The Nintendo 3DS Might Be On Its Way Out

All good things must come to an end, and it certainly looks this way for the Nintendo 3DS. In a recent financial meeting with their investors, Nintendo made no mention of the handheld in any way shape or form. Nintendo was asked by Kotaku in regards to it’s absence in the meeting to which they replied “We have nothing new to announce regarding first-party software for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. We can confirm that new software is coming from third-party publishers.”

While it appears that other publishers and developers will continue to release games for the system, Nintendo themselves are apparently going to be hands-off of the 3DS, at least for the remainder of this fiscal year. However, let’s not muddle the point here as this is a huge signal that the company is preparing to end the life cycle of the beloved handheld. As sad as it sounds, this is the eventuality of all consoles, and with the Nintendo Switch now carrying the company to renewed success, it’s only a matter of time before we say goodbye to the 3DS.

Many though that they would abandon the 3DS much sooner, but the company has continued to launch first-party titles up to this point. In fact, Nintendo has actually kept up the support these past two years despite the massive success of the Switch, which in an of itself is a portable system. Speaking of games, theirs still Persona Q2 which is scheduled to launch June 4 of this year. However, other than this niche title, their isn’t a lot that the 3DS can speak of for 2019.

The 3DS had some really big shoes to fill when it launched in 2011, as the Nintendo DS had already become the best selling handheld system of all time, defeating the long reigning Game Boy. The system had a bit of a rocky launch due to less than stellar titles that came out alongside it and it took a while for the console to find its footing. Once it found its stride, the 3DS dominated the portable market for years with over 75 million units sold. It may not have lived up to its predecessor, but their is not doubt that the 3DS has left its mark in video game history. Whether Nintendo announces it themselves, or they just let it whither away silently, fans need to prepare for the inevitable as the 3DS’s life is nearing its end.