I know I must be old if, when I hear “Nintendo 3DS,” I’m still categorizing it as “newer tech” in my head, comparing it to the original Game Boy and Game Boy Color. Yet, the Nintendo 3DS was originally released on February 26, 2011, making it ten years old as of this weekend. It may not be your favorite Nintendo system of all time, but there are still some reasons it should be remembered.
Despite that in September of 2020, the 3DS family combined had sold 75.92 million units coupled with games for the system having sold 383.1 million units as of March of 2020, the 3DS actually wasn’t one of Nintendo’s most successful systems. In fact, in September of 2020, Nintendo very quietly had noted on its website that it was going to stop producing the 3DS. It didn’t get an official announcement of discontinuation, and that’s likely because its lack of success in comparison to other systems, taking into account that its launch was a bust due to the extremely high price of the 3DS and its lack of a good game lineup.
But even though the 3DS wasn’t one of Nintendo’s most successful systems, it still brought us some great games eventually. Animal Crossing: New Leaf was released on the 3DS, and it became the first 3DS game in Japan that reached over two million units sold, which was achieved in just under two months’ time. Likewise, Fire Emblem: Awakening was also released on the 3DS, and it received a 92% on Metacritic, and it ranked in GameSpot’s list of best games for the 3DS as well as reaching 21st place on IGN’s list of top 125 Nintendo games of all time.
Though the Nintendo Switch has already outsold the 3DS, the 3DS will always hold a special spot in the hearts of fans who considered both the library and the system to be unique. It might not have been the most successful Nintendo system, but it’s always going to be remembered anyway.