There is one more highlight of this month’s NPD report that may interest you. Nintendo’s hardware had a very successful month, according to the NPD, but it’s not just the Switch that performed well. The 3DS had a strong December, but its January turned out to be even better. January 2018 was the best January that the 3DS has had, “in terms of consoles sold”, since 2013. The 3DS also saw its best January hardware dollar sales since January 2014.
What makes the news even more strange is that January was a quiet month for the console, largely due to Nintendo focusing on the Switch. It didn’t see any titles in the NPD Top 20 list for January, either. It seems that some games on the 3DS that have been out for a while, including Mario Kart 7 and Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, are still giving the handheld some life. The 3DS sales chart had Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon at #1 and #2, respectively, and Mario Kart 7 was at #3.
Glad to see some continued interest in the 3DS. I’d like to see it last as long as possible.
Maybe just being for sale but the days of big Nintendo releases are over. Ultra Sun & Moon were the swan song of the 3DS much like past Pokémon games.
And there’s nothing for the 3DS this year so why linger the system when the Switch should be the main 100% focus?
Anyone who gets a 3DS now will have an unmatched library of great games to choose from.
Likely at a reduced price too…
Dragon Quest XI?
Isn’t that coming for the Switch?
It’s really nice that Nintendo cares so much about it’s sales. Nintendo should really think about a 3DS virtual console in the future so people can play previous 3DS titles.
How would that work without a second screen, a mic, and streetpass?
It will.
Good job not answering the question at all.
A successor in the future maybe, with backwards compatibility. Not a VC!!!
Yes.
Nintendo’s punching the cheapness of the device hard. An ad at my Walmart says, “pick a 2DS and any of these games (Nintendo Selects) for $100!!!”
That’s all this is.
*pushing.
I’ll also mention the 2DS itself also comes with a game.
That’s why Mario Kart 7 was 3rd, all those 2DS’s come with Mario Kart 7!
Some come with NSMB 2.
Oof this hurts you inside that the 3ds is doing well doesn’t it?
It hurts them big time…
No. I’m pointing out why it’s doing well.
The reason it’s doing well is because many people have bought a switch and might not have been plugged into nintendo for a while and they see the 3ds which is still being supported and they pick oneup because they want to play the other great games nintendo has to offer and it’s at a cheaper price point
“Still being supported”
I don’t see any big games on the horizon or even released yet in 2018. If you mean “still on the shelves” then I’ll agree.
Who it’s selling to are typical late adopters. The base 2DS + 2 games (one is included and the other a Nintendo Select) is $100. I wouldn’t be surprised if the New 3DS XL is the least selling model right now. At that price it makes more sense to go for the Switch at only $100 more.
But for the people who already own a switch and not a 3ds (and from what i can see there are a lot of them) it would make sense why 3ds’s are still doing well. Remember when the 3ds did well because Pokemon go was doing extremely well. The same effect is happening here. People are buying a switch after they haven’t bought a Nintendo console in a while and then they decide to buy a 3ds
That really doesn’t sound like a group that needs to be separate from my “late adopters.” No matter the reason they’re still late adopters who likely see how cheap the system is and what games are already out. This says nothing of Nintendo supporting the platform which to me a big part of that is supplying big new games and absolutely none are coming. The 3DS was an afterthought at last year’s E3 and is barely mentioned in Nintendo Directs in any significant fashion anymore. Nintendo’s “support” is simply seeing how long they can keep it on shelves and sell it on existing games and cheap prices.
New Games are coming and nintendo themselves have firmed this. January and February are just slow months for most of Nintendo platforms. I still think the 3ds is strong for nintendo and these sales are showing that they arnt just having blind faith
Oh yeah, I forgot about Detective Pikachu and Sushi Striker. Such huge releases with tons of hype LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XD
https://mynintendonews.com/2018/02/04/nintendo-is-continuing-to-develop-new-software-for-nintendo-3ds/
More than just those. right now it’s Feb. if December has come around and all we have gotten was detective pikachu then i will say the 3ds is dead but in my eyes (and most likely Nintendo’s) it isn’t
I’m sure the next big Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Fire Emblem, Kirby, Yoshi, and Pokémon games for 3DS are right around the corner. Keep the hope alive!!!
The joke here is obviously that these are all games that have been released or are already confirmed to be Switch games.
Oh to give you another possible 2018 3DS game I think Dillon’s Rolling Western 2 is supposed to be a thing that exists.
Woo.
