With the announcement of the Nintendo Switch, some have wondered what this means for Nintendo’s other handheld, the Nintendo 3DS. Previously the company said that the Switch is considered a home gaming system first, meaning that despite its portability, Nintendo still views it as a home console rather than a handheld console.In a recent Q&A with bloomberg, Nintendo’s President Tatsumi Kimishima elaborated on what the future holds for the 3DS. For starters he clarified that the Switch will not be a replacement for the 3DS, or at least not strictly speaking. “So our original concept was, ‘What kind of new experience can we create?’ And what we showed this time was an object that’s both stationary and one you can take outside to play with anyone you want.”
As to what this means for the future of the 3DS, it seems that the console is here to stay, at least for now. According to Kimishima, “Thanks to our software, the 3DS hardware is still growing. So that business still has momentum. And certainly rather than being cannibalized by the Switch, we think the 3DS can continue in its own form.”
So for gamers who own the Nintendo 3DS, you won’t have to worry about the console coming to an end for now. It also seems that Nintendo plans for the Switch to be its own console, so owning both devices won’t necessarily overlap each other. In any case we guess more details of the Switch will be revealed come 12th January, 2017 so check back with us then.
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