Nintendo's handheld console, the 3DS has been discontinued. The move came with little fanfare, only to be noticed by a couple of fans who shared the news on Twitter.
According to Nintendo's Japanese website, the 3DS has been discontinued. The New 3DS LL, New 2DS LL, and 2DS are all still available for purchase but the disclaimer underneath says that the consoles' production has been suspended. A couple of Nintendo fans shared the news on Twitter .
Nintendo's US site has no mention of the 3DS anywhere anymore. There are a couple of support links to the long-gone Wii U and now, the handheld console.
The 3DS was first announced back in 2010. The handheld console launched in 2011. It experienced some growing pains upon release and it took a major price cut as well as the offering of 20 free NES and Game Boy Advance games to get it on track.
Different versions of Nintendo 3DS.
The 3DS went through several iterations since 2011: there was the larger 3DS XL, the upgraded New 3DS, the discounted 2DS, and the sleek 2DS XL.
Over 75 million 3DS consoles have been shipped worldwide. The number is impressive on its own but it's less than half as many as its predecessor, the DS sold.
The less successful handheld did, however, manage to tide Nintendo over the rough patch that were the Wii U years and sell more than 384 million games.
Nintendo will now surely shift their focus on the Switch as they have already shipped more than 61 million consoles as of the end of June. This number will inevitably grow and Switch's success should overtake the 3DS' numbers this holiday season.