Give it up already. I like Mike S but he’s becoming a bit of a troll at this point with his point concerning 3DS. I said “Yep. The 3DS isn’t going anywhere any time soon this year.” on a 3DS article yesterday and he came in with his usual condescension. We get it! We know the 3DS doesn’t have much longer before Nintendo drops it. Quit beating that dead horse, dude! At this point, I really hope E3 has Nintendo reveal quite a few of their own games for 3DS just so we can see his hopes and dreams of the handheld division being retired and Nintendo going all in with the hybrid console come crashing down. BUT even I don’t expect such news. While I think the 3DS is on it’s way out, I don’t think the handheld division is going anywhere just yet even if Pokemon ISN’T exclusive to the handhelds anymore. The 3DS didn’t do as great as it did on Pokemon alone, after all, as it was a joint endeavor by Nintendo, indies, and major 3rd parties. Even if the main Pokemon games will be on Switch, there are still a number of spin-offs they could continue on handhelds.
Why does it bother you so much?
||So?…||
Wow. It’s been that long since it was selling well? XD Yup, it should retire and let Switch carry the torch.
Well the 3DS is a long running system.
It’s only 7 years old and over a year too old. XP
Exactly c:
The shortest amount of time that one of their handhelds has been in retail is 9 years so it’s still got a year or two left. Just in time for the PS5 and XBO successor to insure that the Switch will lose it’s third party support.
Yeah Nintendo is finished really soon isn’t it? How many years have you been banging that drum now?
I never have and I’m still not beating that drum. The Switch is the first Nintendo system I don’t like the concept of. Even if I did, my comment would still apply because the Switch is anywhere from 6-12 times less capable than the Xbox and PS4 base systems. That difference increases to 12 to maybe 30 times when compared to the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. If both systems do see successors in the next two years than the gap gets even bigger. If a game runs at 4k60 on next gen systems then running then lowering texture resolution and capping them to 720p30 will reduce GPU and bandwidth load to about 1/18th but that still wouldn’t be enough to completely make up for the difference in specs and that’s a best case scenario.
The next generation will most likely one where not all developers will opt to run their games at 2160p. Some will opt for upscaled 1440p or even 1080p for performance and presentation purposes. Those games will have an even harder time scaling to something presentable on the Switch and a that just has to do with GPU performance. CPU usage can’t really be scaled down to anywhere near the same degree.
Not to mention that, as systems get more computational prowess, developers might opt compute the look of skin, foliage, dirt, and other things without textures in order to keep file size down.
Basically my whole point is that I feel Nintendo played their cards wrong in choosing to use old bandwidth constrained mobile chips from a company that isn’t successful in the mobile space and a concept that requires them to further underclocked the hardware. Third parties are barely getting their multiplatform games to run on the system now and they’ll have an even harder time doing that in the future.
If not all of it, at least the bigger triple A devs that want to use the strongest systems to push their games. If people think the major 3rd parties are gonna release two separate versions of their games so they can continue to support the Switch, heh. They got another thing coming. It’s no mystery why most 3rd party support for Wii U started dwindling in late 2013.
Exactly what I was thinking of. The Wii U had a weak CPU and 1/5th the memory and that becomes really difficult to work around.
Sony is actually doing Nintendo a favor by not releasing a PS5 just yet.
Yea, imagine the rants PBJ89 will be having in comments sections then.
The production is still going.
That’s awesome! People still say Nintendo should pull the device even though the 3DS/2DS is selling really well for Nintendo. On top of that the Switch is selling gangbusters!
The Big N is in full swing mode again. Next big Nintendo tittle is Kirby in less then a month!
I bet you anything the majority of these sales are to existing owners, they’re not expanding the user base, they selling replacement systems to those who already have it.
I know I bought a red 2DS with New Super Mario Bros 2 for my 6 year old son. Could be people are buying for their children now that their old enough.
The 3ds is by far the best portable system in terms of quality, games library and potential. It’s just too good to be killed. On the other hand the Switch gets all the support it deserves, but that is not a reason for 3ds to get killed by the WiiU successor or by Nintendo. The markets and consumers prove it. After all, what kind of big releases does the Switch have, that the 3ds has already not?? The Switch is clearly the rising star but the 3ds has still much to offer. Simple as that.
It refuses to die.
Ive probably played all of my 3ds’ combined more than any other console. But even then, i think it’s had its run. Sure, the 3d is cool for some games, but after playing the switch for nearly a year, it’s really hard to go back.
But it’s still selling so there’s nothing i can do about it.
“But the 3DS is dead”
3DS games are what I’m on the hunt for most these days. Such a quality library. Towards the end of a system’s life is a great time to buy for it because everyone else is moving on to whats hot and new. Gotta be a thrifty boi and save that money.
Just keep selling so you can stay in production for another year or two. I’ll probably want to replace my current n3DS with a new one around that time.