The Nintendo 3DS was released all the way back in 2011 and was the successor to the critically acclaimed Nintendo DS, which is actually Nintendo's best-selling console. The 3DS' selling point, at launch, was that it was able to display 3D images without the need for 3D glasses. It also helped that it featured—even to this day—Nintendo DS backwards compatibility, providing a solid library of games available at launch for the 3DS.
Over the years the Nintendo 3DS has seem some revisions that hve even taken away the 3D functionality in the form of the Nintendo 2DS and 2DSXL, which actually proved that people are still willing to play their games on-the-go—even when the Nintendo Switch has already been out for a year now.
Today we got some new information, thanks to the people over at
IGN, regarding the state of the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. Nintendo of America CEO Reggie Fils-Aimé told IGN that the 3DS still has some life in it and that more games are still being developed for the system.
"
We're going to continue, we're going to continue to have some new games on that platform. We're going to announce, and we will over the next number of months, but it's going to continue to be a vibrant piece of our overall business, certainly here in the Americas", stated Fils-Aimé in regards to the games and the system.
This also agrees with some
sayings by Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima who also reassured that the 3DS was going to be getting more support regardless of the focus they're giving to the Nintendo Switch. The reasoning behind wanting to keep the 3DS family of systems alive stems from the idea that it is a more affordable choice for people who don't want, or just can't purchase a $300 console like the Nintendo Switch—especially parents that buy find themselves needing to buy more than one system.
While it is true that there are more games coming to the Nintendo 3DS/2DS, their main focus is clearly on the Nintendo Switch so 3DS game releases will not be as prominent. Big first party titles are likely to take a step back and the 3DS will likely start getting either ports of other games or remakes/remasters like
Luigi's Mansion 3DS—which was announced earlier in march and is a remaster/port of sorts of
Luigi's Mansion for the GameCube.
Maybe there's still some life in the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, mayeb there isn't, but it being completely snubbed during this year's E3 presentation is definitely not a good sign no matter how much we're officially told that it's still being supported.