The one thing Nintendo has been very clear on of late is that it will continue to support the 3DS, its now almost eight year old handheld, going forward. Nintendo feels that the 3DS has an important place in its overall ecosystem—as a cheaper system with cheap games, and a huge catalog of legacy titles, it’s the perfect entry point for younger kids into Nintendo’s IP, and kids have traditionally formed an important part of Nintendo’s overall audience.
Speaking in an interview with Kotaku, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed that the company will continue to support the 3DS going forward for those exact reasons. However, he also tried to allay fears of split development resources, stating that the primary development focus for Nintendo remains the Switch.
“Our development focus is on Nintendo Switch… You look at the plethora of content we’ve launched; the plethora of content we’ve announced. That is clearly where our development focus is,” he said.
“There are a lot of five, six, seven-year olds who have an opportunity to have their first gaming device and to have a fantastic gaming experience. And that’s what our dedicated handheld business is for, both the 2DS and the 3DS… the next generation of gamers needs to start somewhere.”
I agree with his reasoning overall. I get why Nintendo is keeping the 3DS around. Until the Switch and its games are cheaper, and can hit a lower price point for more budget conscious gamers, I have to imagine the 3DS will continue to stick around for now.