Special Feature: 3DS and Vita in 2020
The Nintendo 3DS and Sony PlayStation Vita enjoyed a good deal of software support over the years, but like all systems eventually, that has whittled down. This is a far bigger deal here compared to other platforms, because these are the last of their kind. Hardware and software sales for dedicated handhelds have been dwindling for years thanks to larger audiences deciding they’d rather play games on their phones while outside. But they’ve lost popularity to the point that the 3DS and Vita will be the last handheld with unique software lineups.
I started these features at the beginning of the year to highlight the upcoming lineups for both systems a couple of years ago. The number of games they were receiving were winding down then, but they’ve now dropped to the point that I can cover their lineups in one post. The apocalypse has arrived for types of systems that used to be important in gaming history outside comparatively niche hobbyist systems, though handhelds will live on in a “lighter” way.
The 3DS’ current predicament is a slight surprise for anyone who’s stayed informed about comments regarding the system’s future from Nintendo executives. It was in late 2018 when former Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed that the system would continue to receive new titles, provable at the time through how the system still had visible software in the pipeline. Current president Doug Bowser said the same to Time at E3 2019, though it was tougher to believe him given how Nintendo no longer had 3DS software releases on their schedule by then. This also applied when Bowser (the NoA president here, not the villain) claimed to The Verge that Nintendo would support it into 2020.
Yet, it’s been about a year since Nintendo has even announced a new game for the system. Their last release was Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn in April last year, an updated port of the 2010 Wii title. This isn’t much of a way to continually support a system, but it’s possible they didn’t have much choice but to largely end it. The last several 3DS games, which also included remakes of the first and third Mario & Luigi titles and a remake of the first Luigi’s Mansion game, don’t appear to have sold to well. There are no public sales numbers for them, but the biggest and saddest proof is how the Mario & Luigi remakes sold badly enough that they claimed the life of their developer AlphaDream. Unless Nintendo hired them or they’re in the process of establishing a new studio, we may never see how the franchise could have migrated to Switch.
It’s possible that “support” from Nintendo entails continuing to manufacture hardware to meet the lowered demand. The last retail game released for the system was Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, and none are on the horizon. The only releases coming are very occasional, like the Silver Falls survival horror indie series.
Sony hasn’t released anything for Vita themselves since 2014, with their final release being Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines (localized for western territories for a PSN release in 2015). The system has lived on through Japanese third-party and indie support, but that’s also been waning in the last few years. It was around a couple of years ago when companies stopped releasing games that weren’t multiplatform on Vita outside Japan, but that eventually applied to Japanese releases too. These days, software support from developers who regularly released games on Vita has shifted to PlayStation 4 and Switch, and PC to a lesser extent.
Most remaining Vita support is coming from very small Japanese developers and very small publishers, with one western localization in the mix. The upcoming lineup for Japan largely consists of visual novels like Amamane, Love Clear, and Kin’iro Loveriche, all romance titles published by Entergram. Those games are also coming to PS4, and one will hit Switch. There’s also platformer Super Zangyura (also coming to PS4 and Switch) and crowdfunded 2.5D horror game Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story (also coming to every other current platform). Meanwhile, NIS America is localizing Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen for Vita (and PS4), which will be available only on PlayStation Network sometime early this year. Vita doesn’t have many software releases left, but at least it has something.
As I mentioned above, mobile gaming has done a number on dedicated handhelds, to the point that Nintendo’s Switch is a hybrid system that plays games in console and handheld modes. But the handheld-only Nintendo Switch Lite released in 2019, the closest thing we’ll likely get to a new handheld with plenty of support. The only other options will be niche novelty items like the PlayDate, which will play new retro-style games with the use of a lever, and the Analogue Pocket that plays titles from the Game Boy family and games from other handhelds through cartridge adapters.
Yet, it’s clear the halcyon days for dedicated handhelds have long passed, which is why this will be the last installment in this 3DS and Vita series. It’s been a wild end-of-a-ride, but at least the aforementioned alternate options exist. It’s not all bad.
About The Author
Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
