So, with the Switch around the corner, and the 3DS entering its 6th year, a lot of questions remain to be seen for Nintendo's dual screen stereoscopic 3D handheld. They have stated that the Switch is not meant to be the 3DS' successor, but they also stated in the past that the DS was not meant to be the GBA's successor. Fact of the matter is, it entirely depends on whether the Switch is a success or not. But lets assume the Switch is a success. Should the Switch become a big success, it's going to make little sense to keep a separate handheld device for Nintendo as that would frustratingly have portable Nintendo games that could function on one portable but not the other. Any developer is going to appreciate the fact that now they only have to develop for one system and not 2 while still allowing the consumer to play at home or on the go. It makes little sense for a successor to the 3DS to be an entirely new system when the Switch is around.
However, with the Switch, we're losing some key features that many people love from the 3DS, and games have put great use to, the biggest losses being the dual screen setup and the glasses free stereoscopic 3D. Granted, you can go without either and still have a great gaming experience, 2 screens proved not to be a big selling point for a console, but continued to work fantastically for the handhelds, specifically because both screens are right there, so you don't have to look up and down from one screen to another.
So with that all in mind, I believe I have found the solution to the question of if the 3DS could have a successor and if so what would it be? The answer I believe is a piece of hardware that I'd call a parallel design to the Switch. What I mean is, this wouldn't be a completely new system, this would be a different Nintendo Switch. May I present the Nintendo 3DSwitch:
What is it? A Switch that is only a handheld. This theoretical system would play Switch games just like the Switch we see coming out in a month and a half. It would however lack the ability to be played on a TV screen, and would only play in handheld mode. It wouldn't have removable joy-cons so any motion control gaming wouldn't be an option (though if Arms is any indication, any motion control games for the Switch are likely going to offer traditional controls as well). Gaming would be 720p at best. In order to properly close, it would have 2 circle pads instead of analog sticks. But the idea is that there is a give and a take between the 2 devices, so while some things are lost, others are added to really make it feel like a proper successor to the 3DS. It would receive the 2 features that is being lost from the 3DS to the Switch: Dual Screens and glasses free stereoscopic 3D.
Assuming such a device would come a couple years into the Switch's life, it would start where any game already released wouldn't have any features for the bottom screen (bottom screen would just be off for such titles) or even have the 3D right away. But all games afterward could be built to detect what kind of system its being played in, and if it recognizes it as a 3DSwitch, it would display the stereoscopic 3D and display something on the bottom screen. Games already released could receive patches to add 3D and 2nd screen support. Since the second screen can never be a requirement, it would likely be used for what many games already use it for: quicker inventory management, stats, what would normally appear as a start menu, etc. It would differ from a regular Switch in that only the bottom screen would be the touch screen. Since touch can never be a requirement for the Switch either, this would work nicely while avoiding smudging up the 3D screen just like with the 3DS. For example a game like Super Mario Maker would be able to recognize its being played on a 3DSwitch, and so in design mode it would display on the bottom screen instead of the top so that you can do the whole touch and design setup like on a Wii U gamepad.
Now I know, probably never gonna happen, but I think its a pretty neat idea, and would be a way to satisfy those out there that I know have really grown to love the DS and 3DS systems and their unique designs.
However, with the Switch, we're losing some key features that many people love from the 3DS, and games have put great use to, the biggest losses being the dual screen setup and the glasses free stereoscopic 3D. Granted, you can go without either and still have a great gaming experience, 2 screens proved not to be a big selling point for a console, but continued to work fantastically for the handhelds, specifically because both screens are right there, so you don't have to look up and down from one screen to another.
So with that all in mind, I believe I have found the solution to the question of if the 3DS could have a successor and if so what would it be? The answer I believe is a piece of hardware that I'd call a parallel design to the Switch. What I mean is, this wouldn't be a completely new system, this would be a different Nintendo Switch. May I present the Nintendo 3DSwitch:
What is it? A Switch that is only a handheld. This theoretical system would play Switch games just like the Switch we see coming out in a month and a half. It would however lack the ability to be played on a TV screen, and would only play in handheld mode. It wouldn't have removable joy-cons so any motion control gaming wouldn't be an option (though if Arms is any indication, any motion control games for the Switch are likely going to offer traditional controls as well). Gaming would be 720p at best. In order to properly close, it would have 2 circle pads instead of analog sticks. But the idea is that there is a give and a take between the 2 devices, so while some things are lost, others are added to really make it feel like a proper successor to the 3DS. It would receive the 2 features that is being lost from the 3DS to the Switch: Dual Screens and glasses free stereoscopic 3D.
Assuming such a device would come a couple years into the Switch's life, it would start where any game already released wouldn't have any features for the bottom screen (bottom screen would just be off for such titles) or even have the 3D right away. But all games afterward could be built to detect what kind of system its being played in, and if it recognizes it as a 3DSwitch, it would display the stereoscopic 3D and display something on the bottom screen. Games already released could receive patches to add 3D and 2nd screen support. Since the second screen can never be a requirement, it would likely be used for what many games already use it for: quicker inventory management, stats, what would normally appear as a start menu, etc. It would differ from a regular Switch in that only the bottom screen would be the touch screen. Since touch can never be a requirement for the Switch either, this would work nicely while avoiding smudging up the 3D screen just like with the 3DS. For example a game like Super Mario Maker would be able to recognize its being played on a 3DSwitch, and so in design mode it would display on the bottom screen instead of the top so that you can do the whole touch and design setup like on a Wii U gamepad.
Now I know, probably never gonna happen, but I think its a pretty neat idea, and would be a way to satisfy those out there that I know have really grown to love the DS and 3DS systems and their unique designs.
