Topic: Nintendo to support 3DS 2018 and beyond

I know this topic is going to be beyond my control I know. Just go to the link http://nintendoeverything.com/nintendo-to-support-3ds-beyond-... What is your thoughts about it? To "All" of the naysayers that the 3ds needs to die GO JUMP OFF A CLIFF and this is coming from both a switch and 3ds owner thank you.

Yeah I can't see the 3DS dying without a new dedicated handheld successor, people keep saying it won't happen...Don't listen to me then, lol

It's PR speak. They have a new SKU, the tail end of western localisations to move and a fairly sizeable install base. They're not going to come out and say to people that its a dead platform. They said the same thing about the GBA. The 3DS is well and truly behind the curve at this stage, it's only a matter of time.

As an owner of both I'm kinda annoyed when something comes out only on 3DS. I'm going to skip the next Pokemon on 3DS, I'm waiting for the Switch version. I'm hyped about the new Metroid on 3DS but I kinda wish it was on Switch. But beyond that I couldn't care less about 3DS anymore.

People also said that the Switch (then NX) was going to be 100% a home console because the 3DS was their cash cow. No way was Nintendo going to release a portable system when they have the 3DS line! And now the Switch is out and you guys are saying "well, the Switch isn't a real portable. The 3DS can only be replaced by something that's properly portable". Well ok. But what will that be? What if they release a smaller SKU for the Switch in a couple of years?

And do people really want a smaller portable when the XL SKUs are the most popular? Do kids get an iPod Touch or an iPad as their first smart device?

Pretty sure they would continue the dual screen setup, or come up with something crazy for the next handheld that makes it stand out from the Switch.

@Joeynator3000 You also said a mainline MH wouldn't come out on anything other than a Nintendo handheld, and one is lol

@Joeynator3000
But why? What reason do they have to split their audience like that anymore? It has made sense upto this point because there was a massive gap in spec. What you could do on a home console and what you could do with limited battery life and a portable form factor. That gap has shrunk to the point where Nintendo can get away with calling their new portable a home console.

I don't see any reason why Nintendo would continue their portable line as a separate platform once the 3DS inevitably drops off the radar. Of course at this stage they're keeping the door open as a safety if the Switch fails. But I think it's fair to assume that the Switch won't fail given its early success

Well there's no sign of 3DS games into 2018, and Pokemon, the most prominent handheld exclusive game, is coming to the Switch after USUM, so I'd wager that support is starting to wane down. We're probably not going to see any more major 3DS releases.

The 3DS has a crazy-high install base. Of course they're going to continue to support it until they see a seriously significant drop-off in software sales.

I had a longer rant but the forum ate my post. Anyways, install base doesn't matter quite as much as people think it does. It's a factor but what matters more are the trends and how many of those pieces of hardware are associated with a consumer who's actively buying software. So probably the better metric is yearly software sales.

If you plug in some guestimates for 2017 based on software sales for this year so far you get this graph. Note that so far this year the Switch is selling more units of software than 3DS and 3DS is down on last year.

If you're a publisher or developer and you're making a decision about which platform your game will appear on? You're making a prediction on what those lines will look like in 2019. And I think your guesstimate would be Switch >60mill/year, 3DS <20mill/year. In other words, if you're making a game now? By the time it comes out the Switch version will probably sell 3x as much or more.

Ignoring the Pokemon Go bump in 2016, the 3DS peaked in 2013/14 and has been steadily going down since. The Switch is only going to accelerate that process.

Now that I think about it, I don't think EPD has released a game on 3DS since Miitopia launched in Japan last year.

That's a bit harsh, can't the internet have one discussion without someone telling the other side to kill themselves?

The 3DS is surviving way longer than most people expected. That's not a bad thing. It can't survive forever though. Support is slowly decreasing.

I remember arguing with someone on here probably two years ago now about what the Switch was a replacement for; the 3DS or the Wii U. It seems very silly now when it's so obvious that the Wii U was the problem, while people still want to play 3DS games.

