The Nintendo 3DS is more than eight years old at this point, which means that after a long and successful life cycle, it’s begun to die down. In spite of sales that have constantly been slowing down, however, Nintendo has insisted time and again that it would continue to support the handheld, owing to the fact that its solid catalog of games and its extremely cheap price makes it a very attractive option for kids and families as a first console purchase.
However, having recently announced a handheld-focused cheaper model of the Switch with the Switch Lite, many would have expected that Nintendo are positioning the SKU to take over from the 3DS as their dedicated cheaper and more portable hardware option. That, however, doesn’t seem to be the case, going by what Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser told The Verge.
“We’ll continue to support our 3DS family of systems as long as there is demand,” said Bowser.
Support for the 3DS in terms of new games has slowed to a trickle of late, with last year’s Luigi’s Mansion remake being among the last major releases the system saw. That said, there’s no denying that its pricing – with the cheapest 3DS model being cheaper than $100 – makes it a very attractive purchase for many families.
As for the Switch Lite, its announcement has already proven to be a success for Nintendo, with their stocks soaring following its unveiling. That said, don’t expect a Switch Pro announcement anytime soon.
