Doug Bowser Says Nintendo Will Continue To Support The 3DS Family Of Systems

I still want to buy that SNES 3DS and have that as my forever 3DS. But I’m starting to think that’s insane since it’s currently ~$244 and a new Switch Lite is $199. Still though... totally worth it with 3DS’ library and my bursting 3DS backlog. I have yet to play that latest Fire Emblem and a few others. I wish they’d make another Stella Glow too 😢

Really at a loss on why they missed a huge opportunity to pick right up where the 3DS left off with the Mini lite, (with reverse compatibility, the main selling point over the reg Switch)but hey what do I know, just gotta squeeze every dime out first..That's why they've lasted as long as they have..

Dear Mr Bowser...
Please give us the Ultimate update for 3DS before it ended forever, FREE REGION update.

They’re never going to actually say they will stop supporting the 3DS (besides the Wii U I don’t think they’ve ever explicitly said they’d stop supporting a system). The writing’s on the wall but I could see it being sold for a few more years as a cheap entry point into the Nintendo ecosystem. Once new games stop trickling onto the system, eventually it’ll fade away and support will end.

Yeah it'll keep selling, but without new games those numbers won't be too high. And in the future with the Switch Lite on the market there will be more people gravitating towards it than to the 3DS family.

Yeah I heard this before about the GBA back when the DS was clearly the new king.

LOL, this must be the bilionth article on this subject.

It still sells well enough to keep manufacturing is all they're really saying. I don't think Switch owners have to worry about missing out on big games.

This new thing is completely stupid! It completely removes key features and will just confuse consumers! Nintendo is doomed and some exec at the top should be fir-
Oh wait this isn’t 2013 and this is an article about the Switch lite and not about the 2DS. Fancy that as the comment section will soon look like this, if the other articles are to go by:
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/08/say_hello_to_the_nintendo_2ds_a_3ds_without_3d
History does sure repeat itself!

@shadow-wolf Nintendo never said they would stop supporting Wii U, only that they would stop producing it.

""as long as there is demand""

Which dried up about a year ago.

"3DS sold 0.36 million units this quarter (61.9 percent down on last year), while 2.95 million software units were sold (49.6 percent down)"

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2018/07/nintendo_has_sold_19_67_million_switch_consoles_to_date

And DS was just a "third pillar." Right. The only way 3DS survives this is if the horrible mishandling of the Switch Lite design makes it bomb, and it won't.

This sounds to me like "DS is a 3rd pillar" nonsense.

Of course they will. If people are still buying it, they will still sell it. All he is saying is that, if you want one, there will be one on the shelf.

The minute Nintendo says "we're done with 3DS" all remaining sales will drop.

2DS systems maybe, but any system in the family with stereoscopic 3D is becoming rarer. It's why I finally jumped and upgraded to a New 3DS XL over the holidays.

Support? No. Manufacturing? Yes.

/the sun begins to expand into its red giant phase with no one having bought a video game on earth in tens of millions of years

nintendo: "i don't see our support for 3DS ending any time soon"

Raise the dead! The 3DS/2DS are still a thing? Yeah it’s great, just hard to believe that there’s still a market for it...

Switch Mini is the nail in the coffin.

I have no problem with Nintendo continuing to sell 3DS's, as there's a lot of great games for it (Virtual Console games included, plus SNES games for New 3DS owners) and it's very affordable. But yeah... sooner or later demand will decrease, especially since Switch Lite is now a thing.

@Anti-Matter I'm not sure if that will happen. Nintendo's been only giving the 3DS stability updates lately, so it probably won't happen. Same thing with the Wii U. I agree though, it would be great to have both 3DS and Wii U region-free.

At $200, the Switch Lite will kill off the New 3DS XL (which is the same price) and New 2DS XL (which is just $50 cheaper) for good.

The $80 2DS will be the only 3DS system that is priced well in comparison to the Switch Lite, and even it will die out anyways.

@Galarian_Lassie
Thanks for the nostalgia trip.

To be entirely fair, it was hard not to be shocked at the 2DS when it was initially unveiled. Going from a pocketable and foldable dual screen device to what essentially looked like a wedge of cheese will catch pretty much anyone off guard.

The form factor change from Switch to Switch Lite is nonexistent by comparison, as it is just a simple reduction in size. And that's a good thing - the 2DS never sold that well despite being dirt cheap, and it's laughable form factor is probably a reason why.

Lol what a transparent lie.

Never understood the people calling this out as a lie. What does it matter?

@saintayu
Lying is generally bad? And means you can't trust people on other issues, even if this instance is benign.

