Nintendo 3DS is dying a slow, but valorous death

Nintendo, the beloved video-game company which brought to us the likes of Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, is not calling the 3DS "dead" yet, but real circumstances point to the contrary.

Gaming enthusiasts were thrown off when Nintendo did not announce any new games for the 3DS this year, as has been customary. Kotaku, a popular gaming news website, reported that unlike Nintendo's announcement last year prior to a meeting with investors, this year's briefing had no mention of any 3DS games whatsoever. Kirby's Extra Yarn, which was released in March this year, may be the final first-party game for the console, according to the website.

Furthermore, there may be no significant progress among third-party games after Persona Q2, which was released in November last year. Among previously announced games was also a remake of Luigi's Mansion, which had become an instant hit upon release in 2001.

The 3DS, which launched in 2011, sold about 75 million units to date. In comparison, Nintendo's flagship console, the Switch (released in 2017), has sold over 33 million units and is gaining a grasp in Indian markets. This is despite the unavailability of official stores.

Meanwhile, the famous 'Nintendo polish' doesn't seem to have touched their latest venture into VR territory. Nintendo Labo VR Kit, albeit accompanied with an excellent roster of games, has been receiving some criticism over discomfort, motion sickness and toned-down graphics, which takes away from the experience. Despite this, the Switch has a growing user-base, thanks to reliable connectivity of Nintendo's servers. Still, it has a long way to go before it can cope with Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus.

The internet carried speculation about upcoming Nintendo consoles. Yes. Two consoles have been touted for E3 2019, but Nintendo's president Shuntaro Furukawa told Bloomberg that they don't plan to announce any consoles at E3. However, fans don't really trust Nintendo when it comes to "speculation".

Back in 2012, when the 3DS XL was being pushed around forums as a possible console, Nintendo shrugged the claims, saying it was complete "speculation". It came as a shocker to many when they announced the console just two weeks later.

E3 is a couple of months away, and what comes from Nintendo remains to be seen. The announcement of new consoles might just mark the beginning of the end for Nintendo's DS series.