2D games have been around us since the inception of the games while 3D games started developing as early in the eighties, but the mid 90’s actually saw the real revolution in the 3D games development.2D games are as different from 3D games as chalk and cheese. The soul of the game is the same, but the experience differs massively.
2D and 3D refer to the tangible dimensions rendering in the game world. 2D is flat with only two dimensions while 3D has three dimensions allowing an object to have volume and depth. If I were to say it figuratively, 2D is like a painting while 3D is like a sculpture.

Movement

2D Game follows the linear movement. You can move the character in different directions, but finally you are taking the character forward to an ending point. The character progression is done with changing of the entire screen. Like in the ever popular, 2D Mario Bros, Mr. Mario keeps moving forward to reach the princess.
On the other hand, 3D games allow the player to go deeper and nearer to the screen. Since the landscape has more volume and depth, a player can move in different environments without changing the screen. The movement is unrestricted and free. Like the GTA: Vice City, allows the character to roam freely in different worlds.
But since the 2D games are simpler they are easier to follow and understand than its counterpart. They don’t come with huge tutorials and you can just log in and start enjoying the game. However the free movements make 3D games exciting and enthralling.

Physical world environment

2D environment is flat in dimensions having a single layer. It provides a single plane where the character moves and interacts. Owing to its flat dimension it is not able to paint a real picture of the world you are interacting where the landscape remains uniform and palette feels the same.

3D world has more layers and penetration. Because of this, a 3D world is visually beautiful; captivating and mesmerizing.3D world captures the real world in its entirety making the landscape engrossing and absorbing. It lets you fancy a completely fictional world which is so above what you can ever think and imagine. Because the 3D world is dynamic, it lets the player interact in the manner he wants to perceive.
In the linear world of the 2D, a player generally strides on a single one way to reach its destination. A 3D world offers more stimulating experience to us. Sometimes we can just wander about to discover new places, spend some time to appreciate the marvels, discover hidden paths and uncover buried treasures. Like the GTA series totally lets you get mystified in its amazing world.

Production

Due to the complexities involved in the production of the 3D games, the production cost and time taken is much higher than 2D games. The data structures, art assets, physics, animations, volume of data, are much more complex and grueling than a 2D game. While designing a 3D world, you will have to rethink and recheck for every bug that your physical world can have. Because even a single bug in the level physics can make a character stranded or go amiss in the world.
2D Games are kicking and alive because its production cost is very less. With the current hardware assets and creative talent available, it has become easy to transform a radical idea into an exciting 2Dgame.

Graphics

3D games have astounding graphics making it visually appealing. The art design department consists of several visual artists, lighting artists, animators, texture and level artists, 3D modellers and many more. With 2D games, artists are given a flat palette to fill with backdrops and sprites, but in 3D world the artists have to co-ordinate constantly and carefully to balance out all the textures, animations and lighting.

Conclusion

It seems on the surface that 2D games have lost its place. But is it really so? Consider the most popular game of this decade, Angry Birds. Its 2D, it’s Famous, and it is Fantabulous. Do we really need some high end graphics to make a game successful? All we need is an engaging gameplay to connect with the game. Graphics and everything can come and go, but if the game’s characters, its game play, its replay value is impressive, it shall surely make a success.
On, the other hand, 3D games offer more genres, much longer games with exceptional scale. Even the minutest details get the in-depth attention, and overall the game looks so much cooler. Who could have imagined 10 years back that you can actually make a game so immersive that you can feel it is absorbing you in the fiction world of its own. And how we love this feeling of guns blazing over our head, the way our heart skips a beat when a monster jumps over, or how we jump over the seats to defend from the evil desperadoes!!
In a nutshell, 2D games are like radios, they are old, but they are reinventing themselves to face new age 3D games while 3D games are going to the game changers of the industry, pushing the whole industry to create better, bigger, bolder games.