Indie Dev Cancels Roguelike Horror Game For 3DS In Response To Nintendo's eShop Closure

It’s not like there was a handheld in 2019 that, you know wasn’t dead.

Sad but lets be real, this would have sold like 10 copies in 2023.

Strange that this was coming to the 3DS in the first place. It might have at least had a chance on the Switch.

@Troll_Decimator thats a little uncalled for! I think it was meant to be a passion project over something that would actually sell well. Look at a game like oddity, which has been in the works for literally 15 years, but it'll still be free when it comes out. They probably put it on the 3ds because they liked the 3ds (and to be honest, i have an extremely soft spot for the system).

@HeeHo fair

Honestly a shame. The devs clearly just thought of this as a passion project, and they should have the opportunity to follow that through.

Poor
3 D ead S ystem

Why was this ever in development for New 3DS (not even the entire 3DS family, just the New 3DS) in the first place??? It was very, very clear the 3DS was on its way out in May 2019, let alone 3 years later. Even if Nintendo didn't shut down the 3DS eShop by March 2023, this game would have bombed and put the studio in the red.

This should have been a Switch game from the very beginning.

It was kinda dumb for them to try to make it right when 3ds became irrelevant, though they could just put it on Steam and call it a 3ds style of game play. Just need to tweak its controls and the button mapping.

No sympathy here. Dead console as of 5 years ago for most Nintendo fans. My ds/3ds was the bulk of my gaming for years since it was a great console. Switch is better.

@nessisonett
They did. Switch was thriving in 2019. Instead they chose the dead system.

Is it a bummer that they aren't able to release their passion project on their preferred system? Yes.

Did they also misread the room by attempting to release it on an outdated platform with a disappearing audience? Also yes.

Kinda sucks I guess, but why develop for 3DS as late as 2019 when the Switch was already on fire then and plenty of indie titles have thrived since?? Continuing development on 3DS this late, shutdown or not seems odd too.

@blindsquarel Talk for yourself.

Been playing my 3DS backlog just recently. Both Bravely Defaults, Fire Emblem games, Theathrym Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger (DS game, I know) and a lot more.

While the console got no new games, it has a massive catalog of games.

Release it physically if you are that desperate.

Makes me wonder what the state of "Silver Falls White Inside Its Umbra" for the Wii U is now.

@Olmectron Yeah I still play my 3DS, more than I do the Switch since I have a backlog on the 3DS.

“ While this is just one example of a 3DS game cancellation following Nintendo's recent announcement, we're sure this isn't necessarily an isolated case.”

It is absolutely an isolated case, unless other home brew projects want some free attention and “cancel” their 3DS game releases.

Such is the risk of developing for digital stores of aging hardware.

The only new 3DS and Wii U games we'll ever see again will be homebrew.

Boggles my brain why people would make games for it in 2019 to begin with. Same with the countless GBA titles that somehow manage to surpass their Kickstarters. I understand nostalgia but carrying around a fat gameboy to play what will only ever be an okay game is absurd to me.

@Troll_Decimator lol 3ds isn't a "dead platform" just because the shop is closing and Nintendo no longer supports it doesn't make it a "dead platform" the users keep it alive and there are a lot of groups on the internet on many sites that play different games on 3ds, so it's never going to be a "dead platform"

Who said this game would have sold 0 copies? I do hate horror games, so I would not have bought it, unless I decided to go forward with buying every single E-Shop game, but I am not sure if I can make the finances work yet.

But I play my Wii U and 3DS WAY more than my Switch.

In fact, I will boycott every future Nintendo platform that only lets people rent Nintendo Virtual Console Games.

When I bought the Switch, they did not have that nonsense or i would have boycotted that too.

I would rather go buy a Game Boy Color online than support that nonsense going forward.

Don't these devs know that the 3DS is already dead after 2018? Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age was the last game to be released for the handheld and those greedy douchebags at Square Enix didn't even bother to bring that version outside their freaking little island. Move on to the Switch already, we're not in the 2010s anymore. A majority of the kids in that decade are adults now.

@nessisonett You’re right, Nintendo should keep the 3DS eShop up and running for as long as it takes this person to finally release their shovelware dungeon crawler so the four people who would have bought it have the opportunity to realize they sold their 3DS’s five years ago and thus end up not buying the game after all. Like seriously is this satire?

@TimeGuy it was only discontinued in September 2020

@Olmectron
I love my 3ds. It has three great Zelda games and I can play every Mario and Luigi game on it. But that doesn’t mean It is still alive. It has been dead since 2018, arguably before that. Releasing a new game on a dead console comes with the risk of the store shutting down. Putting it on switch would have been much smarter.

@CodyMKW
That doesn’t mean the 3ds isn’t dead. Dead means that it is no longer officially getting games. For example, the Wii is dead. But if you have wiimfi you can still play games online.

@blindsquarel dead would mean there is nobody playing the 3ds anymore and that's not true cause a bunch of people will still be playing long after eshop closes

Market, Nintendo and other devs have long ago moved on. Might as well as put it on NES while they are at it. Products have manufacturing and marketing shelf life. If you chose to work on a product at the end of its shelf life any setbacks are due to your decision. Nintendo wasn’t going to sink money just for some dev’s passion project. If you want a platform with longer shelf life, code for PC.

Wish these shops weren't closing down

If only there were a console that was currently active in the market and with a high user-base to boot, oh well.

