History of video games/Platforms/3DS

Development
The Nintendo 3DS was preceded by the Nintendo DS.

Stereoscopic displays were considered for both the GameCube, and the GameBoy Advance SP, but were not implemented by Nintendo due to cost and technology limitations of the time. However, the announcement of the system did coincide with the popularity of using 3D cinema in the early 2010s.

There was internal debate concerning the launch price of the system, with Reggie Fils Amié pushing for a lower launch price in North America of $199 US dollars.

Launch
The 3DS launched in Japan on February 26, 2011. It launched March 25th in the United Kingdom. It launched March 27th, 2011 in the United States.

The system saw sluggish sales initially due to a high price of $250 and lackluster software library. A first year price cut to $169.99 allowed it to become the fastest selling console in Japanese history at that point in time, but it also caused Nintendo to post their first annual operating loss in company history.

The 3DS eshop was launched after the system via an update in 2011.

Ambassador Program
Following the price cut, an Ambassador Program was launched for those who purchased the console at the higher launch price, giving them free older titles. This program was generally received well, though the process of redeeming the reward was not seen as especially intuitive. This program received internal support from Reggie Fils Amié.

Concerns
At launch there was some concern regarding concerns of dangers caused by 3D on the system.

Growing line up
The 3DS XL was released on August 19th, 2012.

The 2DS was released on October 12, 2013.

New 3DS
The New 3DS and the New 3DS XL were released in Japan on October 11th, 2014.

In 2016 Nintendo established a bug bounty program for the 3DS.

The New 2DS XL was released in 2017.

Legacy
The 3DS was discontinued in September 2020, shipping over 75 million systems and 384 million games worldwide while stabilizing Nintendo's financial situation during the tumultuous Wii U era. Both the 3DS and the Wii U were succeeded by the Nintendo Switch, but the platform continued to be in high demand following the discontinuation, in part due to the special circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the discontinuation of new hardware sales, the system still saw support, such as an system software update in 2021. In 2021 refurbished Nintendo 3DS and 2DS hardware continued to be sold by Nintendo, and these frequently sold out that year. Production of physical games continued past 2021, with these releases using somewhat different packaging in some instances.

By 2021 a number of 3DS game cartridges had noted high failure rates.

Compute
The original 3DS has a dual core 32-bit ARM11 architecture CPU with a 268 megahertz clock, and an ARM9 core having a 134 megahertz clock.

The original 3DS has 128 megabytes of fast cycle DRAM (FCRAM).

The original 3DS is often compared to the GameCube in terms of performance, with the New 3DS often being compared to the Wii in terms of performance. Both feature completely different architectures compared earlier Nintendo Home Consoles, making such comparisons only an extreme generalization.

Compute
The New 3DS has an upgraded quad core 32-bit ARM11 architecture CPU clocked at 804 megahertz and has more L2 cache then the original 3DS.

New 3DS models have 256 megabytes of fast cycle DRAM (FCRAM).

The new 3DS also has a CEVA TeakLite DSP clocked at 134 megahertz.

All models
The 3DS GPU is a DMA PICA clocked at 268MHz, the original 3DS has 6MB of VRAM, and the new 3DS has 10MB of VRAM.

System software is stored on encrypted non-volatile NAND.

The 3DS has two outward facing cameras for stereoscopic pictures, and one user facing camera. This arrangement is preserved on all consumer 3DS units, including 2DS units without stereoscopic screens.

Battery life lasts between three hours and seven hours depending on the model of 3DS used and software run.

The 3DS and 2DS lines support 2.4 gigahertz Wi-Fi b/g. Despite the fact that Wi-Fi n was rapidly gaining traction as a standard after being introduced in 2009, the 3DS did not support it.

2011

 * Mario Kart 7
 * Pilotwings Resort
 * Face Raiders
 * Super Mario 3D Land
 * Nintendogs + Cats
 * Swapnote
 * The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

Cubic Ninja
Cubic Ninja was a gyroscopically controlled platformer that was generally praised for having an interesting concept, but panned for not implementing those ideas well.

