Why are 3DS's so expensive?

[citruspunch]

I like to think why this is happening is because of "nostalgia". There could be tons of people who have lost or sold their 3DS way back in the day, or before getting a Switch. So, theres probably more demand for it because of people wanting to play their old 3DS games again.

Either that, or because the 3DS is pretty much the definitive way (for me atleast) to play retro handheld games. (Like DS, GBA, GBC, GB, and so on.)

It was the last Nintendo dedicated handheld. Sure, there's the Switch Lite, but it isn't as portable.

In my opinion, I think the Switch 2 (and possibly Switch 2 OLED and Lite, or whatever other models of it they'll make) will be the last Switch they'll make before moving onto something new. For example, look at the NES and SNES, to N64. Wii and Wii U to Switch.

We'll have to wait for another 5-8 years to see if time will prove me wrong though.

 

[Jayro]

Meanwhile, Nintendo Wiis are still plentiful, cheap, and undesired... Even GameCube compatible units are easy to come by at GoodWill for about $25 USD complete with all cables, wiimote and nunchuck. Sometimes you get a mystery game and SD card inside, if you're lucky.

 

[zxr750j]

I've got 'm all (gameboy-...-switch oled), but if I could only keep one it would be the n3ds xl (sorry gba micro)

 

[Deleted member 671727]

Na the 3ds is one of the best handhelds ever created. Tons of superb games. Ok graphics and a very good battery life.
Virtual console, easy hackable and more.
Its sad that ninty is not releasing a true new handheld. I would like to see a new handeld device.

For me, the switch is not that good compared to the 3ds. Batterylife is way to low, its not really portable due to the formfactor and the gameslineup is somewhat lacking. At least for me.

The only thing that drives me nuts, are the technical problems the 3ds has. I have now 3 dead 3ds here, all with the same fault. They work fine for 10 minutes, but after that they are crashing with weird sound effects. I guess its the emmc like on the wii u. But thats only affecting the New3ds. My old 3ds first editions are running just fine.

 

[ChibiMofo]

The New 3DS XL is the only one to buy. It is faster (increased framerates, ability to run Xenoblades, ability to run additional emulators), larger with larger screen, has the C stick and the improved 3D. It's a mistake to spend a little less and get MUCH less.

As for why the are more expensive, they are SO much better than a DS. For one thing, they can run every 3DS, DS and GBA game natively (yes, you do need to softmod to do that -- so what?). And the New 3DS models can even run Playstation 1 games under emulation (previous models are not fast enough). But best of all, the 3D 3DS's are the only game machines ever made that do color 3D without requiring glasses/goggles. That is a super cool feature and I wouldn't own any handheld (I do not have a Switch) were it not for that feature. And as of the last two years, there are cheat codes that allow the 3D to be even wider/better for some of the best games. The 3DS offers a unique experience that the Switch/Playstation 5/DS etc. cannot match. They are only going to skyrocket in price as people realize that emulation cannot give you 3D and thus it is the one platform where you certainly want to own real hardware.

If you don't own a New 3DS XL, get one while you can still get them for under $1000. They do not have the quality control problems that earlier models have and are the best built handheld Nintendo ever made.

 

[Hayato213]

Easy answer high demand low stock simple as that.

 

[realtimesave]

I've got 'm all (gameboy-...-switch oled), but if I could only keep one it would be the n3ds xl (sorry gba micro)

I bought my gba micro for $50 and sold it on ebay for $500. should've bought more

 

[citruspunch]

Easy answer high demand low stock simple as that.

On top of that they stopped producing them in 2020.

I got my old 2DS at the tail end of its lifespan in about Christmas 2018.

 

[Dakangel]

Because it is the only device on which you can watch the Avatar movies as they are in reality outside the theater without glasses.
Plus you can play all of nintendo's portable history including virtualboy.

 

[citruspunch]

you can play all of nintendo's portable history including virtualboy.

Not counting Switch and soon to be Switch 2 of course.

 

[Maeson]

I think it's a mix of several factors.

For one, it is a device that provides the chance to play many, many games.

3ds and Ds by defatult, and they're sizable catalogs of mostly exclusive games.

To add to that, it has a rather extensive homebrew scene that extends that, and can play GBA natively, plus a plethora of emulation and a decent amount of ports, and its vertical resolution of 240 is the magic number for 8 and 16 bit system emulation. Sure gb/c and gba don't scale all that well but can be played.

While 3ds and ds can be emulated, the experience differs a lot. The form factor is a huge part of the games' identity and putting both screens on a black void, very often losing any touch controls (or use a mouse on pc) loses a lot of not just the charm, but also quick and simple functionality.

There's no hardware device that easily substitutes these systems, and surely they will miss the 3D feature, but beyond that...

