Nintendo President Kimishima considering a 3DS successor

http://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/economy/article/20170201000176

https://twitter.com/serkantoto/status/826993607525609472

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1340093

The switch and it will cannibalize each other.

Nintendo Switch mini. Calling it now.

This is very interesting news indeed. I wonder if it will have good games. Probably not, but I have always had hope for Nintendo.

No. No new 3DS. No 3DS. The Switch needs to be Nintendo's only console. And it will be. All allusions to the contrary are are either misguided or intentionally misleading. The 3DS will be gone by the end of 2017, and the Switch will be Nintendo's only console on the market.

I would think it would share a library with the Switch. For instance, no matter what the design, every game on this new handheld would be playable on the Switch, but there would be plenty of games that would be playable on the Switch but not the new console. The new console would also not be able to hook up to a TV. Maybe it would have joycons, bare bones ones with no rumble, HD or otherwise. It would have weaker hardware, and of course a much lower price. More like an extreme version of 2DS vs New 3DS

It just wouldn't be Nintendo if they didn't create their own competition.

I agree, we need a Mini one. Would be perfect. Have it play the same game cards and would be heaven.

I thought every sheep considered the Switch a handheld? Is Nintendo releasing two handhelds now? lolz.

They don't need one, that's what the switch is.

i feared this would happen.

if it does. then it might be a wiiu repeat. the switch will do much better but instead of the 60 million i predicted it might only sell 30 million like the x1.

as far as I'm concerned, it's a home console first. It's getting the new Zelda, new Mario, and all the other major versions of Nintendo franchises. I view the video game industry by software more than hardware. I would also be playing this largely in TV mode, and I would be using the portability mode a lot, but mostly within the house.

I'd think especially for little kids, there is a market for a handheld that's simpler and cheaper.

That's because one is a home console, and to differentiate it from the Wii U, it's still just a Wii U that you can take outside, these fanaticals are claiming it's Nintendo's answer to the handheld market...

That's quickly going up in flames, "unified development" is quickly going up in flames, Nintendo is on fire.

When this new handheld is out, how are sheep supposed to hide the pathetically underpowered specs of the Switch behind the "its a handheld, guys. its not a home console, we swear, guys"? This is gonna be lethal for some sheep. I expect more damage control than megahertz inside the Switch's gpu.

Wait for Charizard's spin on this, I can already see him down the line saying "it was never meant to be a replacement for the Nintendo handheld"... And then when Nintendo announces a new console he'll shit all over the Switch, even though he fawned over it for years like he did with the *cough* Wii U *cough...

If you are making fun of the Switch, shouldn't your joke be that it has so few megahertz, not so many?

Not exactly. Remember, the Switch was supposed to be "the most powerful handheld ever released". It has all dem megahertz.

Stupid, with the Switch being the only Nintendo platform the games would be guaranteed to come, don't be stupid Nintendo.

if its a completely new device that only has its own games then that would be very strange. their resources would be divided again and the switch and this new device would be in competition.

however if its a case that they will put the switch in a smaller and more pocket friendly form factor (with a process shrink or 2 it could be doable) and it will play switch games and use the same OS and such like then that would be a good idea. the choice of processing hardware in the switch does give nintendo the option to do something like that. how they will have all the joycon features in a smaller device im not sure though.

but a more pocket friendly switch would be a good idea. if it also works as a phone then all the better. i would love a proper gaming phone anyway.

@osan0: Exactly. A smaller, cheaper, and more portable device that plays the same Switch games would be awesome.

Lol, they're thinking of making a separate handheld and it would cost less than the Switch.

you will be able to spin anything Nintendo related. If i were Nintendo, i'd hire your ass.

@silversix_: Ive been calling for Switch Mini since day one. I even wrote articles how i wouldnt be buying 4 Nintendo Switchs for the family unless 3 are Mini's.

Ah if they use the same format it wouldn't be an issue, no separate game development etc. Knowing Nintendo there will be a second, 3rd and 4th iteration of the Switch in the future.

I believe you.

I mean, there's nothing saying that this supposed 3DS successor is coming anytime soon. I'm not going to worry about this cannibalizing the Switch's sales.

Kimishima said that he is considering a 3DS successor and sees a need and market for it. I'm guessing that it will come in the 2nd half of 2018.

I don't like anything about the idea. Nintendo needs to maximize its offerings and their exposure, they should go all in with Switch.

Can't be right. I've had people telling me the Switch was the handheld. Because they didn't want to talk about the specs of the console. So what is this for?

ETA: This will be the thing your pokemon will be on in case you were wondering.

This.

terrible idea

This would be really stupid from Nintendo.

@drrollinstein:

Switch mini and make it backwards compatible with 3ds carts and we have a winner. Hope they think of it.

