Owned mine since it released in 2011, and those past 8 years have been great.
There'a limit of what you can do with the same hardware for so long, and Nintendo really did their best.

Right now i have my eyes set on Kirby and Persona Q2 but i have a feeling these are the last two good games that will be released for the 3DS.

Heavyarms55 wrote:

The 3DS, like the DS, GBA and Game Boy. Like the NES, SNES, N64 and Gamecube, like all systems that sold millions of units and hundreds of millions of units of software, will never really die.

All game systems go through the same essential lifecycle.
1. Launch until 5 years after launch
At the start they are a shiny new thing and people get very excited about them. Lots of software is released and lots of money is made.

2. 6 to 10 years after launch
Then something newer and shinier comes along and people start to lose interest. Machines start being passed down to younger siblings or sold to raise funds to buy a new machine. By year 6 or 7 the active user base consists mainly of kids who have not yet convinced their parents to buy them a new machine.

3. 10 to 15 years after launch
Then comes a few years in which the machine is almost totally forgotten. Software is no longer being released and the machine can no longer be bought in stores. This is the phase during which the machine and most of its games can be had very cheaply at yard sales and second hand stores because people are just getting rid of them.

4. 15 years and more from launch
Once a machine is about 15 years old it suddenly starts to become cool again. The people who owned it at launch become nostalgic about it and wish that they still had it. Others who are retro gamers start to become interested in it. The price of the machine and its games start to rise again. Copies of rare games in good condition become worth $100 or more. Usually these games were totally ignored because they launched in years 6-10 when people had mostly moved on to a newer machine.

We are obviously in phase 2 with the 3DS now. I am keeping my tub full of games, and still buying new releases in anticipation for Phase 4 :) I expect that some of the RPGs that I have on cart for 3DS (and especially Vita) will be worth a lot someday when collectors are going nuts trying to get them.

But it is on the verge or retirement. And no big surprise there, it is almost eight years old. How many other 8 year old gaming/computer devices are still being supported at this point? Not many. 8 years for an electronic device is like 80 years for a human.