The 3DS still feels modern enough to make it more sought after compared to other devices, specifically for New systems. It's system menu is highly customizable, it let's you arrange games however you want and can use folders, it's pretty snappy for such a simple device and the touch screen makes it more interactive, and faster to select things.

Each game has its own little animation when you hover over them, giving the experience quite a bit of charm, and on top of that, you could use themes, it had a myriad of official ones and even more fanmade.

It also has features like streetpass and such that some people still try and gather to do it, lol. And you have stuff like Mii Plaza, the step counter and coins, how games can use those etc.

You don't get all of this with emulation, the few you can like getting coins is just a cheat-like function with nothing morw to it, and certainly that has to add up to the value of the console.

It still is a fun system to use, and it's also perceived as the "real last nintendo handheld" by a lot of people. Nostalgia is of course another factor, and people bouncing off the switch for whatever reasons they might have. 3DS just has a lot more personality poured over it than the switch, and that calls to people too.

Something that i think also raised the price was the ridiculous wave of youtubers making videos of "how great the 3ds still is in *current year*" and all those clickbaity videos, there's A LOT of them.

And I don't disagree with the sentiment but it was such an obvious trend that no doubt share the blame for the prices too.

I do get irritated by how the prices are, and how transparent is that people are just trying to basically scalp others, but... at the end of the day I guess it's just a sign people still like these devices and want to keep using them.

 

[masterz81]

I think the most important fact that makes the 3DS cost so much is the game format, unlike other consoles, today, it is almost impossible to emulate the whole experience of a 3DS, that is due to something as simple as the stereoscopic effect linked to many of their games and also several of them base their artistic design on the 3D effect, to give you a couple of examples, Kid Icarus uprising loses a lot of charm and immersion when played without 3D, it just looks like a totally different and boring game, but when played in 3D its scenarios become huge, colorful and vivid. Another less obvious game, but that takes advantage of the depth effect, is pokemon super mistery dungeon, simply its scenarios are beautiful and full of detail, which are enjoyed even more thanks to the 3D effect.

Out of all this, there is also the whole issue of emulation, the 3DS is a monster in that sense, we are talking about a console that, in addition to its own catalog, also allows you to play all nintendo handheld consoles prior to itself and its home consoles up to the SNES and other companies up to the PS1, highlighting above all the VirtualBoy, which at present, the 3DS is the best console to play their games because, like the 3DS, its particular game format is not something that could easily emulate and many of their games are directly unplayable if you do not have the depth perception that gives you the stereoscopic effect.

 

[citruspunch]

I think the most important fact that makes the 3DS cost so much is the game format, unlike other consoles, today, it is almost impossible to emulate the whole experience of a 3DS, that is due to something as simple as the stereoscopic effect linked to many of their games and also several of them base their artistic design on the 3D effect

Mario 3D land is another example of this where it is kinda hard to pass some levels without it.

 

[3dsFan1]

It's not just the N3DSXL, all the 3DS models are pretty pricey from what I've observed.
Also, the DSI is the least valued? I thought it would be more sought after since the models use IPS panels instead of the TN panels the other DS's use.

It was $70 for me, so not all of them are pricey

 

[CrashMidnick]

- no good emulation
- 3D is part of the experience
- large game library
- very good gaming system even if there is no new softwares
- small size factor
- easy to hack
- Nice little beast for emulation (N3DS)

However, it is way too expensive because millions of units were sold and it is not rare.

 

[Sword0801]

I pay no more than 100-120 for an OG XL. Servers me just fine. I bought a repairable for 100, screen was in mint condition, just needed to fix the circle pad.

 

[ASSASSIN-Z]

I think it's mainly the fact that you can mod it and get tons of free games.

Take that away and there would probably be less of a demand.

I started using my 3DS way more after I modded it.

Big thanks to all the community who played a part in hacking the 3DS!

 

[TheCartoonFan9890]

This makes me appreciate the fact that I still have my original 3ds xl and it's still working fine. I can still pet my Pokémon and feed them.

 

[balemoc]

Why are classic cars so expensive?
As someone commented (hayato and others) Supply + demand

Are you willing to spend that amount now or wait it out and hope the seller lowers the price before someone else buys it at the current price

Still trying to sort out how to get over the max 40 .nds (via forwarder) install limit, but apart from that, I was surprised to find Ni no Kuni had a fan translation, all the way back to 2018, so I'm replaying it after I completed the PS3 version with (100+ hours way back)

 

[SylverReZ]

I think it's mainly the fact that you can mod it and get tons of free games.

Take that away and there would probably be less of a demand.

I started using my 3DS way more after I modded it.

Big thanks to all the community who played a part in hacking the 3DS!

One of, if not, the many reasons why video game collecting has intensified is always the modding scene bringing new ideas to improve on the complexity of things. Preservation also comes to play considering that plenty of older titles are becoming lost to time, as these corporate lizards cannot be bothered to re-sell the games or butcher it up inside of a compilation.