So yeah, title says it all. Today I found out that the beloved console, the Nintendo 3DS, is not longer supported by Nintendo. From a business standpoint, this makes sense so they are now able to focus more on the Switch. Personally, I had a pretty good history with the 3DS and handheld console chain, all things considered.
I can't remember when the 3DS first came out. I wasn't in-the-know back in the day. Frankly I didn't even know there was any new DS back in the day. I was perfectly content with my standard DS that I got for Christmas way back in the day. With it I was playing games and invested so much time into the games I had. For instance, my first Pokemon game was HeartGold, and since it was my first time playing that game I had no idea how to really play it. My Meganium was at Lv. 100 before I beat Lance for the first time. It was crazy.
However, my history with Pokemon will have to come in a different Blog post. What matters was the I had a DS that was beloved and that I really enjoyed.
I first heard of the 3DS after I moved in December of 2011, and I just so happened to have moved into a neighborhood that had plenty of kids my age who played Pokemon. At that point the biggest hype that I had was for Pokemon Black and White, which was so groundbreaking to me. Again, that will have to come in a different Blog post.
I first heard of the 3DS when a friend of mine came over and showed it to me. I was intrigued, not just because the games could now be played in Ulta-Super-Cool-Wombo-Combo-Extraordinaire 3D, but because of how nice it looked and the fact that the game could play 3D games. The closest thing on the DS I played that was in 3D was Goosebumps Horrorland, and so seeing actual models flying around the screen on the 3DS was something to behold. That, and you could use the 3DS's camera for the X-link calls on the 3DS, which were cool to see my friends brandishing that.
However, younger me was content with the standard DS. I felt happy with it. Sure, it was falling apart, but I was good at taking care of things so they didn't break and could live for a long time. All was good...
Until a different friend accidentally ripped the top screen from the bottom screen.
I was heartbroken at that. Said friend gave me his DS until I either got the old one fixed or got a new one, so I wasn't without games for a while. A asked my parents if we could get the DS fixed, and they told me it would be cheaper to just get a new one than to repair the old one. So I reluctantly agreed that it would be okay if I got a 3DS.
It turns out that was one of the best things I could have agreed to. On Christmas of 2012, I got a red 3DS, and my first 3DS game was Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, as well as Super Mario 3D Land, which came with the console.
I absolutely loved it. I loved playing Kingdom Hearts, and when I was done with that I got to play around with Face Raiders and making my own Mii, and there were a plethora of Demos for games I could play on the eShop.
Later that year my friend came over and excitedly told me to go check out the eShop. We checked it, and we saw a trailer for Pokemon X and Y. If Black and White weren't revolutionary, these games definitely were. Again, that's a different blog post.
A few years and another move later, I was still going strong with my 3DS, and when the New 3DS came out I was hesitant to ask for it, since I was content with my current 3DS. However, I dropped it one too many times and the A button would no longer work.
So I asked for a New Nintendo 3DS XL for my birthday, I got it, I sold my old 3DS and I got to enjoy more games that were made with the XL in mind. Kingdom Hearts got a fresh coat of paint now that I had the secondary stick to move the camera with, and the 3DS release of Majora's Mask, which was my first Zelda game, was pretty fun. I didn't discover Xenoblade Chronicles 3D until much later though but, spoiler alert, I enjoyed that game, too.
I've taken extra care to make sure that I do not make the same mistakes that I did with my old 3DS, and to this day it's still fine and in working condition. There was a time where it died on a newly charged battery, and the back panel was broken trying to extract the battery, but I was able to order some replacement parts and put my 3DS back together with a new battery inside.
Sadly, my passion for gaming seems to have really died down recently. I don't know if it's because I lack the motivation, or maybe it's some mental health problems that I've been having, or the combined efforts of having a job and college and money and stress to go through that I've stopped having the passion for playing. After Xenoblade, that was it. I mean, I still asked for a new game for my most recent birthday, which was A Link Between Worlds, but I've had it for months and still haven't beaten it, whereas back in the day I could beat a game in three days.
I don't know what's going on with me, personally, but I'm glad the 3DS line was there to help me out through some tough times. When I was first starting out, I was enjoying the kind of things the 3DS gave me. When my grandmother passed away shortly after X and Y was released, I had an online community I was able to turn to in the form of X and Y's friend list system. The official name of the program escapes me, but it was good to look to.
But I don't think the Switch would have gone far if it had to go along with the 3DS. As the Semisonic song goes, "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end", and the Switch and 3DS relationship is no exception.
As far as things go, I probably won't go for the Switch in the foreseeable future. Maybe it's just me, but nobody in my family seems interested in console gaming anymore. I know I probably don't have nearly as much time to invest into the Switch as I would like to, and others have turned to mobile or the PC for their gaming experience, which kinda makes me sad. Because for me, the end of the 3DS is not just the end of the 3DS for me, but also the end of future Nintendo gaming in general.
I knew it was going to happen one day, but I didn't think it would be today. I've grown up now. I sometimes have to brush the dust off of my 3DS when I pick it up. I am almost afraid to beat the games I have for the 3DS/DS, because after I beat it, what's after that?
