One of Nintendo’s most-prized handheld platform, the 3DS, is now officially a decade old as of Saturday.
It has been already a full 10 years since the Nintendo 3DS hit Western mainstream. Primarily, as a successor to the DS. It shares the same clam-shell design that made its predecessor a unique offering at the time. But it also improved upon areas that make it superior. Cleaner-looking visuals, paired with a very intuitive interface, make scrolling through the handheld’s menu fun to do.
Three dimensions
Its more powerful hardware is undeniably the console’s major selling point over the DS, which is true across the board. But the 3DS also have a feature in its sleeve that its maker thought would be compelling to have—3D. While it didn’t turn out to be as interesting, it nonetheless provided a unique experience to gamers.
The issue being that the 3D presentation is not as consistent and, worse, can be dizzying, especially long-term. So much so that anyone who had a similar encounter would just opt to disable the feature altogether. Essentially, making it an optional aesthetic that doesn’t necessarily appeal to everyone.
Poor initial acceptance
Based on early reception, the Nintendo 3DS was not as widely received. Not only has its selling feature turned out to be a dud, its introductory price was also a concern. Costing $249.99 in the wake of its release, the DS follow-up is expensive, to say the least. Too costly even for an economy beset with generally pricey gadgets.
Pricing being a primary concern, Nintendo caught everybody’s interest after choosing to reduce the product’s price. Low enough to attract people’s money, but high enough to make the company recoup production expenses and generate some profits.
The Nintendo 3DS’s staying power is proven true following the release of the Nintendo Wii U. Considered a flop due to poor adoption in the market, the handheld platform, meanwhile, saw greater support as more exclusive titles add to its library. Mainstay Nintendo IPs, like the Pokémon and Fire Emblem series, playing major role to it.
Multiple iterations
Part of what made the 3DS relevant is more than just its growing catalog of games, however. With Nintendo keen in enticing consumers into the platform, the handheld had seen multiple iterations along the way. Each of which offering something distinct from its siblings. Like, the 2DS’s affordability at the expense of lack of 3D or the New 3DSes’ better innards for greater performance.
The Nintendo 3DS officially went out of production late last year and its overall sales capped at 75.94 million units. But while it may not be at the top of the ranking among Nintendo’s handhelds in terms of sales count, it nonetheless left a legacy to gamers. One that will be forever remembered by those who experienced its magic looking back.
Image used courtesy of Nintendo/YouTube Screenshot