Sounds like they will keep it as long it sells, doesn't mean it will get new games.

I don't see anything wrong with that, it doesn't affect the Switch in any way.

looks at gameboy and DS lines, along with the same statement about those Sure ya will. RIP my foldy friend. Cant blame them. Everything fades away, and the 3/2DS line had a fantastic run. My third favorite systems ever.

@BooJoh Well, Nintendo kept making games for the Super Famicom until 2000 when the N64 tanked in Japan (and everywhere besides North America).
(though the odds of the Switch doing that at this point are probably none)

Thanos does a snap and half of the 3DS have vanished. Ah what 3DS it's now Switch Lite. Life goes on.

you gotta be seriously kidding yourself and be super cheap to fool yourself into thinking the 3ds will still be relevant going forward. anything released on it in the future IF anything does, will not be anything major. i think by support all they mean is updates and patches for games and to keep up with combating piracy. doesnt mean new games. all the 3ds is good for is its backlog, whuch if you arent going through now, you probably wont for a good while, if ever.

@rjejr low as those numbers might be, it’s still profit so why not keep riding that money train.

Who is downvoting every single comment that says Nintendo won't actually keep the 3DS? We know they won't because that's how Consoles work. The new replaces the old. The Switch has a new iteration already so the 3DS is practically archaic in video game years. Has the Big N released the ninjas already?

@Spudtendo no, they are just saying this until they sell their way through the mountain of warehouse units they have sitting around. the support they are talking about is probably just system security updates to keep pirates on their toes, and game patches. i seriously doubt their production of these things is going. if it is, its gotta be producing hardly anything at this point.

@Heavyarms55 theyve already been dropping. there are enough used units at a cheap price in great condition out there to basically kill sales of any new units and the switch lite will seal its fate.

Why wont yust say we are dropping the 3ds, it doesnt get any new stuff anymore, dont get me wrong I love the 3ds, but for me it sounds like they are afraid of dropping it so it could hold down potential sales, but lying to your cusommer who is only interested in the 3ds and keep saying we are still working on it, is yust a shame.

@companyoflosers Eventually, yeah. But still hard to completely rule out an 80 dollar 2DS with a game already in the box as a nice budget item.

Of course there isn't any sane company that will say they are going to stop supporting product they are currently selling.

I'm sure it sells enough to not warrant it being discontinued. Some folk come across so blasé about everything.

I mean, what does “support” actually mean? It’s an incredibly vague term. You could argue that as long as the company doesn’t terminate the console and remove it from store shelves, it’s still being “supported” on some level. You could argue that by keeping the eShop service online, the console is being “supported”. In fact, these seem like perfectly fine definitions to me.

The real question is, why are people so bloodthirsty for this level of “support” to end? Who would really benefit from the eShop being taken offline. Who would really benefit from the Virtual Console being axed? And how would Nintendo benefit from terminating sales of something that’s still selling, even if only at a fraction of its previous sales figures?

It’s clear from Nintendo’s definition of “support” that they’re not wasting a huge amount of resources on the system that could be spent on the Switch. So the question is, what do people actually want done differently? Why it such a bad thing to just let a console sell what it sells until it sells no more? Why is it so necessary for a company to announce “WE ARE OFFICIALLY KILLING THE 3DS”?

Even the original Wii still gets some support in the form of yearly Just Dance, and... that’s just fine. There’s clearly a market for it, and companies sell to that market, and the world keeps turning.

Or should we all be yelling “KILL THE WII NINTENDO TO SATISFY OUR WEIRD BLOODTHIRSTY GAMER RAGE!” and set out to burn every copy of Just Dance in existence?

They should continue selling the 3DS as an ultra budget price legacy system. Thinking around $59.99 with a LARGE SD card included. Deeply discounted 3DS eshop titles coupled with the greatest library in gaming history (when you include the DS) and you have something that will make the company money (and please consumers) for the next half decade. No new software, tho

LOL, yup support them, but not make them or sell them anymore. The only hand-held Nintendo you can buy new at the moment (don't count the switch) is the 2DS.

🙄 OK, what new AAA games are due for release this year.

As long as they need to clear their stock

Yes we will support the 3DS as long as there is stock left....err I mean demand,and with no new 3DS software planned I do not see how Nintendo can be supporting the device,let's be honest here the Switch lite announcement was the final nail in the 3DS's coffin.

Bowser intends to have his goombas beating the 3DS horse until it can get dead-er anymore

Y'all need to realize that them saying they are supporting the 3DS line of system doesn't mean they will release games for it in the future, it just means they will keep the 3DS platform connected and market for as long as people are still buying and playing them. Once they finally pull the plug then y'all may let the crying and complaining begans.

