3DS still has a long life ahead of it, as Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima promises to “continue to introduce new titles that players can enjoy” for the system.
“We will continue to introduce new titles that players can enjoy for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems,” Tatsumi saidi during Nintendo’s financial results briefing for the fiscal year ending March 2017. “We have heard speculation that Nintendo Switch will replace the Nintendo 3DS, as both are game systems that can be played outside the home, but Nintendo 3DS has unique characteristics that differ from those of Nintendo Switch. Furthermore, the price points and play experiences offered by the two systems are different and we do not see them as being in direct competition. We plan to continue both businesses separately and in parallel.”
In addition to major announced games such as Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World, Sayonara! Boxboy, Mario Sports Super Strs, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Pikmin, Fire Emblem Warriors, and Ever Oasis, Nintendo is “developing many other unannounced titles to continue to enrich the software lineup [of 3DS] going forward.” There are also “many strong third-party titles,” like Capcom‘s Monster Hunter XX and Square Enix‘s Dragon Quest XI, that are in development for 3DS.
Nintendo also briefly discussed the launch lineup for its upcoming Switch hardware, addressing those who “have expressed the opinion that the launch lineup is weak.”
Tatsumi said, “Our thinking in arranging the 2017 software lineup is that it is important to continue to provide new titles regularly without long gaps. This encourages consumers to continue actively playing the system, maintains buzz, and spurs continued sales momentum for Nintendo Switch.
“For that reason, we will be releasing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, ARMS, which is making its debut on the Nintendo Switch during the first half of 2017, and Splatoon 2, which attracted consumers’ attention most during the hands-on events in Japan, in summer 2017. We believe that these titles exemplify the concept of the Nintendo Switch, which is to be able to play anywhere with anyone and at any time, and will expand and invigorate competition between players.”
Tatsumi added that while Nintendo announced during its Switch presentation on January 13 that there were over 80 titles in development from more than 50 software publishers, that number has since grown to “over 100 titles from more than 70 publishers.”