Nintendo 3DS nowhere to be seen at E3 2019, but apparently not yet dead

By Aaron Mamiit Updated June 16, 2019

The Nintendo 3DS will live on, even if the handheld console was entirely overshadowed by the Nintendo Switch at E3 2019.

New Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser — who landed the top job in April, when beloved CEO Reggie Fils-Aime retired — reiterated that the company will continue to support the 3DS. In an interview with Time, Boswer said the focus at E3 2019 was on the Nintendo Switch, and that the company had no new Nintendo 3DS games to announce at the annual video game event. But that doesn’t mean Nintendo is pulling the plug on the handheld console.

The Nintendo 3DS business “continues to do quite well,” Bowser said, stating that as long as there is consumer demand, the company will continue supporting the device. Retailers also continue to sell hardware and software for the 3DS system, likely sharing Bowser’s sentiment that the console is “a great entry point for young gamers.”

“A 3DS at $79 with a game included is a great value proposition for a young gamer coming into the Nintendo ecosystem,” said Bowser.

Nintendo’s renewal of its commitment to the 3DS echoes the company’s stance from last year’s E3, when then-president of Nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aime said that the company has no plans of phasing out the handheld console.

Fils-Aime said at the time that new games were coming to the handheld console, but in a financial briefing by the company in April, the device was not even mentioned, with no new game announcements. A spokesperson clarified that there were no first-party games in the pipeline for the 3DS, with software coming instead from third-party publishers.

Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn was the last first-party game launched for the handheld console, and the last significant release was Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth. It remains to be seen how long interest in the console will hold, when there is so far nothing laid out for its future.

The Nintendo 3DS has an extensive collection of knockout games, of course, reason enough for both new and old players to keep picking up the console. The Nintendo Switch may have the spotlight, but it looks like the 3DS is not sinking into the shadows, at least for now.

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Aaron received a NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was 4 years old, and he has been fascinated with…

Gaming

Grab these Nintendo 3DS games before the eShop closes

wii u 3ds exclusive nintendo games eshop closure ever oasis

While the Nintendo 3DS had a rocky launch, the handheld system recovered gracefully and ended up having one of the best game lineups of any Nintendo system. Many of these 3DS games, like Super Mario 3D Land and Fire Emblem Awakening, were very popular and well-known. Still, the 3DS had a lot of fantastic games that not as many people know about and threaten to be lost to time when the eShop closes down.
The 3DS eShop will shut down soon, preventing people from purchasing new games. As such, we've been reflecting on the system's vast library and all of the fantastic games that 3DS owners will no longer be able to buy digitally. From games that we think will skyrocket even further in price after the store shuts down to some enjoyable hidden gems that didn't get the attention they deserve, you might want to snag these 3DS games before you can't anymore after March 27.
Ever Oasis

Grezzo is one of Nintendo's most underrated developers. It's delivered top-notch The Legend of Zelda remakes like Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Link's Awakening. So what if I told you that it used that experience to make an original IP for 3DS that's one of the best-looking and expansive games on the system? Ever Oasis, a 2017 3DS game, follows a young kid as they help a water spirit named Esna build an oasis and try to save their brother from Chaos.
The result is a mix of 3D The Legend of Zelda and city management games. Players can venture out into surprisingly large open worlds and dungeons to restock and grow the number of "bloom booths." This mix of open-world exploration, dungeon crawling, and oasis-building will keep players engaged for dozens of hours, and it also stands as one of the deepest and best-looking action-adventure games on the platform.
Ever Oasis didn't get much attention when it launched because the Nintendo Switch had been released a couple of months earlier. Still, it stands as one of the 3DS' best games, so it's a shame that more people don't know about it. It risks being forgotten forever now the 3DS eShop is closing down, so check it out before the closure; it will surpass your expectations.
Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Gaming

Nintendo confirms that it won’t be part of E3 2023

Pikmin and Bulborb in Pikmin 4.

Nintendo has confirmed reports that it won't be participating in E3 2023, meaning the gaming trade show will be missing one of its key vendors when it returns in-person this June.
"We approach our involvement in any event on a case-by-case basis and are always considering various ways to engage with our fans," a Nintendo spokesperson said in a statement to The Verge. "Since this year’s E3 show didn’t fit into our plans, we have made the decision to not participate. However, we have been and continue to be a strong supporter of the ESA [Entertainment Software Association] and E3."
After taking 2020 and 2022 off and being digital-only in 2021, this year was supposed to mark the grand return of E3, which was once a dominant game industry trade show that attracted every big video game company. Although Sony hasn't participated since 2019, it still came as a shock in January when IGN reported that both Nintendo and Microsoft would not be attending E3 this year as well. It appears that the report is true, as Microsoft has not confirmed any E3-related events outside of its independently run Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase.
Nintendo skipping E3 2023 not only takes away a vendor that dominated the show floor in previous years, but also raises questions about whether or not the company will hold an exciting Nintendo Direct around then. While Nintendo typically holds a big showcase with lots of first-party game announcements around June every year, in 2022 it only held a third-party driven Partner Showcase in June. Now that we know it won't be at E3 2023, we're left to wonder when exactly then next big Nintendo Direct will be.
E3 2023 will take place between June 13 and June 16, but don't expect Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft to have a big presence there.

Gaming

Here’s what E3 2023 could look like without Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft

Playstation character wall at E3 2018

Let's start with the good news: E3 2023 will be held in its in-person format once again after three long years of digital events necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, this time with ReedPop at the helm. The bad news is that Sony, Xbox, and Nintendo -- gaming's "Big 3" -- may not show up at the industry’s biggest convention this summer.

This is according to a report from IGN citing multiple sources, who claimd the companies won’t be a part of the show or make appearances on the floor at the Los Angeles Convention Center in any way. Their absence from this year’s E3, especially Nintendo’s, may come as a shock to the gaming community, but it's not such a surprise when looking at the past few iterations of E3. Even before the pandemic locked everyone down in 2020, Sony and Xbox had been hosting their own E3-style livestreams, so it was more likely they would do it again this year anyway. Nintendo, on the other hand, managed to show off its upcoming games via Nintendo Direct streams and at its booth, console kiosks and all.