3DS - Timeline
Monday16th May 2022
Random Many At Retro Studios Weren't 'Excited' To Work On Mario Kart 7
Studio was brought in to assist development
It's widely known at this point that Retro Studios - famed for the Metroid Prime series and for reviving Donkey Kong Country - was recruited by Nintendo to help out on development for the 3DS release of Mario Kart 7. The developer had just wrapped work on Donkey Kong Country Returns and according to...
Friday13th May 2022
Random People Are Recording Concerts On Their 3DS Consoles, And We Love It
A new level of immersion
We've never really been fans of the idea of buying an expensive ticket for a concert only to spend the 2 hours or so it's likely to last holding some sort of recording device up in the air, watching the whole thing through the lens of a screen. Call us old fogeys, but to us, concerts are one of few experiences in life where...
Wednesday11th May 2022
News Nintendo Reports That More 3DS Games Launched Last Year Than In 2020
Eight games to two!
If you thought it was all over for the 3DS, think again. Nintendo's marvellous handheld is still hanging in there, despite the fact that production of the console ceased in 2020, and that the eShop will be closing next year. That hasn't dampened developers' spirits, however, as Nintendo has reported that the console got eight...
Thursday5th May 2022
Review Fragrant Story - A Goofy, Final Fantasy Tactics-Style Indie Swansong For 3DS
Needs a little more watering
Thought the 3DS was done for, did you? Well, despite Nintendo’s best efforts with the announcement of the 3DS eShop's closure in 2023, the company’s popular handheld is still alive and kicking, and it’s recently seen a brand-new release with Fragrant Story. This odd micro-SRPG comes from an indie developer William...
Wednesday4th May 2022
News Reggie Fils-Aimé Wanted The 3DS To Launch At $199, But Was Rebuffed
"With 3DS, we did not let the poor sales performance linger"
When the 3DS launched it had a tough task as the successor to DS, a portable family of systems that had become Nintendo's greatest success story. Though the 3DS (and 2DS) range of systems couldn't hit those heights, by the end of its run it had been a reasonable success with 75.94 million...
Monday2nd May 2022
News A Bunch Of NIS America Games Get Huge Price Cuts On 3DS (Europe)
Only for a week, mind!
Ever since the announcement of the upcoming 3DS / Wii U eShop closure, gamers have been clamouring for sales left, right, and centre, eager to grab some last-minute deals to bolster their game libraries. RPG games for the 3DS in particular have become highly sought after, and while this latest sale doesn't include the likes...
Saturday30th Apr 2022
Guide 39 Best 3DS eShop Games You Should Get Before They're Gone Forever
3DS eShop-only titles worth picking up pronto
Update: We've added ten more recommendations to the list below, including a couple of absolute winners that got physical releases in Europe but were digital-only in North America. There's still plenty of time to grab games from the 3DS eShop before they're removed, but you don't want to leave it until...
Monday25th Apr 2022
News Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D Physical Prices Jump As eShop Closure Looms
Game still 'temporarily' unavailable to download due to license issues
Hideo Kojima games not only feature the creator's name a few hundred times, they're also well known for being loaded with licensed content. This can be in the form of iconic music or even video clips to tie games into real history, a clever bit of storytelling often deployed in...
Thursday14th Apr 2022
News Atlus Dominates 3DS eShop Chart As Pokémon Crystal Falls Off Top Spot (North America)
A perfect timeline for Atlus
Since Nintendo announced it would be closing the 3DS eShop earlier this year, we've been keeping our beady eyes on the little handheld so we can complete our digital libraries before the Big N pulls the plug. If you've been following along with us, you know Sega / Atlus has been discounting their 3DS catalogue pretty...
Saturday9th Apr 2022
News Save On Pac-Man, Anime Games & More In Bandai Namco's Switch eShop Spring Sale
Huge savings
Following on from Sega's massive spring sale, Bandai Namco is now running one on the Nintendo Switch eShop. There are all sorts of games currently available for cheaper prices. These range from Pac-Man, to anime games like Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece and even My Hero Academia. Other series like Taiko no Tatsujin and Digimon are also...
