Topic: "3DS only, no buy" - but why?

The Ps3 still got games this year.

@AlternateButtons
"The 3DS is filled with archaic innards that have no place being in the 2017/2018 market. And we especially don't need new games for this system."

Who cares ?
I still found myself enjoy my NDS games, even just ONLY 240p on 3DS XL screen.
The 240p from NDS games on 3DS XL still enjoyable for me. That's why i built my NDS game library, right now i have collected 25 NDS games an still find any interesting NDS games that i have never played before.

I don't care if i play NDS games with 240p on year 2017 / 2018 and next year. Time will NEVER Stop me to enjoy my Old games anytime i want.

I can't stand the hardware. I never thought it was impressive at any point and after getting a Vita in 2012 I preferred to play games on that. Now they just look awful. Plus not being a huge JRPG or Fire Emblem fan there's been few games that have interested me.

I still have a 2DS as I have some digital games and it might get passed on to one of my young boys as a 'My first Console' one day but it hasn't been charged in months.

Plus there's the time factor. I'm 40, two young kids, wife, shift work. I have very limited gaming time and when I do I'm choosing between Switch, PS4 and a Forza terminal (XB1). 3DS just doesnt stand a chance. I'm happy its still getting games, I just think Nintendo should be putting them on both formats where possible.

I have always felt limited with the 3DS features. I have always hated the distinctive features of the DS family, the two different screens (pointless in my opinion, I really don't understand their meaning even now), the 3D effect, completely uninteresting to me, the touch screen controls... In fact one of the reason why I have been able to like the 3DS to some extent is the fact that many games were a lot less focused on touch controls than the old DS games. One of my favourite things of the 3DS is the fact that you can use it to see pictures too, but with the resolution of its screen it is not that satisfying after all. It has many good games yes (another one of my favourite things is the virtual console and the retro classics) but it still lacks some games that I really need to consider a console actually complete so I never felt it completely satisfying and I don't feel that much attached to it. Don't get me wrong, unlike the old DS (that I always hated) I really like the 3DS but at the same time I never felt completely happy with it. There were always many things that I liked but at the same time many things that I wanted and I couldn't find in it.
The same can be said of the Switch yes, but it just launched a few months ago and I hope to see the things I miss the most in the future (Photo channel and Virtual console), but as a console I think it is a lot better and much more promising (no double screens nonsense, better graphics instead of the boring and uninteresting 3D effect, its hybrid nature, it is the definitive gaming device imho) and I already find it much more satisfying with its games than the 3DS is, despite the fact that it is not even a year that it came out. So I prefer to invest all my money on the thing I prefer and it is more interesting for me. I feel very sorry for the 3DS because there are many things I like about it but there are also too many things that are missing and too many of its features that I really don't like and never will so everytime I play with it I feel a mix of joy and frustration at the same time. That's why I don't want to invest anything on it anymore now that I have something better. The amount of money that I have is not unlimited and I prefer to put all of it in the thing that pleases me the most

We're not talking about walking down memory lane here and this isn't about playing games we may have missed out on. We're talking about games that are releasing now at full retail prices on this old hardware when new hardware is already out. It's kinda like the discussions about HD remasters. Except we don't own the original and the system where the HD remaster could have existed is already in our hands.

We're not so much saying that the 3DS is garbage and that everything should now be on the Switch. We're just saying that if a game comes out for the 3DS now that the Switch is out? We'll probably skip it. Because that $50AU would be better spent on content for the Switch.

The 3DS is far from my favorite Nintendo handheld. I never appreciated its 3D capabilities, and I was also a late adopter. What I'm implying with the latter is I bought one when my phone was already capable of better graphics. This always stirred me. While the library was certainly enticing (I spent a lot of time with JRPGs and the N64 remakes.), the murky resolution, despite being on a small screen, was consistently dissatisfying. Eventually, I just gave it away to a friend.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I believe all developmental efforts should be on the Switch, and I would like to see Nintendo let the 3DS die. I'm not alone in this, either, given how people react to 3DS-exclusive games in the Switch era. It had a good run, but it's now time to focus on the future. Since release, the Switch has been bludgeoning the market with its popularity, causing both great joy and frustration. It'd be foolish business not to do everything possible to capitalize on this.

