During an analyst Q&A with Nintendo earlier this week, the company expressed uncertainty over the future of the Nintendo 3DS after a successful launch of the Switch. The Switch continues to be a platform where indie developers go to release and port their games, most likely contributing to that achievement.
President of Nintendo Tatsumi Kimishima said that the 3DS is still profitable and the company hopes “consumers will embrace it together with Nintendo Switch. But as for what transpires in the future, that is uncharted territory.”
Nintendo director Jo Shiota noted up that the Switch may seem to be similar to a handheld game system, but the technology is very different (citing power consumption and performance). “Regarding development, we have not yet decided which direction to steer towards, but we have a variety of possibilities under consideration,” he explained.
The 3DS saw a bump in sales over this past holiday season, but that doesn’t seem to be enough for Nintendo to say with certainty what their plans for the handheld console are.