Thursday7th Apr 2022
News Looks Like Nintendo Has Been Reprinting 3DS Retail Games For A Final Hurrah
Look for thinner boxes and tweaked package design
The 3DS was officially discontinued back in September 2020, with hardware production ending for a system that couldn't match the dizzy heights of its predecessor (the DS), but nevertheless remains a favourite for plenty of Nintendo gamers. There are definitely a few members of the 3DS fan club among...
Sunday3rd Apr 2022
Sale ends April 17th
There's a massive Sega Spring Sale currently taking place on the Nintendo Switch and 3DS eShop in North America. If there's a game you've been holding out for, or you just want to buy everything on the 3DS digital store while you still can, now is a great time to see what might interest you. There are all sorts of discounts...
Thursday31st Mar 2022
News The 3DS Is Getting Another Physical Release This Year, And It's A Pun On 'Vagrant Story'
Smells good, right?
So, you assumed that Andro Dunos II was going to be the very last physical 3DS release? Think again, because the console is getting another boxed title this year, and the name is utterly pun-tastic. Fragrant Story arrives this April and is a 3DS exclusive. It's described as "an all-new 16-bit tactical RPG in the style of
Tuesday29th Mar 2022
News Andro Dunos 2 Switch Physical Edition Pre-Orders Fly Into View
Or 3DS, if you want to go old school
The Switch has an impressive range of shoot 'em ups, and we're still getting regular new releases to check out. One lower profile entry that arrived recently on the eShop is Andro Dunos 2, but if you're a fan of the genre you shouldn't sleep on it. We gave this one a hearty recommendation in our recent review...
Monday28th Mar 2022
Talking Point 3DS Is 11 Years Old, And Our Eyes Still Feel Strange
Remembering the magic and buzz at a preview event
Over this past weekend the 3DS turned 11 years old, not exactly the biggest of anniversaries but enough to make us look wistfully at the little portable. It's a real favourite in our team, and I still keep both it and its charger handy when a bit of sentimental play is required — or when I want to...
Friday25th Mar 2022
Random Look At This Custom Eggdog 3DS
What's up eggdog
Do you know Eggdog? The weird meme stemmed from a video of a fluffy white dog being groomed, but taken at a specific angle, the dog looks like an egg with a face. And thus, Eggdog was born. From out of the legend of Eggdog came a host of new memes, and one of the prime Eggdog memers is zamsire, who used a 3D render of the ovoid...
Wednesday23rd Mar 2022
Random Someone Just Spent $1600 On A Super-Rare Canadian Barbie 3DS Game
Those are some expensive dogs
Across the Nintendo Life staff, we've probably collectively been in and around the games industry for at least a couple hundred years... and yet, there are still things that surprise us every day. Today's surprise was finding out that one of the holy grails for 3DS collectors is a game called Barbie Groom and Glam...
Wednesday16th Mar 2022
News Shin'en Kicks Off 'Everything Must Go' 3DS And Wii U eShop Sale, Up To 80% Off
Discounts in US and EU
The 3DS and Wii U eShops are sadly on their way out and, as expected, publishers are beginning to line up with some heavy discounts on their 3DS and Wii U software libraries in preparation for the store closures next March. Just yesterday, Capcom launched their own 3DS sale in the US, and now developer and publisher Shin'en...
Tuesday15th Mar 2022
News Capcom Launches Its Biggest 3DS Sale Ever (US)
The end is nigh
It's no secret that the 3DS — along with its console sibling Wii U — is heading toward that bright light at the end of the tunnel. With the handheld's eShop closing within the next year, it's natural that publishers will want to capitalise on this unfortunate eventuality with some rather sweet deals. It's a nice opportunity for...
Wednesday9th Mar 2022
News Indie Dev Cancels Roguelike Horror Game For 3DS In Response To Nintendo's eShop Closure
"this decision was made on our behalf by Nintendo"
An aspiring indie game developer says it's been left with no option but to abandon its plans for a 'New 3DS' game port after Nintendo announced last month it would be closing the system's eShop. Otyugra Games is currently working on a roguelike horror title called Dream-Prison Wanderer, which it had...
