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Nintendo plans to release more 3DS series on the Nintendo Switch, owing to the continued and strong successes of the console (via Wall Street Journal).
The result is encouraging for Pokemon games coming next month. Nintendo chief Furukawa said company would make more 3DS franchises available on Switch to convey appeal of Lite.
— Takashi Mochizuki (@mochi_wsj) October 31, 2019
Nintendo assured 3DS players that they would not be left behind in the arrival and flurry of the new Nintendo Switch. The newer console is technically superior and it would make sense for Nintendo to pivot away from the older portable platform. ‘We believe it is important to leverage the rich library of Nintendo 3DS series titles to drive sales with existing Nintendo 3DS owners as well as with consumers who recently purchased the Nintendo 3DS hardware, and are investigating strategies for doing so,’ the company said in an earnings call last year.
Now that the stunning sales statistics for the Switch have been announced, we may have an idea as to the company’s plans for the legacy of the 3DS. Since 2017, the Nintendo Switch has sold 41.67 million units worldwide. In the past three months ending with September, almost five million Switches were sold and a little under two million of these were Switch Lites.
Evidently, the Switch is a golden goose and the report said that Nintendo 3DS sales have amounted to 0.37 million units in the past six months ending with September. That’s a 62.9 per cent decrease year-on-year, whereas its games sold 2.60 million units in the same time frame, which works out as a 58.5 per cent decrease year-on-year. It would seem that Nintendo is waving goodbye to the 3DS, but is scooping out its software to port to the more successful Switch.
Pokémon X and Y, Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Pokemon Sun and Moon, and Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are all Pokemon games that came out on the 3DS. It is unlikely that Nintendo would be planning on re-releasing one of these titles because Sword and Shield comes out very soon. It’d be the same story with Animal Crossing: New Leaf as New Horizons is set to launch for the Switch next year.
Nintendogs + Cats could be a wild choice, but one that would be welcomed by plenty of players. What about Kid Icarus, Wario Ware, Picross, or a Dragon Quest remake? We won’t know what these plans are for a little while yet, but there’s lots of time to start canvassing for a re-release of your favourite 3DS game.
