Looks like the days of the original 3DS and its fatter cousin who gave up on a new year’s resolution within the first week, are numbered.
According to evidence put together by Destructoid, it looks like the vanilla edition of the 3DS is starting to become a rare specimen as Nintendo winds down production on that specific unit in lieu of the newer, more 3Dier model that is on the way. According to the site, stock is becoming increasingly hard to find in the UK and the US of A, and one peripheral manufacturer has stated that the handheld is no longer in production.
Of course, that all ties into the fact that the 3DS and the 3DS XL have been completely discontinued already in Japan, as Nintendo looks to expand the adoption of the new hardware into the west. Major retailers in the states such as Target, Walmart, Best Buy and GameStop claim that new stock of those units are but a distant memory, with the UK’s GAME retail chain showing similar results.
Remember, the new 3DS will be sporting some new hardware for upcoming games. Games will only run on those systems, resulting in some users having to either adopt the new system or find themselves left out in the cold. In medicinal terms, this is also known as the iPhone Effect, which rolls around once a year and claims many millions of lives according to my completely unverified and dodgy research.
I plan to get one of those new consoles for myself personally. And not just because my original 3DS is starting to sport chipped paint on the D-pad. I just need another Pokémon machine, is all. Oh jeez, I have a problem.
Last Updated: January 6, 2015
Brandon van Reenen
January 6, 2015 at 10:09
“In medicinal terms, this is also known as the iPhone Effect, which rolls around once a year and claims many millions of lives according to my completely unverified and dodgy research.” – made my day XD
Blood Emperor Trevor
January 6, 2015 at 10:13
Urg. Using the Undertaker. You wrestling casual D.
RinceThis
January 6, 2015 at 10:17
What do you expect from Darryn?
Blood Emperor Trevor
January 6, 2015 at 10:27
I expect far better from the WRESTLING GODDAH!
Quo Vadis?
January 6, 2015 at 10:57
the undertaker looks constipated. That red face, squatting. Its deffo a giant turd that wont come out.
HairyEwok
January 6, 2015 at 10:13
What is this new Nintendo handheld their stopping 3ds production, I swear if it’s the WiiU I’m going to flip a table.
hairyknees
January 6, 2015 at 10:14
I want the new 3DS! This news kinda makes me happy because it possibly means that the West will be getting the newer version sometime this year possibly 😀
Admiral Chief
January 6, 2015 at 10:23
Mandatory staff support comment
Tiaan Pat
January 6, 2015 at 11:24
Guess I need to consider selling my pokemon edition 3ds xl 🙁 and it’s not even that old yet… sigh
J_Joestar
January 6, 2015 at 23:48
Well only 1 announced title so far is actually exclusive to the “New” so the actual need to upgrade isn’t that high as of yet…
I’m sure most games for a while will still run on both new and old machines.