It's the end of an era at Nintendo, as the company has officially discontinued the 3DS and ceased production on the system. The Nintendo 3DS launched in 2010, and it went on to serve an important function for the company during the Wii U era.
The Nintendo 3DS had some incredible games, which helped to keep the company in the gaming press during the run of one of its most disastrous consoles in history. The failure of the Wii U to win over audiences meant that more focus was placed on the 3DS, which wasn't as popular as its predecessor, but still had a huge fanbase. This was thanks to its amazing library and some fantastic features, like the stereoscopic 3D screen and its Streetpass tag mode.
The incredible financial success of the Nintendo Switch has led to a decline in the 3DS over the past few years. Nintendo has now officially called the time of death. According to a statement made by Nintendo to Gamesindustry.biz, Nintendo has ceased the production of 3DS systems. Nintendo has confirmed that there are no plans to shut down the online services used by the 3DS, so fans can still buy and download digital games.
"We can confirm that the manufacturing of the Nintendo 3DS family of systems has ended, (...) Nintendo and third-party games for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems will continue to be available in Nintendo eShop, on Nintendo.com, and at retail. The existing library of more than 1,000 Nintendo 3DS games contains many critically acclaimed titles and can provide years of content to explore and enjoy."
The writing has been on the wall for the 3DS for a long time now. Nintendo initially promised to keep supporting the 3DS during the Switch's lifespan, but once it became apparent that the Switch was growing its own sizable audience, the support for the 3DS dried up. The system received a few ports of Wii U games, but it became clear that Nintendo was pouring its efforts into making the Switch a success. It's hard to fault the company for doing this, especially following the poor response to the Wii U, but the 3DS deserved more of a send-off due to the crucial role it had in keeping Nintendo relevant.
The 3DS might be dead, but its presence is still being felt today, considering that Nintendo is still porting its games to the Switch. The system had some amazing titles and the Streetpass feature helped bring gamers together, in search of those green lights that brought everything from puzzle pieces to new townspeople in Bravely Default. Nintendo's new hybrid home/handheld console strategy has been such a hit that we likely won't see a 4DS or similar system in the future, but the company and its games still live on through the Switch, and the 3DS will continue to be remembered by those who still carry the system in their backpack.
Source: Gamesindustry.biz