Even though the 3ds is esentially dead from a major software perspective it makes sense to keep the line going if people are buying it as there cheap entry point. There are tons of games to buy physically and digitally so makes complete sense to keep it going

Why are people upset about this and even calling Nintendo liars?
He did not say they were going to release new games for it. They just have a device that is still selling enough that they are going to keep shipping them out and you can still buy games for it. That's it.
They will keep saying they are supporting it as long as the eShop is available for it, so expect this reply for a long time yet.

@TTgowings Are you suggesting they make a Switch model that is backwards compatible with 3DS games? You do realize that there are massive hardware differences between the Switch and 3DS, a second screen being the most glaring difference, right?

@Maxz I don’t think anyone is demanding support for 3DS (in its broadest sense) to end. I think they’re just calling out this silly PR speak for what it actually is, a white lie to sell the remaining 3DS stock.
Months ago, people were disappointed to see software like Samus Returns and the Luigi’s Mansion remake get released on a platform that had clearly fallen out of favor, but at this point, now that Nintendo has stopped producing new 3DS software, even the most rabid Switch owner has nothing to complain about, even if Nintendo keeps the 2DS on shelves for another decade.

I think it’ll last until Xmas, then it’ll get quietly retired in early 2020.

I'm sure this is all Reggie ever said about the 3DS. Good to see Browser keeping the gag going.

I do believe the Switch Lite will (sadly) just replace the 3DS eventually. It's gonna be the end of the line for standalone dedicated portables.
I'd rather have a true sucessor for the 3DS line.

I hope they keep supporting the 3ds for a long time because in my opinion, the switch and switch lite handheld mode are a very different style. I'd feel more comfortable closing a 3ds and leaving it on a carse at whereas a switch? No way, it has to be put back in it's case before you leave it. Besides, it's really big compared to the 3ds and I just don't think the switch handheld mode can replace the 3ds because they're both just so different! I think that they could easily run at the same time, but as completely seperate consoles.
I'd really love it if the upgraded the 3ds! Like a 3ds deluxe maybe? With up to date graphics and new features. Ds and old 3ds games are still playable as well as maybe the old gameboy, gameboy colour and gba games in different slots. They could bring out a ton of new games and new games for other series', it would be sure to get the 3ds market booming again with new titles and a very modern version of the system!

The 3DS library is so large and there are already so many units in the wild... It would shock me if they DIDN’T keep a budget model on store shelves and the online shop humming. Even if they stopped all cartridge orders, the potential is there for high profit purchases of existing digital software for years, and thanks to the eshop it could be pretty low overhead for them. It’s almost win-win. Why let Amazon have all of the legacy game sales when you could just keep selling the games digitally? At least until people stop buying games altogether, I suppose.

I Hope LEVEL-5 Will Localize Yo-kai Watch Blasters 2 to the West Since Doug Bowser Says Nintendo 3DS is Still Alive

@TTgowings have a 3ds cartridge slot? Interesting.

I'm confused? I thought it was pretty much newly retired?

by support they must mean it’ll continue getting stability updates

They removed DS games from the filter when searching on nintendo.com, and removed them from the search results as well...

I just bought the Samus Edition 3DS I've wanted forever. I have a huge backlog so games that trickle in is perfectly fine with me.

Well 3ds is the only system I can still buy that has virtual console games... Just make sure it's a new 3ds as in the name and not a new 3ds like I bought. That can't play virtual console games despite the box saying plays all 3ds games. Product confusion.

You see! You see!! This means a proper 4DS is coming!!! It all but confirms it!!!1

Though I keep reading that in Reggie's voice....Bowser's ok, but the PR speak will always be in Reggie's voice....

At present I use my 3DS for Samus Returns and Star Fox 64; games from franchises unavailable on Switch. I also Use my 3DS for SNES games, which the Switch also doesn't run. I sometimes play monster hunter online without the need to pay a subscription to do so. In some regards the 3DS is better supported than the Switch.

Why do people want the 3DS to die? What will this do for you? I could care either way. I'm not foaming at the mouth thinking about support for the 3DS being dropped. I could care less what Nintendo does with it.

I'm probably several years behind, but isn't Bowser the villain in the Mario games? Did Nintendo actually require him to take the name in order to get the job?

Should have put a Clamshell protector for the Switch Lite screen or something similar.

