Nintendo has discontinued the 3DS family

The first 3DS model was launched in 2011 as a follow—up to Nintendo’s DS console with 3D-capable displays. An XL model with bigger screens came out a year later and was then followed by refreshed versions of the two in 2014. Nintendo also released the 2DS, a cheaper 3D-less and non-clamshell version of the handheld, in 2013. Eventually, it designed a 3D-less clamshell console called the 2DS XL, which became available in 2017.

As you can see, the company didn’t abandon the 3DS family as soon as the Switch came out, but it most likely decided that it’s the right time to retire the console because it’s no longer selling like it used to. In a recent earnings report, Nintendo revealed (PDF) that 3DS hardware sales showed a 73 percent decrease on a year-on-year basis for the fiscal year ending on March 31st, 2020. Meanwhile, both Switch and Switch Lite performed very well even in the midst of (or perhaps partly due to) the coronavirus pandemic. Nintendo sold 5.68 million Switch consoles in the three-month period leading up to June 30th, which is more than double the number of devices it sold within the same period in 2019.