How Nintendo conquered its fear of 3D to build a handheld legacy
In short: After the commercial failure of the Virtual Boy in 1995, Nintendo spent years doubting the viability of 3D gaming. Yet, through persistent research into liquid crystal technology, they eventually launched the Nintendo 3DS. This foldable console defied its rocky start to become one of the company's most successful handheld systems ever.
Nintendo’s journey toward the 3DS was marked by decades of trial and error. Following the 1988 Famicom 3D System and the 1995 Virtual Boy—which sold fewer than a million units—the company faced internal skepticism regarding 3D hardware. Even Shigeru Miyamoto later expressed conflict over the design choices of the Virtual Boy. However, research conducted for a museum navigation project at Shigureden provided the technical foundation for the autostereoscopic displays that would eventually define the 3DS.
When the 3DS launched in 2011, it faced immediate headwinds. Priced at $249.99, it was the most expensive Nintendo handheld to date, and the lack of flagship titles combined with the rise of mobile gaming led to disappointing sales. Nintendo responded with a drastic price cut to $169.99 and the Ambassador Program, which gifted early adopters twenty classic games. This pivot proved successful, and the platform eventually sold over 75 million units across its various iterations, including the larger 3DS XL and the entry-level 2DS.
The 3DS family was defined by its hardware evolution. Beyond the 3D screen, the system introduced a dual-core ARM11 CPU and a PICA200 GPU, enabling visuals that analysts compared to seventh-generation home consoles. As the Nintendo Switch gained momentum following its 2017 release, the 3DS transitioned into a secondary role, serving as an accessible entry point for younger players. Nintendo maintained support for the platform until its official discontinuation in September 2020, marking the end of a unique era in portable gaming history.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Nintendo 3DS
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