3DS owners shouldn’t be concerned over the longevity and future of the dedicated handheld console going forward, says Nintendo. In a recent interview with Wired, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime told the site that the 3DS still has “a long life in front of it,” amid fears that it could be left by the wayside due to the very nature of the upcoming Switch. Ever since the unveiling of the Wii U’s successor last year, uncertainty over the 3DS’ place in the market has started to bubble to the surface, with many left pondering if the home console/handheld hybrid had been primed to supersede both devices.
Those whispers were largely put to rest following last year’s Switch reveal, however, when Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima told Bloomberg that no such thing was happening and that the Switch wouldn’t “cannibalize” sales of the 3DS. In fact, Fils-Aime believes there’s ample room for both pieces of hardware, stating that, while the it can be used as a handheld device, “it’s a home console that you can take with you on the go.” Besides that, the 3DS appeals to a considerably different market of consumers than the Switch, says Fils-Aime, with the former coming in at a much lower price point than the latter.
He’s certainly not wrong. While the Switch will go on sale for the recommended price of $299 in March, 3DS XL prices typically float around the $200 mark, with the budget 2DS available for even less. We’ll see how both devices fare once the Switch is out in the open, but Fils-Aime is likely correct in his assumption – both consoles are vastly different to each other.
In case you missed it, head over to our archive here for all of the news to come out of Nintendo’s Switch presentation last week.