The lifespan of the Nintendo 3DS

[Kempa]

On a complete impulse, I went out and bought a 'New 3DS XL' last wednesday. I'm very pleased so far but I keep wondering how many years the system has left in which Nintendo will keep supporting it, developers will make games for it and stores will sell games for it.

The Gameboy Advance series as a whole lasted roughly seven years, and the Nintendo DS was released after about half of that time.

Was I too late in picking up a 3DS?

[novasunshine]

Kind of.

[Herr Böse]

depends on the games you like. Kind of an obvious answer...

[SwordMaster7777]

I'm not sure how much farther they can move with the DS. They'd have to do some majorly overhauling innovation in order to make something better than the 3DS, so it might have a longer life than other nintendos.

-DS: First of the new gen consoles with a unique dual screen that worked in tandem as well as having the ability of wi-fi connection with each other. It did really well because of it's backward compatibility with Gameboy games.

-DS Lite: It was lighter, slimmer, and had brighter screens than the original, basically the DS 2.0. Gameboy games weren't totally dead at this point, so they still kept the backward compatibility.

-DSi: Introduced the more modern standard. Not only could you play the game, you could download some from the nintendo store, and it had a built-in camera to take pictures with. However, the decline of Gameboys led to no backwards compatibility.

-DSi XL: Basically a larger DSi.

-3DS: Huge improvements from the DSi. A more complete eshop where you could buy big name games without the cartridge, the ability to patch games already in distribution, and plus you could stream netflix, youtube, and hulu. It had backwards compatibility with old DS games along with it's namesake, the 3D graphics.

-3DS XL: A larger version of the 3DS.

-2DS: A 3DS without the 3D option and a design nostalgic of the gameboys, it's cheaper in price, and although it's slightly worse than the 3DS in a few factors, it's my personal favorite. (I don't care for 3D)

-New 3DS/ 3DS XL: Basically, a slightly improved 3DS.

I'm not sure how many more major innovations they can make before the currnet 3DS family is done, they've basically done almost everything with the current tech that we have. And because of that, it should be around for a few more years, I'd expect.

I doubt it having VR support because it's a handheld. The only thing I can think of is improvements to the battery charging besides just a power cord. Maybe portable batteries or wireless power.

I got my 2DS 3 years after the first 3DS came out, and I don't regret it.

[Rogue Jedi]

I'm pretty sure a lot of people don't even know that the New 3DS is different from the 3DS, Nintendo really needs to improve their naming.

[Shinpool]

i will buy it next year. 3ds is the best handheld console.not saying psvita is bad, but 3ds has more games, like smt devil children 2, bravely default, plus the remake of some zelda, damn. i am drooling right now. i agree with SwordMaster7777 said. 3ds will probably last long. even if it isnt, i dont really care, i like nintendo.

[Oberon's Top Guy]

I own a NEW 3ds and the lifespan is longer, they made the screen more durable and they upgraded the response and the durability on the buttons.

[Sparse Dunes]

Publicado originalmente por Gintoki:

I own a NEW 3ds and the lifespan is longer, they made the screen more durable and they upgraded the response and the durability on the buttons.

Read OPs thread thoroughly next time.

New 3DS is a slight upgrade over the 3DS(OG). It has a slightly better graphics capability so we'll probably see some use out of it, but like the DSi(remember that folks?) It could be simply a trail of something better coming in the future.

I've heard rumors of a new handheld being made, but who knows when that'll be

Publicado originalmente por deadpooh!?:

i will buy it next year. 3ds is the best handheld console.not saying psvita is bad, but 3ds has more games, like smt devil children 2, bravely default, plus the remake of some zelda, damn. i am drooling right now. i agree with SwordMaster7777 said. 3ds will probably last long. even if it isnt, i dont really care, i like nintendo.

Kind of the opposite for me really, I have most of those games mentioned, but their appeal lasted only for so long. Bravely Default is good though. Well, up until the near end of the game where you have to back-track so many times. Terrible padding is Terrible.

I am still planning to get a New 3DS, still a few games I would like to get. I just wish they didn't region lock the damn thing.

[novasunshine]

NX?