I'd say mostly age group and "health" (with a good chunk of price point). Specifically, for the under-7 crowd. It doesn't have hinges, so fewer parts for small children to break. It doesn't have 3D, so the possible vision damage stops being an issue[1]. It's cheaper, so parents are more likely to purchase it. Oh, and it's coming out on the same date as Pokemon X and Y.

[1] http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/nintendo-3ds-young-e...

Yeah, that is a pretty substantial discount. I guess plenty of parents will take advantage of that for their kids.

This quote just seems to revoke the whole idea of making a 3D capable console in the first place:

    "The new Nintendo 2DS system gives you all the features of
     the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL, minus 3D viewing"

What a clumsy way to phase 3D games out of their product line.

My understanding is that the 3D has always been optional, and that a slider on the 3DS allowed you to change the level of "3Dness" with some number of levels between off and on.

Then again, I haven't actually used one really, so I'm not sure.

No, you are correct, which makes it confusing that so many people in these comments are saying the 3D screen was the reason they didn't buy the 3DS...

Yup, I keep mine off almost all the time.

I keep mine off all of the time. Hurts my eyes almost instantly.

What I forsee is some developers wanting to ignore the 3D capabilities. "I have two sets of consoles, one with 3D and the other without. Ditch the 3D!"

I probably won't happen because Nintendo is known to force the developers to use their gimmicks, but most of them are probably thinking about it.

I would also like some information about the hardware. Will it have the same processor and/or GPU? The 3d effect spends some resources, so will there be games that run better in the 2DS than on the 3DS?

I want to quash this rumor: Nintendo does not require 3rd parties to use particular features (3D screen, waggle, etc.)