Thursday3rd Mar 2022
News Here Is This Week's 3DS eShop Chart, Pokémon Crystal Is At The Top (Again)
Get the best Game Boy games while you still can
Last month, Nintendo shocked 3DS owners by announcing the eShop for this platform would be closing up. If you are interested to know what's charting in the lead-up to this or happen to be looking for digital games to get on your 3DS, these North American charts are worth taking a look at. Here are the...
Monday21st Feb 2022
Feature Is It Worth Importing A Japanese 3DS For These Virtual Console Games?
Save money on import classics before it's too late
As we all know the 3DS and Wii U eShops are closing down, taking with them countless classics in all genres. It's a decision that's understandably left many of us scrambling to find our old passwords and make those last minute purchases, finally turning those 'Maybe next time' purchases into a...
Sunday20th Feb 2022
PSA Update All Your 3DS Games, Even The Ones You Don't Own (Just In Case)
Yes, really
Our pals over at the Nintendo Life YouTube channel are full of wisdom, and today's advice comes to you from our very own Zion Grassl, who wants you to know that you should download every single update that exists on the eShop. Wait, shouldn't you just download the updates for the games you own? Well, yes, you should do that. But what...
Saturday19th Feb 2022
News Nintendo Reveals Japan's Best-Selling 3DS eShop Games From 2011 - 2020
Animal Crossing, Pokémon and more...
Ahead of the 3DS and Wii U eShop closure, Nintendo's website has rounded up the top 15 best-selling games on the 3DS eShop in Japan from 2011 through to 2020. Monster Hunter, Pokémon and Animal Crossing have frequently charted to the top over the years, and some other popular series include Battle Cats,...
Friday18th Feb 2022
News Video Game History Foundation Calls Out Nintendo's "Destructive" 3DS & Wii U eShop Closure
Asks Nintendo to "rethink" things when it comes to preservation
Nintendo this week announced the closure of the 3DS and Wii U eShop, and well...it's caused quite an uproar online. So, what now that roughly 2,000 games will no longer be purchasable on the 3DS and Wii U digital storefronts? There's seemingly not much that can be done from
Thursday17th Feb 2022
Full server shutdowns could be coming sooner than you think, too
Nintendo recently revealed its schedule for shuttering its digital storefronts for both the 3DS family of systems and the Wii U. From March 2023 you'll be unable to make new purchases of digital software of any kind on the 3DS and Wii U eShops, which includes digital versions of...
News 1,000 "Digital-Only" Titles Estimated To Disappear When Nintendo Closes 3DS & Wii U eShop
It's like Nintendo's version of the Blip, but worse
Nintendo yesterday announced the beginnings of a phased shutdown for the 3DS and Wii U eShop stores. It's set to wipe out a huge amount of digital content on these systems, but just how many games can we expect to disappear? While we already know Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation and its D
Wednesday16th Feb 2022
Feature Our Nintendo 3DS And Wii U Memories, In Infographic Form
Wow, we sure liked Netflix on Wii U
Alongside the rather dispiriting — perhaps even controversial, depending on your take — news of the Wii U and 3DS eShop being shutdown in the next year, Nintendo also shared a rather neat trip down memory lane. Similar to the year-end Switch website many of us used, you can visit My Nintendo 3DS & Wii U...
News Pokémon Bank Will Be "Free To Use" When 3DS eShop Purchases End
Payments will no longer be required
Following on from Nintendo's announcement it would discontinue the 3DS eShop and the Wii U eShop as of March 2023, The Pokémon Company has announced it will be making the Pokémon Bank service on 3DS entirely free. Until now, users had to pay to access the entire service. As long as you download Pokémon Bank...
"it will no longer be possible to make purchases"
Nintendo has announced the discontinuation of the 3DS eShop and the Wii U eShop as of "late March" 2023. While you'll still be able to redownload games and DLC, receive software updates and play online beyond this date, the ability to purchase games will "no longer be possible" and new content will...
