Nintendo has ended production on the Nintendo 3DS line of systems

[Deleted User]

It was just shut down last year, after twelve years of operation. I expect that if it was expensive to maintain, it would not have lasted twelve years.

(Technically I think it's still running – but you can only download things you've already purchased.)

no, they already did that, i believe you stopped being able to buy wii points in 2018, and stopped being able to purchase games/download pre-existing ones in 2019

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Sad. Anyone else still playing with their 3DS? I just re-finished Mario 3D land and am now wokring on the bonus levels

i began playing SMTIV and MH4U

 

[RichardTheKing]

Take good care of your 2|3DS consoles, repair them if needed instead of replacing and continue to have fun with them.

End of production does not mean obsolete. It is only "dead" if you make it dead. I seriously hope the hardware will come near to the longevity of previous Nintendo consoles. The clam shell design makes it prone to wear on ribbon cables; let's hope enough 2|3DS survive some decades.

Game Boy, (S)NES, N64 all still working with zero problems. Still having fun with those and they are out of production since forever.

Another easy source of damage, that I have found multiple times, is the Circle Pad. Play hard enough on it (or long enough), and it WILL break off, leaving you with a mere nub and no easy way to fix it.
This has effectively killed two systems of mine in the past, from memory; I once tried to fix it by supergluing the Pad to the nub, but...no, didn't work. I think some of the Pad's underside crumbled off and fell into the mechanism allowing Pad movement, because I kept hearing grinding whenever I tried to use that Pad.

It's extremely unfortunate Nintendo's now ended the New 3DS XL; fantastic console in multiple aspects, deserved to remain alive for much longer, especially since it has the best GUI I've seen on a console (TV or handheld) and so many fantastic games. It even surpasses the Switch in quite a few ways, honestly - GUI, backwards-compatibility, home to the entire Ace Attorney main series, Virtual Console, better portability, StreetPass was an interesting gimmick that sadly didn't reach its full potential outside Japan (except for Conventions, which were largely America-exclusive and not everyone could attend), stereoscopic 3D was a nice addition that gave games that used it more life (I can't stand turning it off, since games seem so flat and lifeless without it), has access to a large number of Legend of Zelda games.

 

[KleinesSinchen]

Another easy source of damage, that I have found multiple times, is the Circle Pad. Play hard enough on it (or long enough), and it WILL break off, leaving you with a mere nub and no easy way to fix it.
This has effectively killed two systems of mine in the past, from memory; I once tried to fix it by supergluing the Pad to the nub, but...no, didn't work. I think some of the Pad's underside crumbled off and fell into the mechanism allowing Pad movement, because I kept hearing grinding whenever I tried to use that Pad.
[…]

If the plastic cap is broken just get a new one. And if the nub on the actual electronic "joystick" is broken you have to replace the electronic part. I guess Nintendo knew about this weak point since replacing the circle pad is one of the easiest things to do on any of the 3DS family (only the N2DSXL is harder since opening the case without damage is not easy in the first place).

I've seen one O3DSXL on which the inner parts of the circle pad disassembled themselves after removing the back panel (*Boing* *Boing* → Spring came out).

 

[RichardTheKing]

Sad. Anyone else still playing with their 3DS? I just re-finished Mario 3D land and am now wokring on the bonus levels

Yep; Fire Emblem Fates: Revelations, Pokemon Picross (turns out the online Picrat store is pointless, if you've got a blank plugin set; just use the RAM editor function in the plugin to get as many Picrats as you need!), and might also play SMT 4 soon.

 

[Bladexdsl]

took them long enough switch is the new 3ds

 

[RichardTheKing]

took them long enough switch is the new 3ds

No, no it really isn't. The Switch doesn't have backwards-compatibility, for one, and isn't as portable either due to being larger. There's fewer interesting gimmicks too, like StreetPass Mii Plaza and stereoscopic 3D, and no really-fun Mario games (the 3DS has 3D Land and NSMB 2).
Oh, and it only has one Ace Attorney title, and it's the "remaster" that looks like shiny garbage. No Professor Layton games, either, and only one actual, enjoyable Legend of Zelda game. No Bravely Default or Second. No Notes widget. No customisable themes one can buy for a couple dollars; only white or dark grey. No Virtual Console. It has an online paywall, which is an avaricious anti-customer practice.

