the 3d screen to save cost and xl version is larger. New 2ds and 3ds - better hardware, but not a new gen. There are a very few exclusive games for it like Minecraft. Added a second joystick on the right side for camera control in some games.
Ah, thanks for proving my point, they salted the N fanboys.
There's no way you could know all this unless you dumped your bank account into all these devices plus compatible games.
Don’t have to spend money to learn stuff. Let people have their hobbies.
What's the difference between a hobby and an obsession?
A hobby is knowing the difference between a 286/386/486.. SX/DX..
An obsession is knowing why an Athlon X64 can't even run Windows 10, fuckall with Windows 11.
I gave up that obsession when I found out my Athlon 64 X2 4400+ couldn't even run Windows 10, because it's missing a particular instruction that Microslop wants to scratch their nuts with.
I really don't give a fuck anymore, I've been running Linux on my laptops for 10+ years now.
O Arbiter of what is appropriate to know, what shall be deemed appropriate for these people to know?
Tell us what is appropriate to know, for clearly we are misguided and you are the last Arbiter of appropriate knowledge!
https://tinyurl.com/172games
I ain't got time to play all these games like you obsessed gamers, but have fun.
Seeing as how you're some sort of hardware tech, I bet the money I splash out on clothes would leave you bewildered. Likewise, sure, I use Linux, but only cause I want something reliable. I don't fuck with it. I spend my money looking how I want to look.
Fuckin' let people enjoy the things they enjoy. :/
Wait, you wear clothes?
You know shit about computers? Fuckin’ nerd. That’s an obsession.
You know what a hobby is? A hobby is what I like and enjoy, not you. Yours are obsessions, mine are hobbies.
It was actually a career, which earned me money, up until Windows 8 came out and I said fuck that. There's a difference between an obsession and a career, one wastes time, the other makes money.
I was the data backup guy. Wonder why I got terabytes of all sorts of stuff?
You'll never find my custom mods then.
I got Nude Raider running under both Windows and Linux.
Fuck you, and Lara titties you'll never see.
We’ll manage.
sigh
I only ever bought a 3ds xl and 4 games for it in total. Mario kart, Mario land and 2 pokemon games.
So I can know this because I can read.
DS was the first dual screen games(bottom is a Touchscreen), dsi added a web browser, a store to purchase "DSiWare" and a camera, 3DS added 3D, gyroscopes street pass and probably some other things I'm forgetting, NEW3DS is faster hardware and eye tracking to fix the 3D so you don't have to hold the 3DS directly in front of you stiffly. 2DS is for kids because parents got it in their heads that the 3D would fry the kids eyes and has no hinge so you can't protect the screens. I don't remember there being a "DS XL" but I remember a DSi XL, 3DS XL and NEW 3DS XL(the best version). There's also a 3DS I don't remmeber the letters for but was exclusive to Japan that was a NEW 3DS with changeable faceplates. I forget which console added the IR emitter/sensor but the Pokémon DS cartridges originally had them in them I think for transmitting to the pokewalker but I don't think the built in or sensor ever worked for that functionality.
If you don't consider the DS fat an upgrade to the GBA like the GBA was to the Gameboy Color, then I wouldn't consider the DS on the same line the 3DS is. Basicly from the Gameboy DMG all the way up to the NEW 3DS XL is just one upgradeable line of handhelds that Nintendo just kept making better and better. That's the "why" to there being so many, always has been. The Switch truely feels like its own third branch from Nintendo's handheld and console lines with how ass backwards they regressed in features. No backwards compatability at all hardwarewise with a prior device so its definitely a new starting point.
Holy fuck, how much money did you blow on all these devices to know all this stuff?
Fuck, that much N addiction makes a crack cocaine habit seem healthy.
Dude, you asked for information and then you attack everyone who answers with knowledge you can find on wikipedia.
What's wrong with you? If you don't want answers don't ask questions.
If you ask a question and someone answers it, the proper response is "Thank you for the detailed answer", and not claiming that anyone who has knowledge you don't must be a drug addict.
Get a grip, man.
Maybe teach the toddlers to grip their handheld game consoles and not drop them in the toilet, or maybe even prevent them from taking them into the restroom in the first place, then techs like me won't get upset.
I didn't say anything about toilets. In fact, I have never seen anyone drop handheld consoles into toilets. Is that something you do?
Please stop posting while drunk. Makes you look really dumb.
Bruh, my point is, it was freaking obvious that some toddler dropped the thing in the toilet, and the parents waited like 6 months while the thing rusted from the inside out before bringing it to a shop to attempt to fix it.
It was already practically hopeless, but I was tasked with trying to fix it, by my boss at work. Hell, the kid's parents even bought the new screen.
Whether I'm drunk or not, point is I'm smart enough to not give toddlers electronics.
Believe it or not, sometimes a person can interact with many other people to learn things. They can also use the internet to look up information.
Money need not be spent for this knowledge.
No, but much time must be spent on this knowledge between all these various devices. It's a waste of time.
I collect games that I've never played. You expect me to arrange a means to play over 5000 games to see if they even work?
Fuck, I'm an archiver, not a player.
https://tinyurl.com/172games
That's only a fragment of what I have here, I ain't got time to play every game I have...
I mean this in a genuine way - I actually don’t expect you to spend your free time on things you don’t have interest in. That would, indeed, be a waste of your time.
Your archival of games is a great effort and a positive thing.
Some folks enjoy gaming, game history, and cultural critique of generational hardware. Those interests/hobbies are also valid. That’s not a waste of their time.
LOL, I didn't upload those games from my own system!
Most of those games I never even downloaded in the first place, I just found a loophole in the systems out there at the time and tricked the archive to upload stuff from other servers...
The main advantage I have seen with my kids in the 2DS over the 3DS is that the 2DS survives being shaken without issues. My kids tended to shake the consoles when they got angry that they lost a game. Try doing that with the 3DS and you are soon going to build a GBA Macro.
DS, DS slim: That's the first generation. 67MHz, 4MB RAM. Both consoles are identical apart from the form factor and play DS and GBA games.
DSi, DSi XL: Second generation, 133MHz, 16MB RAM, downloadable games, no GBA slot. GBA compatibility still exists via virtual console, but not with physical games. Adds a camera and integrated storage.
3DS, 2DS, 3DS XL: Third generation, 2x268MHz, 128MB RAM. The 3DS variants have autostereoscopic 3D displays. The 2DS is a hingle-less cheaper variant without 3D displays. Adds a left joystick. 3D cameras.
New 3DS, New 3DS XL, New 2DS XL: Fourth generation, 4x804MHz, 256MB RAM, second stick
So basically there are four generations. Each generation massively upgraded the performance while adding new features here and there.
Each of the generations (apart from the original DS) has size-variants that have bigger screens for a higher price and a larger size.
The DS and DS slim are identical apart from the fact that they managed to slim down the device with further development.
I didn't ask how many generations they made, I asked how many VERSIONS did they make!
God fucking damn, is this question so hard to answer?!
If I'm tasked to fix one with a broken screen, what version and revision am I supposed to seek parts for?
Seems to me there must be at least 2 dozen versions by now, like how the fuck do I find parts if someone wants me to fix theirs?
Are you drunk?
I did post all versions.
If you are drunk, don't post online. It makes you look like a fool.