Why I think Nintendo is planning a new handheld line

Nintendo started in the handheld market with the Game Boy generation back in 1989. This generation lasted for 15 years, ending in 2004 with the release of the Nintendo DS. The Nintendo DS began the DS Generation of Nintendo's handheld history, which saw the release of the original in 2004, the DS Lite in 2006, and the DSi in 2008. The Generation received a mega renovation with the introduction of the 3DS in 2011, which introduced 3D graphic capabilities to the system and gave it a major redesign. The 3DS XL was released in 2012, the 2DS in 2013, and the "new" 3DS in 2014/2015.

If we take a look at the final Game Boys released before the introduction of the DS, we had the Game Boy Light and the Game Boy Color released about the same time. Three years later saw the Game Boy Advance, the Game Boy Advance SP two years later, and the Game Boy Micro two years after that. The Game Boy Advance is seen by some as the last true change to the Game Boy line, completely changing the typical Game Boy system design and offering more powerful and modernized hardware. The Game Boy Advance SP is almost the exact same system, only offering the two-part design that would later become a trademark part of the DS line and a backlit screen. The Game Boy Micro has the same functionality as the original GBA and GBA SP, and is the second system to be released concurrently with the GBA. The only major differences were the size and the GBM's inability to play original GB and GBC games.

Now let's fastforward to the present. We have the original 3DS, the successor to the original DS format in the same way that the GBA was the successor to the original GB format. The 3DS is one of Nintendo's most successful handheld consoles, much as the GBA was. Like the GBA, the 3DS saw a re-release as the 3DS XL. Like the GBA SP, the 3DS XL was very similar to the original 3DS, but boasting better hardware, a bigger size, and a different stylus. The 2DS was released shortly after the 3DS XL, with a different system design and the inability to play games in 3D. The 2DS would fall in line with the GBM in comparison, since it was different in design than the 3DS/GBA but could still play the same games (3DS and GBA respectively). The GBM was only around for about a year before Nintendo ended the Game Boy line and launched the DS. The 2DS has been around for about a year, and Nintendo announced the "new" 3DS right around that time. The "new" 3DS is said to have better hardware and new buttons. This similar method of offering a changed system format and better hardware but the ability to play the same games was used with the release of the GBA SP. The DS line has also been around for 10 years, close to as long as the Game Boy line was around before the introduction of the DS.

The 3DS was a major handheld innovation that, if Nintendo continues to use the same format, would be hard, if not impossible, to top outside of adding buttons and improving hardware. While the "new" 3DS offers new buttons and therefore new and expanded controls for games, it doesn't offer enough to be considered a new innovation or a true successor to the 3DS, more of a concurrent release like the GBA SP and GBM were. The original 3DS and 3DS XL can play the same games as the "new" 3DS. The 2DS is a pointless investment for anyone who already owns a 3DS, since you can disable 3D graphics by sliding the 3D slider all the way down, and Parental Controls allow parents to restrict 3D usage for their kids if they are concerned about them using it when they shouldn't.

The Wii U has been struggling since its release to garner enough sales to compete with the PS4 and Xbox One. As innovative as the 3DS was, it is a previous generation console. Nintendo is suffering from financial loss due to the failures the Wii U has suffered. They have announced plans to invest in the mobile market, and have patented a release for a NES collection in the mobile market. It is very possible that Nintendo is planning on launching a new handheld line that takes advantage of mobile apps and games, which would be an explanation for their sudden interest in the mobile market. The DS line is a line that cannot be expanded on much further, since the 3DS introduced such a huge element to the market. Nintendo can now take these 3D graphic capabilities and make use of them in a new handheld line while improving on system design, hardware capability, developer support, and possibly an introduction to the mobile market. Nintendo began experimenting with mobile services with StreetPass and SpotPass, something they could potentially greatly expand on if they were to start a new handheld line. Nintendo has always dominated the handheld market since the introduction of the Game Boy, so a brand new innovative handheld line might just be the way for them to fully recover from the failures of the Wii U and fully get into the new generation. In a recent interview, Satoru Iwata said that we can expect a lot of exciting things from Nintendo in 2015, and that he expects 2015 to be full of new, innovative things.

So what do you think? Could Nintendo possibly be planning a new handheld line?

yes I think so.

I think we have another 2 or 3 years before we'll see a new handheld line from Nintendo. It's true the 3DS hasn't had the same success as the DS, but it's done well enough, and we have the upcoming "New 3DS" line, so I think they'll give them some time to see if they can boost the systems sales, if this one also fails to push it then yeah I think we could see Nintendo start a new line of Handhelds, or even pursue the rumored console/handheld hybrid system as the Wii name is also not as strong as it was.

Would be cool if they make a phone with all the classic nintendo games on it. And have a way to still have analog buttons. Maybe a slider phone like the PSP go

@mikehockbourns: That would be very interesting, although I have a feeling Nintendo would have an issue rivaling companies like Samsung and Apple. I could see it becoming sort of a side release alongside a generic gaming handheld.

Nintendo is always working towards their next consoles. Both Handheld and Home Console. We already know both Nintendo's next Handheld and Home Console will have similar architecture. The next handheld will probably launch in 2016-2017 AT LATEST while the 9th gen home console will launch 2017-2018.

This thread is over two years old.

And here I got excited thinking there would be a new DS or something with better graphics.

@glitch-and I would have said they already have their new hybrid handheld and console:

The only handheld that I expect from Nintendo is a Switch Mini that is smaller than the normal Switch and doesn't come with a docking station. They can sell it for a cheaper price than the regular Switch for the people that only want a handheld and not a console.