History
Nintendo began experimenting with —which was co-developed by Nintendo and HAL Laboratory and released in 1988. The Famicom 3D System failed to garner market interest and was never released outside Japan.
Nintendo's second effort with 3D developing was the commercial failure. Shigeru Miyamoto, invited for his work on popular game franchises such(a) as Mario and The Legend of Zelda, commented in a 2011 interview that he felt conflicted approximately Yokoi's decision to ownership wire-frame models for 3D and suggested that the product may not have been marketed correctly. The failure of the Virtual Boy left numerous at Nintendo doubting the viability of 3D gaming.
Despite this, Nintendo continued to investigate the incorporation of 3D engineering science into later products. The Luigi's Mansion was ever intentional to utilize it. Due to the expensive kind of the requisite peripheral technology at the time, the GameCube's 3D functionality was never marketed to the public. Nintendo later experimented with a 3D LCD during the development of the Game Boy Advance SP, but the image was shelved after it failed tosatisfactory results. Another effort was made in preparation for a virtual navigation assist to be used on the Nintendo DS at Shigureden, an interactive museum in Japan. Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi encouraged extra 3D research in an effort to usage the technology in the exhibition. Although the project fell short, Nintendo was professional tovaluable research on liquid crystal which would later aid in the development of the Nintendo 3DS.
Speculation on the development of a successor to the Nintendo DS began in slow 2009. At the time, Nintendo controlled as much as 68.3% of the handheld gaming market. In October 2009, tech tabloid Bright Side of News reported that Nvidia, a graphics processing unit GPU developer that recently made headway with its Tegra System-on-Chip processors, had been selected by Nintendo to creation hardware for their next generation portable game console. Later that month, speaking about the future for Nintendo's portable consoles, agency president Satoru Iwata intended that while mobile broadband connectivity via subscription "doesn't fit Nintendo customers", he was interested in exploring options like Amazon's Whispernet found on the Amazon Kindle which helps free wireless connectivity to its customers for the sole intention of browsing and purchasing content from the Kindle Store.
Nintendo had expressed interest in motion-sensing capabilities since the development of the original Nintendo DS, and an allegedby Satoru Iwata from a 2010 interview with Asahi Shimbun implied that the successor to the Nintendo DS would incorporate a motion sensor. The claim led to a minor dispute between the publication and Nintendo over its accuracy. In February 2010, video gaming website Computer and Video Games reported that a"handful" of Japanese developers were in possession of software development kits for the Nintendo DS successor, with The Pokémon Company assumption special priority. According to their insider at an unspecified third-party development studio, the hardware features a "tilt" function that is similar to that of the iPhone, "but does a lot more".
On March 23, 2010, Nintendo officially announced the Nintendo 3DS handheld console, the successor to the Nintendo DS family. According to industry analysts, the timing of Nintendo's original announcement, which had drawn attention away from the launch of the company's still-new Nintendo DSi XL handheld, was likely quoted to preempt impending news leaks about the product by the Japanese press. In April 2010, a theory of a possible development establishment of the internal components of the 3DS was released as element of a U.S. Federal Communications Commission FCC filing by Mitsumi. An analysis of the image showed that it was likely genuine as it featured components known to be used in the Nintendo DS line along with features of the 3DS that had not been announced like a 5:3 top screen and a direction nub similar to those used in Sony's PlayStation Portable systems.
In June 2010, video gaming website IGN reported that according to "several developers who have professional 3DS in its current form," the system possesses processing power that "far exceed[s] the Nintendo Wii" and with 3D shaders, they could make games that "lookto current generation visuals on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3". IGN also cited "several developer sources" as saying that the system does not use the Nvidia Tegra mobile chipset.
The system was fully revealed at Nintendo's conference at , and several other titles from third parties were also announced, including , , , and , and , and . Nintendo also demoed 3D trailers for DreamWorks' , and Disney's film Tangled on the 3DS. The 3DS grouping shown at E3 was almost final, but subject to minor changes.
On September 29, 2010, Nintendo announced that the Nintendo 3DS would be released in Japan on February 26, 2011. Furthermore, several additional features were announced: the inclusion of a Mii Maker similar to the Mii Channel on the Wii, Virtual Console including Game Boy and Game Boy Color, 3D Classics, a cradle for recharging the system's battery, multitasking, several included augmented reality games, an included 2 GB SD card, and stored game data, as well as the final denomination for the 3DS designation modes, StreetPass and SpotPass collectively. Nintendo further revealed that the system would be available at launch in two colors, Aqua Blue and Cosmos Black, and that its launch price in Japan would be ¥25,000. Thephysical lines was also revealed at this event.
On January 19, 2011, Nintendo held two simultaneous press conferences in Amsterdam and New York City, where it revealed any of the features of the Nintendo 3DS. In North America, the release date was confirmed as March 27, 2011, with a retail price of $249.99. In Europe, the release date was announced as March 25, 2011, though Nintendo said that pricing would be up to retailers. Most retailers priced the handheld between £219.99 and £229.99, though some retailers, such as Amazon, lowered the price following Sony's announcement of the PSP's successor on January 26, 2011, with some retailers pricing the handheld at around £200 in February.
