The Death of the 3DS

The Nintendo 3DS was always an awkward marvel—promising stereoscopic 3-D experiences sans the glasses, it came to North America in early 2011 as the sequel handheld to the Nintendo DS, a dual-screen “Game Boy” of sorts that was hugely popular. Like, over-50 million-sold-over-its-lifetime, popular.

But the 3DS, despite the legitimately neat 3-D gimmick, started poorly, meeting with middling sales and passive interest during its first months of release. Much of this was the absurd $249.99 price point—although Nintendo’s excessive prices no longer diminish the enthusiasm of present day, buy-anything fans, they definitely did in 2011. So much so, the Big N was forced into a rare mea culpa where the system was lowered to $169.99, an astounding $80.00 drop. And for those who had bought in at the original over-inflated price, Nintendo even offered free digital GBA games to compensate. Different company, different time.

But the 3DS had other problems. Unlike its predecessor, whose screens were of equal use and offered developers unique design possibilities, the 3DS was almost ironically handicapped by comparison. The equity of its screens was gone—now the top display, being both bigger and in 3-D, was the dominant one, instantly relegating the bottom screen for menus and more incidental features. Games that shared both panes for an extended playfield were now all but impractical, removing some of the unique experimentation that marked the original DS era. Indeed, Nintendo would even rebrand the handheld as the lamely named “2DS” in the late 2010s, nixing the 3-D for a more traditional experience that made the library’s main selling point—the 3-D viewpoint—largely irrelevant. An odd choice, but few seemed to care (or notice).

But, looking back nearly twelve years later, the 3DS seems a bit more important now, if only because it represents the last specter of a time in which hardware power wasn’t all that mattered, quirky ideas could still exist, and handhelds still meant easy portability. The system’s library, after an iffy start, soon bloomed with some truly worthy creations, from old-school RPGs and strategy titles (Radiant Historia and Stella Glow) to quality sequels (Super Mario 3D Land and A Link Between Worlds) to quirky remakes now retrofitted for the system’s signature 3-D abilities (Sega 3D Classics Collection and 3D Classics). The system was also the first to heavily emphasize the concept of digital purchases through its introduction of the Nintendo eShop, the on-line marketplace used also by the Wii U and Nintendo Switch.

This very eShop, of course, is also the system’s sore point, as it stores thousands of games destined to be lost once Nintendo shuts down the service come March 27th, 2023. After this date, buying games from either the 3DS or Wii U marketplaces will be impossible, leaving untold numbers of games gasping for breath in the realms of emulation— a fate, to be fair, that all modern digital game libraries will likely face someday.

What can’t be changed is that nifty 3-D. As old 3DS units die over time, the 3-D effect Nintendo so famously boasted will also be lost—games can be emulated on a computer, but the 3-D cannot. At least, not easily. Fans and collectors who want the “full” experience better start scooping up working systems while they can. If anything, the 3DS reveals the limits of game preservation. Savoring old software is one thing, but saving old hardware is another.

So, alas…goodbye you strange, clunky, wonderful handheld. There will likely never be anything like you again. But thanks for the memories, all the same. And thanks, Nintendo, for the good ol’ days when you once put the “funky” into fun.--D