So, this is to say goodbye to a wonderful console line. I will still play it, don't get me wrong, I'm not selling my system or games, but it will not be as often anymore.
So cheers.
Thank you.
I can't remember when the 3DS first came out. I wasn't in-the-know back in the day. Frankly I didn't even know there was any new DS back in the day. I was perfectly content with my standard DS that I got for Christmas way back in the day. With it I was playing games and invested so much time into the games I had. For instance, my first Pokemon game was HeartGold, and since it was my first time playing that game I had no idea how to really play it. My Meganium was at Lv. 100 before I beat Lance for the first time. It was crazy.
However, my history with Pokemon will have to come in a different Blog post. What matters was the I had a DS that was beloved and that I really enjoyed.
I first heard of the 3DS after I moved in December of 2011, and I just so happened to have moved into a neighborhood that had plenty of kids my age who played Pokemon. At that point the biggest hype that I had was for Pokemon Black and White, which was so groundbreaking to me. Again, that will have to come in a different Blog post.
I first heard of the 3DS when a friend of mine came over and showed it to me. I was intrigued, not just because the games could now be played in Ulta-Super-Cool-Wombo-Combo-Extraordinaire 3D, but because of how nice it looked and the fact that the game could play 3D games. The closest thing on the DS I played that was in 3D was Goosebumps Horrorland, and so seeing actual models flying around the screen on the 3DS was something to behold. That, and you could use the 3DS's camera for the X-link calls on the 3DS, which were cool to see my friends brandishing that.
However, younger me was content with the standard DS. I felt happy with it. Sure, it was falling apart, but I was good at taking care of things so they didn't break and could live for a long time. All was good...
Until a different friend accidentally ripped the top screen from the bottom screen.
I was heartbroken at that. Said friend gave me his DS until I either got the old one fixed or got a new one, so I wasn't without games for a while. A asked my parents if we could get the DS fixed, and they told me it would be cheaper to just get a new one than to repair the old one. So I reluctantly agreed that it would be okay if I got a 3DS.
It turns out that was one of the best things I could have agreed to. On Christmas of 2012, I got a red 3DS, and my first 3DS game was Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, as well as Super Mario 3D Land, which came with the console.
I absolutely loved it. I loved playing Kingdom Hearts, and when I was done with that I got to play around with Face Raiders and making my own Mii, and there were a plethora of Demos for games I could play on the eShop.
Later that year my friend came over and excitedly told me to go check out the eShop. We checked it, and we saw a trailer for Pokemon X and Y. If Black and White weren't revolutionary, these games definitely were. Again, that's a different blog post.
A few years and another move later, I was still going strong with my 3DS, and when the New 3DS came out I was hesitant to ask for it, since I was content with my current 3DS. However, I dropped it one too many times and the A button would no longer work.
So I asked for a New Nintendo 3DS XL for my birthday, I got it, I sold my old 3DS and I got to enjoy more games that were made with the XL in mind. Kingdom Hearts got a fresh coat of paint now that I had the secondary stick to move the camera with, and the 3DS release of Majora's Mask, which was my first Zelda game, was pretty fun. I didn't discover Xenoblade Chronicles 3D until much later though but, spoiler alert, I enjoyed that game, too.
I've taken extra care to make sure that I do not make the same mistakes that I did with my old 3DS, and to this day it's still fine and in working condition. There was a time where it died on a newly charged battery, and the back panel was broken trying to extract the battery, but I was able to order some replacement parts and put my 3DS back together with a new battery inside.
Sadly, my passion for gaming seems to have really died down recently. I don't know if it's because I lack the motivation, or maybe it's some mental health problems that I've been having, or the combined efforts of having a job and college and money and stress to go through that I've stopped having the passion for playing. After Xenoblade, that was it. I mean, I still asked for a new game for my most recent birthday, which was A Link Between Worlds, but I've had it for months and still haven't beaten it, whereas back in the day I could beat a game in three days.
I don't know what's going on with me, personally, but I'm glad the 3DS line was there to help me out through some tough times. When I was first starting out, I was enjoying the kind of things the 3DS gave me. When my grandmother passed away shortly after X and Y was released, I had an online community I was able to turn to in the form of X and Y's friend list system. The official name of the program escapes me, but it was good to look to.
But I don't think the Switch would have gone far if it had to go along with the 3DS. As the Semisonic song goes, "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end", and the Switch and 3DS relationship is no exception.
As far as things go, I probably won't go for the Switch in the foreseeable future. Maybe it's just me, but nobody in my family seems interested in console gaming anymore. I know I probably don't have nearly as much time to invest into the Switch as I would like to, and others have turned to mobile or the PC for their gaming experience, which kinda makes me sad. Because for me, the end of the 3DS is not just the end of the 3DS for me, but also the end of future Nintendo gaming in general.
I knew it was going to happen one day, but I didn't think it would be today. I've grown up now. I sometimes have to brush the dust off of my 3DS when I pick it up. I am almost afraid to beat the games I have for the 3DS/DS, because after I beat it, what's after that?
So, this is to say goodbye to a wonderful console line. I will still play it, don't get me wrong, I'm not selling my system or games, but it will not be as often anymore.
So cheers.
Thank you.
