While many may feel that the hybrid console and handheld, Nintendo Switch, is going to take over the 3DS, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima says it’s not the case in the company’s financial results briefing.
Here are some highlights from the briefing that talks about the future of the Nintendo 3DS business:
As for the future of the Nintendo 3DS business, Nintendo 3DS family hardware has continued to spread through our markets, reaching sales of 62 million units worldwide. Our efforts will focus on the opportunities to take advantage of this install base.
We will continue to introduce new titles that players can enjoy for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. 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.
This slide shows the major announced games for Nintendo 3DS that have been recently released or that are announced for release later this year in our markets. We will have several follow-up titles from popular franchises on Nintendo 3DS and we are developing many other unannounced titles to continue to enrich the software lineup going forward.
There are also many strong third-party titles on the way for Nintendo 3DS. For example, Capcom will release Monster Hunter XX in Japan on March 18.
Also, Square Enix has announced that the latest entry in the Dragon Quest series, Dragon Quest XI is in development for Nintendo 3DS. Both titles are sure to be highly anticipated by fans of the series. There are many other games coming from developers, so we hope to maintain last year’s momentum and continue to provide exciting experiences through our Nintendo 3DS.