@skywake You're arguing with yourself. Your main contention is that the 3DS won't be around at the end of a 2-3 year development cycle starting in 2017, but you and everyone else are complaining about current game announcements and releases on 3DS which will have started years in the past. Obviously Nintendo and the Pokemon Company want to continue supporting and profiting from the 3DS. If you really want a company that's not, that would be Capcom. And even then, we'll have to see if the next Monster Hunter game after World comes to 3DS or not.

@Haru17
I'm able to say as a consumer that I'd rather have seen those games on Switch while still talking about the realities of development. I agree that a game that started development in 2015/2016 may have been built under an assumption that a 3DS release would move more units. So I understand why, for example, that 2D Metroid is on 3DS. From a business perspective that decision made in 2015 would have made sense. But as a consumer? I'd be far more interested in it if it was on the Switch.

That's the fundamental problem with console launches historically and the reason why older platforms are typically supported for a while. It takes a while for games on the new platform to outsell games on the older platform. That's just how it is. And the decision on which platform to develop for is made well in advance which adds a layer of uncertainty to that. But as a consumer I only care about the platform I own and what games are coming out this month.

Outside of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, Metroid: Samus Returns (never ever thought I'd type this!) and Pokémon Ultra Moon and Ultra Sun, are there any other games that Nintendo themselves have in active development for the 3DS as we speak?

Whilst I am pleased to see a 'proper' Metroid on the 3DS, and will likely be my last game I play on it, I would be equally as pleased if those trio of games shall be the last wave of Nintendo developed software on the 3DS.

Given that the Switch is doing rather well for itself, I thoroughly hope that they are beginning to pool all of their available resources towards it, and leave the 3DS to fade away into the sunset. It has had a good run!

@Peek-a-boo Nope, I think everything else that is coming is third party stuff.

@Peek-a-boo
we still have that Kirby game for holiday 2017 and Sushi Striker for 2018. other then those two. i can't think anything else that's upcoming that we don't know, other then what you said.

I doubt they are going to let it fade into the sunset anytime soon. They are releasing a New Nintendo 2DS XL next month. The Switch just happened to be the focus of E3 but that doesn't mean the 3DS is dead. They will probably have a direct in September to announce games for the 3DS.

I'm quite surprised the 3ds is still going. Heh, as a 3DS owner, doesn't bother me.

The only support confirmed in 2018 up until this point are Atlus's late localizations for the west. They won't say upright when they start phasing out the 3DS, but you can see its happening this E3 - it wasn't even mentioned in the Spotlight, and all the games it has in developments are late localizations from Japan, remakes like the new Metroid or small of enhancements.

I wouldn't be surprised Nintendo starts phasing it out next year after they managed to reach certain amount of Switches sold, and they can be sure it will sustain them moving forward. After that, kiss 3DS goodbye.

But in the meantime, I don't blame them for supporting it. It has a install base of 66 million - who would want to waste that? Not any businessman with a modicum of sense. If they dropped the 3DS right now, the investors would be upon them like rabid dogs for such an idiocy.

Nintendo will continue to support the 3DS for as long as it continues to be profitable to do so. However, we have already seen that the days of 3DS getting big games are over. From now on the 3DS (at least in the west) will be limited to ports (like Mario Maker and FE Warriors), remakes (like FE Echoes and Samus Returns), enhanced re-releases (like Animal Crossing Welcome Amiibo and Pokemon Ultra Sun/Moon) and localizations from Japan. There will be no more big, brand new entries in franchise like Mario, Zelda and Metroid that are exclusive to 3DS. Those types of games will all be going to Switch.

I am very happy with the games that Nintendo has coming to 3DS over the next year or so. I can see myself buying as many as 10 or more games in that span which is awesome considering how old the system is. However, I fully expect things to slow way down by the end of 2018 and to be pretty dead by 2019. 2018 will have a new Kirby game, Dragon Quest XI and Yo-Kai Watch 3. Maybe there will be one or two nice surprises but not much else.