Same reason that i don't buy same games for Switch that have already on 3DS

@AlternateButtons I'm just going by the Australian classification, it says Kirby Star Allies is multiplatform and a 3DS version is the only way I see that being the case. Nintendo could announce it during the January Direct.

If I had a choice between playing a certain game in 240p or 1080p I would choose 1080p, but if 240p is the only option I won't be put off. High resolution is nice, but it's not so important for me that it affects my purchasing decisions too much.

@Grumblevolcano : That means nothing. Console games are listed in the Australian classification database as "multiplatform" by default. 1-2 Switch, Super Mario Odyssey and even "Farming Simulator 17 for Nintendo Switch" are also listed as "multiplatform" games. Going by that logic, they're all due for a 3DS release as well. "Multiplatform" is just a general term that the Classification Board uses for games (and have been doing so for years), and while specific platforms were often specified in the past, it is considered a moot point nowadays, as games are re-released on later systems all the time, and/or may be playable on other consoles due to backwards compatibility.

Rest assured, Kirby Star Allies is not coming out for the 3DS family of systems. Well, at least the Australian Classification Board website should not be considered to be evidence to warrant such speculation.

The only retail 3DS games available for pre-order in Australia at present are:

Mario Party: The Top 100 (which is already available in the U.S.)
Minecraft (is inexplicably unavailable in the Australian 3DS eShop)
Shin Megami Tensei : Strange Journey Redux
Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology

I imagine that an early-2018 Direct will include a few fresh 3DS announcements, but I doubt that they will be of any value. Nintendo has been forfeiting the 3DS effect from their own games, which makes their exclusivity to the 3DS all the more frustrating.

As already stated that kinda means nothing. If you do a search on the Australian Classification website for games published by Nintendo they either don't have a platform listed at all or they're multi-platform. It's kinda meaningless. Going through the list here are some recent rated games that are listed as "multi-platform"

• Kirby Star Allies
• SnipperClips Plus
• Xenoblade Chronicles 2
• Super Mario Odyssey
• Pokemon Ultra Sun/Moon
• Pokken Tournament DX (as a separate rating from Pokken Tournament)
• Metroid Samus Returns
• Splatoon 2
• Hey! Pikmin!
• Nintendo SNES Classic Mini (yes, the very same)
• Arms
• 1-2 Switch

........ You get the idea

All this talk of "dont release more for 3DS" what about things that started development back in January, or third parties?

Why toss away titles like Sushi Striker and waste the money put in, just because no one wants a 3DS game now? Should they have cancelled Samus Returns? Mario and Luigi? Throw that work and cash away?

And what about third parties? Should Nintendo damage the relationship there (a very unwise move) by saying no, you cant publish on this platform anymore, only on our new one?

@YummyHappyPills
Firstly there has definitely been enough time for Nintendo and third parties to prepare for this. The games coming out on 3DS now would have been made from start to finish with knowledge of the Switch's existence. The idea that Nintendo wouldn't have had time to get a Switch version of Samus Returns out just doesn't add up. Not in a year when we got Odyssey and Breath of the Wild.

Secondly nobody is saying that development for the 3DS should be cut off. At most people in this thread are saying that 3DS exclusive content now the Switch is a thing doesn't really make much sense. I don't gain anything from a game like Samus Returns being cancelled. It's just that if it had also been a Switch release I would have probably picked up a copy.

It's just always a bit odd when new games come out on a system people are moving on from. It's like when Donkey Kong Country Returns was announced for Wii at the same press conference the 3DS was announced. My first reaction was to think that it should have been a launch game on 3DS not a late Wii release. It's that kind of weird overlap that the Switch was supposed to solve.

I've been keeping an interested eye on this thread, and now I've finally decided to weigh in with my two cents. Disclaimer: I don't yet own a Switch (for reasons disclosed elsewhere), though a couple associates of mine have their own.

First, to get this out of the way: People are entitled to their own opinions. It's their money when it comes to things like this, and they have a right to spend it how they choose.

If users state their honest intentions with their "No 3DS, no buy" posts without typing them in a trolling manner, I'm fine with them. I feel that such posts are most validating for those who either don't own or no longer own a 3DS. I will say it slightly bothers me that some that DO own a 3DS are writing these things ("I still have a 3DS, but I've moved on."), but again, it's their own personal choice. I suppose if there's a game they want to play badly enough, they'll dig it out again.