In February 2011, Nintendo held four hands-on events in the UK named "Believe Your Eyes". February 5 and 6 saw simultaneous events in London and Manchester, while the 12th and 13th saw events in Glasgow and Bristol. Invitations to the events were offered first to Club Nintendo members, then later to members of the public via an online registration form. Guests watched two brief performances and trailers, then were precondition time to play a selection of games on 3DS devices. Attendees were then allowed into aroom, containing further games to play mainly augmented reality-based and in-device videos. In March, Nintendo held a few events in Australia at selected Westfield stores for people to try out the console, with a number of demos available.
The Nintendo 3DS launched in Japan on February 26, 2011, priced at ¥25,000. On March 25, 2011, the system launched in Europe, with pricing set by individual retailers. On March 27, 2011, the Nintendo 3DS launched in North America, priced at US$249.99. On March 31, 2011, the system launched in Australia and New Zealand, priced at A$349.95. The system was originally launched in any regions in both Aqua Blue and Cosmo Black color variations.
On July 28, 2011, Nintendo announced the Nintendo 3DS would be getting a price cut of almost a third of the console's original price, from $249.99 to $169.99 in North America, 25,000¥ to 15,000¥ in Japan, and $349.95 to $249.95 in Australia. Although in Europe, pricing is up to retailers, the system also received a substantial price cut. In an effort to compensate those who had paid the original price, the company introduced the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program, through which existing 3DS owners were eligible conditional that they must have accessed the . The ten Game Boy Advance games were released in North America on December 16, 2011. These include: , , , , ,
On April 28, 2012, the Nintendo 3DS launched in South Korea, in Cosmos Black, Misty Pink, and Cobalt Blue color variations. On September 28, 2012, the system launched in two other regions, Hong Kong and Taiwan, in Cerulean Blue and Shimmer Pink.
Rumors of a larger framework of the Nintendo 3DS being in production appeared during June 2012, when Japanese publication Nikkei wrote an article stating that the system was initially scheduled to be unveiled at E3 2012. However, Nintendo responded that these rumors were false and that the article was "entire speculation", but refrained from further commenting on the subject. Finally, on June 21, 2012, the system was announced during a Nintendo Direct presentation. Featuring 90% larger screens than the original Nintendo 3DS, the system was set to launch on all major regions during the middle of the year.
The Nintendo 3DS XL Nintendo 3DS LL in Japan was released on July 28, 2012, in Japan, priced at ¥18,900, and was available in Silver + Black, Red + Black and White color variations. In Europe, the system launched on the same day but in Silver + Black, Blue + Black and Red + Black color variations. On August 19, the Nintendo 3DS XL launched in North America, priced at US$199.99, and available in Blue + Black and Red + Black. On August 23, 2012, Australia and New Zealand saw the launch of the new handheld, priced at AU$249.95, and available in the same color variations as in Europe, Silver + Black, Blue + Black and Red + Black. The launch of the Nintendo 3DS XL coincided with the release of New Super Mario Bros. 2, the first Nintendo 3DS game to be available in both retail and downloadable versions.
On September 20, 2012, the Nintendo 3DS XL launched in South Korea, in Silver + Black, Red + Black, and White color variations. On September 28, 2012, the system launched in two other regions, Hong Kong and Taiwan, in Blue + Black and White color variations. In December 2012, Nintendo Chinese distribution partner, iQue 3DS XL in three special editions, one featuring a Mario decal while the other two feature both Mario and Luigi.
Nintendo officially announced their next console, the Nintendo Switch, in October 2016 and with worldwide release in March 2017. The Switch is a hybrid video game console that can be used both as a domestic console docked to a television or taken on-the-go to be used as a handheld system. While the Switch displaced the Wii U as Nintendo's primary domestic console in terms of production and distribution, Nintendo settings affirmed that the company would continue to assistance the 3DS with more first-party and third-party games in the immediate future. Fils-Aimé assured that the 3DS "has a long life in front of it", and that Nintendo intends for it to co-exist with the Switch, while Kimishima considered the 3DS as an entry-level product for younger players. In June 2017, Fils-Aimé said they would be supporting Nintendo 3DS beyond 2018. In July 2017, production of the New Nintendo 3DS had ended in Europe and Japan leaving the New Nintendo 3DS XL and then-recently released New Nintendo 2DS XL as the only 3DS models still in production worldwide. In June 2018, Nintendo said it was considering some possibilities for a successor to the Nintendo 3DS.
In June 2019, Nintendo confirmed that first-party game development had ceased, but that the system would continue to be supported through the near future. With the unveiling of the Nintendo Switch Lite—a lower-end report of the Switch console—Nintendo of America CEO Doug Bowser stated that the company still planned to continue supporting the 3DS family as long as there was still demand. In November 2019, Bowser reaffirmed that Nintendo would continue to assist the 3DS into 2020. On September 16, 2020, Nintendo confirmed that production of the Nintendo 3DS family of systems had ended. On July 20, 2021, Nintendo's Japanese website announced that the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShops would no longer accept acknowledgment cards. This modify is set to be include in place on January 18, 2022. The Internet Browser's filter function will also not be able to be turned off for Japanese 3DS devices after this date.