How Nintendo’s support of the 2/3DS is complicating the success of the Switch
The first two months of the Nintendo Switch can definitely be considered a success, as it has topped the console sale charts for those two months consecutively. It’s not a small feat when you’re competing with the best selling Playstation in history and the best selling Xbox in history. But it’s even more impressive when you take into account that Nintendo is achieving this despite all the problems the Switch has and despite them insisting in cannibalizing its own success.
I think we can all agree that the Switch is Nintendo’s last chance to prove that it can still be a console manufacturer and that failure would mean them having to pivot to doing software for other consoles and mobile exclusively. Normally when you have one last chance at something you give it your best effort, using all your resources to succeed. Well, not Nintendo.
The Switch is clearly a mobile console, no matter how much Nintendo insists that it’s not. But because they think it’s not a handheld, they won’t let go of the 3DS system. They just announced the New Nintendo 2DS XL (yes, they still give infinitely long names to their products like it’s 1990), which is basically a 3DS without the 3D screen. What on earth do they want to achieve with this? Every 2/3DS system sold is one Switch less that will be bought. Not only this, but the more 2/3DS systems are sold the more games will be developed for them and the less for the Switch.
Let’s assume it, the 2/3DS is dead. Yes, it had sold over 65mm by the end of 2016, which is impressive for a handheld in the days of mobile gaming, but how many of those 2/3DS owners actually still use it? Let me tell you, very few. If we look at this month’s NPD software sales charts there is no single 2/3DS game on the list, despite this months release of Mario Sports Superstars, and there hasn’t been one since the release of Pokemon Sun/Moon. On the other hand, the Switch has the top 1 and 3 best selling games for April and it had the top 1 best selling game for March, having sold “only” above 3mm units. That means that out of the 65mm 2/3DS systems sold, probably less than 3mm are still active.
So why on earth does Nintendo launch an updated version to that console and promote it? It would have been much wiser to invest that money in more R&D, marketing or software for the Switch. But hey, it’s Nintendo. They live in a different dimension than the rest of us.
Not satisfied with this though, they also use their own resources to keep developing games for the 2/3DS. Mario Sports Superstars, Ever Oasis, Hey! Pikmin, Layton’s Mystery Journey, Swapdoodle, Miitopia, 3 Kirby games and Fire Emblem Echoes are being published and/or developed by Nintendo. That’s 10 games that are being developed for a dead system of which Nintendo has already launched its successor. A successor that is being criticised for the lack of games available. Those resources should have been spent in creating a few very high quality games for the Switch instead of 10 games which will probably turn out mediocre, with the exception of Fire Emblem most likely. The 3DS has already had 2 Fire Emblem games, they should have used those resources to improve the Fire Emblem game being developed for the Switch. Also, instead of making 3 Kirby games to celebrate the franchise’s anniversary they should have made one good Switch game to make the franchise relevant again.
There’s a ton of games being developed by third parties for the 3DS so it’s not like Nintendo would leave the system with no games to look forward to for those who can’t afford/don’t want to buy a Switch. It would certainly give a signal to the market though in terms of where Nintendo’s priorities are and what it’s going to support, giving publishers and developers the certainty that their investments in developing for the Switch will have Nintendo’s back.
Did Sony/Microsoft develop PS3/Xbox 360 exclusive games once their current-gen consoles launched? Of course not. Let’s hope Nintendo corrects their course on time before sinking their last ship.