 

[Julie_Pilgrim]

No, no it really isn't. The Switch doesn't have backwards-compatibility, for one, and isn't as portable either due to being larger. There's fewer interesting gimmicks too, like StreetPass Mii Plaza and stereoscopic 3D, and no really-fun Mario games (the 3DS has 3D Land and NSMB 2).
Oh, and it only has one Ace Attorney title, and it's the "remaster" that looks like shiny garbage. No Professor Layton games, either, and only one actual, enjoyable Legend of Zelda game. No Bravely Default or Second. No Notes widget. No customisable themes one can buy for a couple dollars; only white or dark grey. No Virtual Console. It has an online paywall, which is an avaricious anti-customer practice.

Doesn’t the switch have one proffesor Layton game?

 

[RichardTheKing]

Doesn’t the switch have one proffesor Layton game?

No. It's Layton's Mystery Journey, which...isn't that great of a game. It doesn't function the same as a proper Professor Layton game (it's got puzzles, but it's far more chapterised than PL ever was instead of having a flowing story), it doesn't feature Layton whatsoever, and it ends on TWO cliffhangers.

We never find out what happened to Hershel, and we never find out why the dog can talk. It just...ends. Prematurely.
Talk about a wholly unnecessary game; we also never get to see pretty much any of the old cast either. No Flora, no Luke, no Emmy, no familiar police officers...nothing. It pretty much just uses "Layton" in order to sell; might as well not even have the name whatsoever.

 

[Julie_Pilgrim]

No. It's Layton's Mystery Journey, which...isn't that great of a game. It doesn't function the same as a proper Professor Layton game (it's got puzzles, but it's far more chapterised than PL ever was instead of having a flowing story), it doesn't feature Layton whatsoever, and it ends on TWO cliffhangers.

We never find out what happened to Hershel, and we never find out why the dog can talk. It just...ends. Prematurely.
Talk about a wholly unnecessary game; we also never get to see pretty much any of the old cast either. No Flora, no Luke, no Emmy, no familiar police officers...nothing. It pretty much just uses "Layton" in order to sell; might as well not even have the name whatsoever.

Oh, never played the professor Layton games, which one should I start with?

 

[Kwyjor]

Oh, never played the professor Layton games, which one should I start with?

There's not really a lot to distinguish them from one another. You can just start with whatever's handy, or go for Curious Village if you can't decide. The Last Specter includes a bonus RPG advertised as having "over 100 hours of gameplay!", but that's probably an exaggeration.

Also note that the "downloadable content" is already included on the carts themselves and it is fairly trivial to hack your save file one way or another to unlock it.

 

[Julie_Pilgrim]

Just wanted to know because I’m white enough to afford a switch and 3ds but black enough to not afford games

 

[RichardTheKing]

Oh, never played the professor Layton games, which one should I start with?

Curious Village is the first game in the series, and is available on DS or on mobile devices; however, chronologically, Last Spectre/Spectre's Call (different name in different regions) is the first game, but it's DS-exclusive.
Yeah, it's weird like that; the second trilogy (to which the animated film, The Eternal Diva, belongs, taking place between Spectre and Miracle Mask) is actually a prequel trilogy.

 

[Julie_Pilgrim]

Curious Village is the first game in the series, and is available on DS or on mobile devices; however, chronologically, Last Spectre/Spectre's Call (different name in different regions) is the first game, but it's DS-exclusive.
Yeah, it's weird like that; the second trilogy (to which the animated film, The Eternal Diva, belongs, taking place between Spectre and Miracle Mask) is actually a prequel trilogy.

Huh. Guess I’ll start with the ds exclusive as my current phone is an iPhone 5c

 

[ZachyCatGames]

Online services won't go down anytime soon.
Developers can also still publish games if they wish, so it's not completely "dead".