I mean seriously, why the heck would anyone bother with making a game for N3DS in 2022?

@CodyMKW
Yes, there will be dozens of people still playing 3DS, DOZENS!

I've seen these guys on Reddit. They never had a dev kit and they've not produced a single game in 7 years despite having 4 in production/hiatus.

@Dr_Lugae Is that true? Receipt please

Shame the 3DS shop is closing, I still buy games there. Even though struggling with maximum titles, I can always find space for more.

@Spiders Knowing how much NL like homebrew projects, and articles about the eshop shutting down I guess it won't be long before we get some of those articles.

@MagnesG Here's them putting Paper Soul Theate on hiatus to work on Phantomics which they put on hiatus for their 3DS game in this article. (Which was a card game then they changed their mind and are allegedly "making" a roguelike).

http://otyugra-talk.blogspot.com/2018/05/paper-soul-theater-is-on-hiatus-what.html?m=1

Here's where they talk about needing to purchase dev tools for 3DS(this year) and someone points out that the dev tools are no longer sold:

https://www.reddit.com/r/DreamPrisonWanderer/comments/stmpvx/dreamprison_wanderer_is_still_going_to_release_on/

@westman98 The game was likely being made in Unity, that would explain it being planned as a New 3DS game and not a regular 3DS game. Unity only supports New 3DS if I remember right

I would've bought it. I prefer playing handheld 3DS vs Switch.

I am really wondering how their business plan looked like… wouldn't have bought it anyway.

Understand and admire the labor of love on this project and the wish to publish for Nintendo platforms, but 3DS was already there when Wii was roaring and WiiU had yet to launch. You can't expect eternal support for old systems when your game is scheduled to launch in 2023.

It's nice to see some common sense in the comments. Starting development for a game 2 years after the platform was replaced was risky and wouldn't have sold much.

There's this indie developer that decided to make like 4 last minute 3ds-exclusive horror games before the eShop fully closes. He's even working on a wii u game! Check out "Silver Falls" or "Sungrand Studios".

For those asking - this was probably targeting the New 3DS line vs the entire 3DS family because of the Unity Game Engine. Can’t say for sure if they have dev kits - but Nintendo stopped selling them and distributing Unity a long time ago.

To answer the “Why not Switch”? My guess is Nintendo won’t approve them. For some reason, NOA makes it hard to get approved for Switch development - despite there being tons and tons of “shovelware” on the platform. I assume most of that is coming out of Europe which from what I understand is more accepting to basically anyone.

They left it way too late, I can't really feel bad for them tbh

@RCMADIAX Wow seriously? Why does NOA approve more European devs? Weird.

I mean, cool they were trying to make a game for the 3DS in 2022, but what did they expect? There have only been a handful of titles released over the last few years and none of them have gained any traction. Not sure why they opted for the 3DS instead of the Switch where this sort of thing would’ve reached a larger audience.

@blindsquarel or they choose this handheld console due to its specs. The switch can't due everything the 3DS can do or might be easier to code for 🤷

@nowthisisepic They can still put it on 3DS, as homebrew.

warning, nintendo bootlicking in the comments, be wary and take this mask 😷

They should have went through with it. There are currently TWO indie developers hard at work RIGHT NOW making the final entries into 3ds eShop. It's a shame that this studio wont be contributing to the final 3ds games. Currently it's "Sungrand studios" and "Luke Vincent", both are one man game studios. It's unclear which game "Sungrand" will go with. But "Luke Vincent" has had his game in development for awhile and imo it looks MAGNIFICENT. It's an open world exploration and third person shooter. He recently released a 23 second ALL ganeplay mini trailer on YouTube. Search for "Automaton Lung" on YouTube and it'll pop up. I am very much looking forward to it and it looks amazing considering he's a low resource one man studio. 3ds hasn't died yet folks, I urge you to check out the final entries!

This was expected 3DS eshop closing would cause developers to think other platforms.

Whoops, sorry, guess you'll need to port to a current gen system. Nature of the business.

@DrJoson
Even more reason why it should have been developed for Switch (or other platforms).

Fantasy Life, most underrated game for the 3DS. Few people know of this gem sadly.

Guys, the 3DS was literally still receiving games from Nintendo in 2019. Remember Kirbys Extra Epic Yarn? Its not fair to day it was a "dead system" when nintendo themselves was still making games.

The fact that nintendo just abruptly decides they're going to shut down the eshop without informing devs is very scummy. Infact, just four months ago, we received a major expansion to Dragon Quest X on Wii U, a full scale MMO. People still play on these old consoles.

They can release it on vita now

"... various teams told Nintendo Life they received no notification ahead of schedule about the Wii U and 3DS eShop's closure."

The shops are closing down in a year. How is that not "notification ahead of schedule?"

any footage of this game? doesn't seem to have much of a following or info available. are you highlighting nothing?

Wow, people are so out of touch here. You can tell they don't know any developers. No one knows the details here, the person may not have had time to finish it on track, may have wanted a 3D game, or any number of reasons, which shouldn't matter. Nintendo should announce the day they sell the consoles how long they plan to keep the stores open until. They can extend the date if they want, bit at least it gives indie devs time to plan. Some games have taken over 10 years to develop, especially when it's not someone's sole job. It's very sad to see consumers be so... Heartless.

@RCMADIAX This is unrelated but I bought Box Up for Wii U.