The posts that bother me the most, as a developer (Note: I'm an application developer, but I do know a thing or two about the games industry and have done a bit of personal game development in the past), are the users that whine why a newly announced game (such as Metroid: Samus Returns) can't come to the Switch instead of the 3DS. Often those games spent YEARS in development before the Switch was perfected and /or revealed to third-parties who might have been interested in a dual release. It's like people expect ports between the two systems, which are VERY different, to be a quick, simple process. I'm not saying that some 3DS games won't make it to the Switch eventually, but I also don't think it's fair for the system to be dropped like a brick; like nearly all the systems preceding the 3DS in the history of gaming, that support will slowly be dropped over time.

I leave you a final personal note that isn't meant to be a primer, but is intended to show that what seems to be impossible IS usually possible: I work a full-time job, keep up and maintain my 40-something year-old house and property, have family obligations, and am involved in a few social/community groups; throw in interviewing and the holidays besides, and needless to say I'm pretty busy. XD I have found that better time management and budgeting have helped me to better manage my video game backlog as well as a few other free time activities, and now I'm making a significant dent in it. It is not impossible to occasionally go back and play games on older systems along with juggling modern systems. That said, my two main systems as of late are my 3DS (since it is technically still current) and my Wii U. I do throw in the occasional indie effort on PC, however.

Tl;dr: It's ultimately up to each individual's money and opinion with how they spend their gaming time, but let's not force unreasonable wants and expectations on the industry.

Edit: When I refer to "users", I'm not so much addressing the thread or this site alone, but really the gaming community as a whole.

Edit 2: It also makes more sense NOW for there to be more dual releases between the 3DS and Switch. Towards the beginning of the Switch's lifespan, I thought this was more unreasonable. Keep in mind that not all development studios (ignoring obvious bigwigs) have the time, scope, or manpower to work/test on/debug their games for multiple platforms at once.

It boggles the mind that prople think dual releases between 3DS and Switch are suddenly miraculously posdible and owed to them.

There were GBA games during the DS lifespan. DS games during 3DS. GB games during GBA. PS2 during PS3. PS3 during PS4.

There will ALWAYS be overlap. If there isn't it diffuses confidence. Id rather there be overlap for the sake of the millions of other gamers who dont live in the bubble, than simply for the few million gamers that are in the bubble and want all the games on the latest thing.

Counter this view of "We should upgrade because the 3DS is old and we said so despite it making no business sense to do so" with Pokemon fans, now saying they are upset they have to upgrade to Switch and they wont do it....despite having to upgrade before hand.

It makes no sense and this view will change in time.

@YummyHappyPills: Trust me, you and I are on the same page here. I'm not saying that porting some of the 3DS's library to the Switch or having a dual release is rational, just that it's a possibility should a studio decide to head in those directions.

It just bothers me, as a developer, watching users (again, I mean this as a collective internet whole) whine about games hitting one platform and not another (and not just with Nintendo). Many out there do not realize how much work goes into the vast majority of these games and projects, and to turn around and redesign something (particularly in the final staged before release) to work with the quirks of another platform isn't always easy; occasionally the conversion process goes well, but at other times it's a complete disaster.

@Tyranexx Plus you've got the power gap to consider. Yeah sure, itll look fine on a 3DS....but on a Switch? New models, new textures, new lighting, new audio. Have fun doing that fast.

Hell, even getting it to work with new specifications is tricky. Its not a straight port in that regard either.

Saying that it happened before doesn't make it better IMO.

Anyway, I don't care. But I don't own a 3DS and the entire premise of the Switch was that Nintendo could focus all their development on a single system instead of two. And I gladly would've bought Metroid if it was released on the Switch as well. Especially when it comes to first party games. It feels like they're just keeping the 3DS on artificial life support for no reason at all.

Okay so realistically, if Nintendo did as of March 3rd, kill the 3DS entirely, the games in development would have been delayed to then fit Switch.

And god forbid, you guys really don't realise what would happen if Nintendo told third parties they cant make 3DS software anymore. They got a lot of flak and damaged relationships from being controlling before, straight up cutting off a huge source of revenue to both themselves and other companies, in favour of something a lot of third parties at the time wanted nothing to do with, is asking for a repeat.