I just noticed and everyone to have missed this part: since they are only 'considering' it, it is at least 4-5 years away. So it may not cannibalize the Switch at all and shouldn't even be considered a possible alternative to the Switch if you are at all interested in buying one.

Perhaps it's a scaled back switch, with static controllers for people who don't want the Joycon sharing features. Smaller screen, better battery etc. I'd buy one of those for sure. I'm not thinking I'll use the Joycons for anything more than my kids playing games in the back seat on family trips.

Its nintendo at its finest again and a wii-u repeat all over again it seems.

Extremely overpriced, has no audience or reason to exist, zero 3rd party support and minimal nintendo support.

Which makes sense as the only game atm builded from the ground up for it seems to be the mario game. there really isn't anything else builded for it just yet.

They will make another simplistic 2D type of mario / zelda game in year 2 and 3 with some more ports and call it a day again while moving towards a new handheld.

Lazy nintendo is lazy i guess.

At the other end, 390 euro's for a handheld is insane and it's not as handy to take with you as the DS lineup. So a cheaper product as DS clamshell style with upgraded specs makes sense for them this way.

It doesn't make sense in the reality as handheld market is doa anyway and it will heavily cannibalize any support the switch has.

This statement + switch is going to sell wii numbers statement, kinda makes me believe this company is just trolling themselves at this point and there consumers at this point.

This is also the main reason i never buy products on day one and mostly wait on a revision, so i know i don't buy into a massive dud. Like the vita and wii-u where.

In other words anybody that pre-ordered a wii-u just played themselves.

It's almost certainly going to be a scaled back Switch.

I've said it before, Nintendo is covering its bases until it knows the switch will actually ve a success. Remember when there was a GBA successor in the works, back when the DS hadn't launched?

Lameos in here still circle j'ing off the Switch specs, thinking Nin fans are going to cry in the corner when they officially reveal its weaker than a ps4... ohh no?!

Brah if you care about specs so much, get off the console scene.

Lol if they announce a new ds anytime soon( with its own games), I won't bother buying a ds that's for sure! Would be such a terrible idea...

It will probably be a "fixed" configuration of Switch with a smaller screen. If it's that, fully compatible mini version, it makes sense. So then, where is my "fixed" console so I don't have to worry about my console being a tablet? Just give me a console and pro controller.

Of course Nintendo is apparently run by clowns, so it could also be an entirely separate "dual screen" handheld not even compatible with Switch. If so, then Switch is going to be even more D.O.A than initially thought.

Literally the only promise the Switch has, is that it's going to get all the handheld development the 3DS got. If they come out with a separate handheld, undermining that promise, then Switch is dead. Just like Wii-U. They made a gimped tablet console for no reason at all.

Now it would be rational to assume any handheld would have to be fully Switch compatible - or that it would be part of the Switch eco-system. But this is Nintendo we are talking about, the rational does not apply.

A 3DS successor would be a bad idea. One of the best things about the Nintendo Switch is that by merging their console and handheld platforms into one, Nintendo doesn't have to split their resources anymore and can therefore deliver more games for this platform.

A better idea would be to just make a mini Nintendo Switch that still has the same hardware internals and plays the same games as the Nintendo Switch, but in a smaller form factor that is easier to carry around and can be purchased without the docking station for a cheaper price.

I cant see why they would want to with the switch...

What this man said. Nintendo's one hope was to have a single platform. 3DS is still doing great, so, releasing more games for it; maybe even a couple of 3DS/Switch multiplatforms, is not a bad idea. But the Switch should be Nintendo's only platform after the 3DS has run its course.

That's definitely a load of bull, Nintendo, we all remember what you said about the Nintendo DS not being a successor to the GBA...

If it splits Nintendo's dev teams to working across 2 platforms, than lol what a mcgoon. At this point, that's the only major selling point is that the system will have the combined library of a Nintendo console (which is sub par with some gems) and a nintendo handheld (which is par, with some gems).

introducing the New Nintendo Switch XS. Lighter, faster and more power to last a day..

Actually, The Switch itself is the bad idea, the 3DS successor is obvious considering the 3DS is somewhat successful. The Switch actually should *BE* the 3DS successor. If they want a more pure 3DS successor, they should just make a "fixed" version of Switch. The switch is a portable gaming platform, it is unacceptable as a home console.

I do agree with the rest of what he said. That the only chance the Switch had was to bring over the vast majority 3DS developers. But even if it semi-successfully accomplished that it is still a bad business decision effectively abandoning 1 of their 2 product lines. Their aim should have been to improve their console business. If they release a totally separate (non-compatible) 3DS successor, that means the Switch console is almost certain to become irrelevant like the Wii-U.

Switch XL, calling it now

@silversix_: 2 "handhelds" and don't forget they are making some games for mobile too. They plan on releasing 2 or 3 Nintendo games for Andriod/iOS every year..