Nintendo 3DS
Image: Nintendo Life

Update: Despite giving Japanese consumers until March 31st to send in their broken 3DS consoles, Nintendo has now announced that repairs have been suspended for the following models as the parts required have now been totally exhausted (thanks, Nintendo Wire):

  • Original Nintendo 3DS – Model No. CTR-001 – Serial numbers begin with “CW” or “CB”
  • Original Nintendo 3DS XL – Model No. SPR-001 – Serial numbers begin with “SW” or “SB”
  • New Nintendo 3DS – Model No. KTR-001 – Serial numbers begin with “YW”

Original Story [Fri 26th Feb, 2021 16:30 GMT]: It's hard to believe that 10 years ago today, the Nintendo 3DS first launched in Japan. Bringing us glasses-free 3D hardware and an outstanding games library, we've still got plenty of love for it, but support has gradually eased up ever since the Switch launched.

We've not seen a new first-party game since 2019, 3DS hardware production officially ended last September and now, Nintendo Japan has confirmed it will stop repairing original 3DS models after next month. While this only impacts Japan at present, we'd imagine the same stance will soon be adopted by Nintendo's regional offices.

Releasing an official statement, Nintendo advised:

Due to the difficulty in securing the necessary parts for repair, we will no longer be able to accept repair requests for the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL as of March 31, 2021.

Even if units are sent in before this deadline, Nintendo has confirmed they may not be able to repair them, depending on whether the necessary parts are currently in stock.

For now, this only applies to the original line-up of 3DS and 3DS XL consoles. If you've got a New 3DS, New 3DS XL, or 2DS, Nintendo will still repair these.

Still got an original 3DS? Did you upgrade to a later model? Let us know in the comments.

[source videogameschronicle.com]