A recent 3DS update gave us stability: Can the next one bring it back to life?

Get that manufacturing pipeline back up and running

Well, Nintendo did it: they got our hopes up with a 3DS update, only for it to be the dreaded “stability” line. Drat!

To be clear, the full rundown of the latest November 16 update is as follows: “Further improvements to overall system stability and other minor adjustments have been made to enhance the user experience.” Minor adjustments eh? So you’re saying there’s a chance it could come back?

This is the first major update for the 3DS since December 2, 2019: making it nearly a full year of non-updates. Back in September, Nintendo officially discontinued the 3DS line, making it official.

But I’ve been giving the system eulogies for…oh around three and a half years now, ever since the Switch was released. It was becoming increasingly clear that the Switch was the new hot ticket for Nintendo to climb out of the slump of the Wii U (a hole the 3DS helped them dig out of), with multiple 3DS games going to Switch and all first-party 3DS development ceasing.

I don’t think we’ll ever get a pure portable system from Nintendo again (the Switch Lite kinda counts, kinda doesn’t!), at least in the near future. Whatever the next iteration of hardware will be, it’ll likely resemble something like a Switch Pro as a stopgap, followed by a Super Switch. While this week’s 3DS system update is meaningless, you still need it to log into the eShop and get your My Nintendo points. It also gives me an excuse to write about the 3DS again! One of the best systems of the last decade.

3DS [Nintendo]

Ver. 11.14.0-46U (November 16th, 2020)

• Further improvements to overall system stability and other minor adjustments have been made to enhance the user experience.