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Nintendo has once again stated that the 3DS has a long life ahead of it, despite the company’s upcoming Switch launch. Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima told investors at a Q&A meeting that he believes the 3DS can continue to "co-exist" with the Switch for the foreseeable future.
"Nintendo 3DS is a different system from Nintendo Switch in terms of its shape, weight, price and the types and number of available software titles," he said.
"From this perspective, I believe parents will opt to choose Nintendo 3DS as their children?s first video game system. So we recognize that Nintendo 3DS as a portable game device meets different needs and fits different markets than Nintendo Switch, and we will keep this recognition in mind as we consider the future of our dedicated portable video game business."
Managing executive director Shinya Takahashi echoed this statement, saying that the 3DS still has plenty of new software titles coming up.
He also addressed questions about what might be coming up post-Switch, after an investor asked whether consumers would expect Nintendo to continue with a next generation handheld device rather than another home console.
"Because Nintendo never stops thinking about and researching potential future video game systems, it is not a question of whether it may make sense to release some specific product in the future," Takahashi said. "We are always engaged in researching and considering our next video game system."
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime also stated the 3DS had a strong future ahead of it after the company’s initial Switch reveal event last month. Speaking with Wired, he said "the Nintendo 3DS and the Nintendo Switch are going to live side-by-side" and that Nintendo is well-versed in "managing two different systems".
The Nintendo Switch launches worldwide on March 3rd for 279, making it much more expensive than any member of the Nintendo 3DS family. The New Nintendo 3DS, for example, currently costs around 180, regular Nintendo 3DS XLs can be picked up for just 150, and the Nintendo 2DS can be found for a mere 76. Indeed, when MCV spoke to UK retailers about the Switch, the industry was generally very positive about the new console, but many were divided on its price.
To read more about the Nintendo Switch, read our in-depth feature in the latest issue of MCV.
