Nintendo 3DS: Nintendo Rejected 12 Original 3DS Designs

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has revealed that the company decided to reject 12 different designs for the Nintendo 3DS.

“I remember that first presentation very well. We thought up six proposals ranging from models similar to previous Nintendo DS systems to ones that were completely different in design, and two types of each, so we prepared a total of 12 models. We thought we had prepared a very comprehensive presentation, but in the end, all six proposals got rejected.

“I was sorely disappointed. Everyone on the team had thought up all kinds of ideas with a desire to nail it at the first presentation. We presented what we thought was our best work, but that wasn’t recognised. When we thought it over later, we figured, “Well, they might be a little old-fashioned.”

Iwata explained the reasons behind the rejections. “We’re past all that now, so we can laugh about it, but unfortunately at that first presentation, nothing felt like the next new thing. You had done what you could and presented your ideas with confidence, so it must have been hard when we shot them down.”

“I thought about a completely new three-layer structure that you could see when you closed the system,” he said. “Each layer would be a slightly different colour in a three-tone gradation. The Nintendo 3DS system not only has StreetPass, but also SpotPass. We wanted to represent through the design how all kinds of content would come in, not just when you went out walking around with it, but also when you just had it sitting at home.”

– Iwata Asks

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