@charlieonholiday B/c it's very limited backwards looking profit and you want consumers looking forward to more profit. And what few stores there are still carrying video games you want them carrying your new more expensive stuff when the retailers start squeezing you for shelf space. It's hard to find an amiibo in a Target but Nintendo keeps making them. Probably better off with amiibo shelf space than 3DS shelf space at this point.

Basically we have all this money tied up in stock that we have made and need to shift....
So the official line is that "unprecedented support continues" well that is until said stock is sold.

I'd welcome more Gamecube/Wii ports myself (if lack of HD bump hassle made them easier and thus more probable on this platform), but frankly, supplying the spare parts like batteries and keeping 3DS eShop online for at least another decade is the only support I need. 3DS has had a great run and amassed one heck of a library.

Sure whatever, but put all your 1st party games on Switch from now on, you even have a Lite version for the handheld consumers.

I for one am glad to finally live in an era where Nintendo doesn't have to split it's attention between two different systems. Now that I think about it, this is really the first time. Even before Gameboy came alongside NES, the Game Watch handhelds sold millions and millions of copies.

Waffle. Like politicians, they will say what they think you want to hear without giving any clear information or clear answers. But Doug is quite happy to encourage sales. I guess until the back log of Ds's and games are sold.

May be a bit more information would help, but of course that is not something Doug would be party to.

@Luffymcduck Not only that there are instances where Nintendo tried to put attention on 3 systems. The first time was in 1995 with Super NES, Game Boy, and Virtual Boy and the second time was in 2004 with GameCube, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advance. Of those platforms, the third pillar always got the boot. It's nice that now they aren't doing two platforms anymore but kinda sad too cause now the handheld part is just the console in smaller form unlike before where it was its own unique platform. It's like Genesis and Nomad, if Genesis failed, so will Nomad.

So.. the they won't pull the plug on the store just yet. Good, since their current online thing is still awful 3DS is still my classics library.

@Rect_Pola I sure hope the store is kept up for a while. Considering the Wii store lasted for years afterwards I'm sure we can expect at least 2/3 further years at the minimum.

Incoming announcement that all those Sword/Shield videos were actually captured on 3DS.

Let's see: No stereoscopic 3D (for those who care), only one screen, no stylus, no microphone, possibly no headphone jack, no Internet browser, no music player, no StreetPass, not as portable, no Virtual Console, currently a much smaller games library (both overall and from a quality hits perspective), more expensive retail games...How exactly is the Switch Lite a perfect successor to the (2/3)DS? While it also has major advantages of its own, make sure this is exactly what you want before you dump or pass on a (2/3)DS or an original Switch in favor of this thing.

@graysoncharles The second screen plays an important gameplay function in many, many games (especially DS games)! Some Switch ports of Wii U and 3DS games have even been partially gimped due to the lack of a second screen! Are you kidding me?! No matter the kind of screen, touching with your finger sucks and is completely inaccurate compared to a stylus! I'm sure that a good portion of (2/3)DS users use the browser. Enough people have certainly complained about the Switch's lack of browser. It's still more portable than the Switch Lite brick we have here, especially if you stick with the standard model instead of the XL model. Face it, the Switch is never getting a Virtual Console. No, the 3DS already had a bigger library at its age due to being backwards compatible with the DS, but we're talking about right now, not then, and not at some future date when the Switch has a comparable library. No, they can't sell Switch games any cheaper, but that doesn't change the fact that 3DS games are still cheaper.

As I said, the Switch Lite has benefits of its own, mostly better specs and newer, bigger games that take advantage of those specs, so there are plenty of people who will still want it. However, as I've pointed out, it's not the clear cut upgrade over the (2/3)DS that you might think, so if consumers want to save money by getting a dedicated handheld, they still need to make sure it's the right thing for them individually instead of just getting a (2/3)DS instead, or if they already have one saving even more money by not upgrading at all. At the very least, (2/3)DS gamers who get a Switch Lite need to keep both systems around in order to enjoy the unique benefits of each one (and the many exclusive titles on one or the other) instead of just throwing their (2/3)DS in a closet somewhere to gather dust.

Those numbers of the expected audience are way off, though. Many (2/3)DS owners already have a regular Switch and have no reason to get a second, gimped model. Among those who don't yet have a Switch (like me), the majority will still plan to buy the regular Switch model instead of the Switch Lite, as unlike stereoscopic 3D, TV mode is a huge feature for which is easily worth paying the extra $100 for most hardcore gamers and even many younger and more casual gamers who would normally be in the market for a cheaper, lite model.

No reason to buy an underpowered version of the switch. If I wanted that I would just stick with my 3ds. It's more portable. You still cant put this switch in your pocket..