This game attracted attention in 2014 when a homebrew exploit using the game was released, causing the price of the game to drastically rise.

Read more about Cubic Ninja on Wikipedia.

2012

 * Paper Mario: Sticker Star
 * Bravely Default
 * HarmoKnight
 * Crashmo
 * Etrian Odyssey IV
 * Dillon's Rolling Western
 * Fire Emblem Awakening
 * New Super Mario Bros. 2
 * Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
 * Fantasy Life
 * Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
 * Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure

Kid Icarus: Uprising
The first Kid Icarus series game released since the 1990's. A 3D shooter mostly featuring on rails gameplay. Well known for its writing and emotive acting.

Read more about Kid Icarus: Uprising on Wikipedia.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf
An portable entry to the Animal Crossing series which was well liked for adding improvements while staying faithful to the original series formula. This long lived game included a town players could develop as mayor. The game unusually had twin directors working together on the game.

Although developers feared players would ignore creativity features, gamers often expressed themselves in creative ways, such as through Aika Village.

Read more about Animal Crossing: New Leaf on Wikipedia.

2013

 * Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
 * Pokémon X and Y
 * Chibi-Robo! Photo Finder
 * Monster Hunter 4
 * Shin Megami Tensei IV
 * Flipnote Studio 3D
 * Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
 * The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
 * Mario Party: Island Tour

Tomodachi Life
Being a game focused on importing real life figures as characters, there was a controversy caused by gay players being unable to marry their spouse in game, excluding them from content available to heterosexual players. As a result, Nintendo promised to focus more on inclusivity in future games.

Read more about Tomodachi Life on Wikipedia.

Rusty's Real Deal Baseball
The game introduced Pappy Van Poodle who was a character that could only be encountered by not haggling and as a result went unnoticed by the most Nintendo fans on the internet for several years.

Read more about Rusty's Real Deal Baseball on Wikipedia.

2014

 * Kirby: Triple Deluxe
 * Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
 * Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
 * Nintendo Badge Arcade
 * Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
 * Shantae and the Pirate's Curse

2015

 * Bravely Second: End Layer
 * BoxBoy!
 * Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer
 * Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash
 * Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.
 * Fire Emblem Fates
 * Monster Hunter Generations
 * Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
 * The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
 * The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
 * IronFall: Invasion
 * Stella Glow

2016

 * Detective Pikachu
 * Etrian Odyssey V
 * Culdcept Revolt
 * Metroid Prime: Federation Force
 * Miitopia
 * Pokémon Sun and Moon
 * Kirby: Planet Robobot
 * Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS

2017

 * Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
 * Metroid: Samus Returns
 * Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
 * Kirby Battle Royale
 * Hey! Pikmin
 * Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux

Pocket Card Jockey
A solitaire based horse racing game made by GameFreak.

Read more about Pocket Card Jockey on Wikipedia.

WarioWare Gold
A minigame collection game.

Read more about WarioWare Gold on Wikipedia.

Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth
A sequel to Persona Q, featuring the addition of characters from Persona 5.

Read more about Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth on Wikipedia.

Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn
A port of Kirby's Epic Yarn for the Nintendo Wii, which was released about 9 years prior in 2010 and 2011 depending on the region.

Read more about Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn on Wikipedia

Other System Software
A Netflix app was launched for the 3DS line in 2011.

On April 11th, 2012 Nintendo launched an early consumer AR application which assisted when touring the Louvre art museum in France.

In 2019 a third party released PDI check, a $99.99 app for the 3DS which leverages it's unique screen to check patients for stereopsis, color, and monocular near vision acuity in about 90 seconds. The app was used in some research projects.

Special Edition Consoles

 * Pikachu yellow and white
 * Persona Q 3DS XL - Blue with Le Grimoire de Coeur themed top shell and character art on bottom shell.