It is truly the end of an era, as production for the Nintendo 3DS has come to an end in Japan. The Japanese official website has a notice stating that the production of the Nintendo 3DS series has completely come to an end. [Thanks, Gamestalk.]
Companies don’t often make actual announcements to say that production has ended, much like the PS Vita last year, so we’re not entirely sure when it happened. However, according to a Wayback Machine check by Automaton, the message about the Nintendo 3DS production ending wasn’t there on September 15, 2020, so it was sometime after that.
The Nintendo 3DS was first unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. It first released in Japan on February 26, 2011, followed by a Western released in March 2011. The biggest feature of the handheld, at the time, was its ability to show stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses. It introduced a number of new features including StreetPass and SpotPass, and also features backward compatibility with older Nintendo DS titles.
The Nintendo 3DS XL featuring a 90% larger screen released a year later in July and August 2012. A more affordable and fixed “slate” form released in October 2013 with the Nintendo 2DS. Lastly, the New Nintendo 3DS featuring a more powerful CPU, C-Stick, and additional buttons released in October 2014.
As of now, production has ended in Japan for all 3DS models, including the 3DS XL, 2DS, New 3DS, and New 3DS XL. As of June 30, 2020, the Nintendo 3DS family has sold over 75.87 million units worldwide.
