The Nintendo 3DS has been one of the best-selling handhelds of all time. It has seen countless releases of quality games for seven years. This system refuses to die out, but that’s a good thing. Nintendo has renewed its lifespan until at least 2019. First-party games will still be coming out in a steady stream in 2018 such as Detective Pikachu, WarioWare Gold, Bowser’s Inside Story, and a remaster of Luigi’s Mansion. This has not been a popular opinion, though. Many believe that these new games should see releases on the Nintendo Switch instead. While the Switch is an amazing system, this does not mean that the 3DS should automatically die out. The system should fizzle out and have a chance to release the final games that had been in development. Here are a few reasons why the 3DS should continue to live.
The 3DS Continues to Sell Well
The system has just come off of one of its best years, sales-wise, in recent memory. Why should Nintendo abandon this new audience of gamers? After buying a fresh new handheld, it’s expected it will have at least a few new releases. Nintendo is also producing the handheld in a variety of colors and patterns that gamers continue to purchase. Nintendo would not want to leave money on the table, nor would they wish to upset its new audience. The 3DS is another source of revenue that continues to produce results for the company. From a business point of view, it would not make sense to kill off this handheld completely.
A Cheaper Alternative to the Switch
The Nintendo Switch is priced at $299.99. For people looking to buy a new console or the parents of young gamers, a price point of $149.99 for a New 2DS XL is much more appealing. Games for the system also are priced at $39.99 rather than the Switch’s $59.99 price. The Nintendo Selects program has also been a help in providing a less expensive price point. Certain games from Nintendo’s back catalog have been able to see re-releases at only $19.99. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Kirby Triple Deluxe are a few that have benefitted from this program. At these cheaper price points, it would be a lot easier to purchase a 3DS than a Switch.
Strong Releases
Within the last year, the 3DS family of handhelds saw releases of Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, Metroid: Samus Returns, Fire Emblem: Echoes, and Hey! Pikmin. Four games from very popular Nintendo franchises were able to spawn new iterations on this system. 2018 is already shaping up pretty well for the system as well. With Detective Pikachu, WarioWare Gold, and Luigi’s Mansion, 3DS is able to continue thriving. These games, at least in Nintendo’s eyes, take advantage of the second screen that the handheld has to offer. Yes, a Switch port for the above three games would have been greatly appreciated, but it would not have been able to take full advantage of that second screen. The Switch could handle these games, but not as well as Nintendo would want, so it would be better to have these releases on the 3DS than not at all.
Legacy
The Nintendo 3DS has been an amazing system that has served its purpose for Nintendo. It has been able to produce great results for the company, but it should not die off just yet. The Switch is proving to be a massive success, being its fastest-selling system yet. While the Switch continues to garner a bigger audience, the 3DS can allow for a transition between the two platforms. This year’s first-party releases should be some of the final ones for the 3DS. It has been a great a system that should continue to live on, but with the help of third parties and smaller developers.
This is how the PlayStation Vita has been able to thrive on without its support from Sony and should be how the 3DS lives on without Nintendo. Indies and third parties can help satisfy that craving these new owners will be having after purchase and it will allow for Nintendo to shift its full attention towards the Switch. By doing this, Switch fans and 3DS fans alike can gain the most out of their systems and it will allow the two systems to coexist.