It’s very rare for a video game system that is almost eight years old to still be a very relevant part of the industry but the Nintendo 3DS continues to buck the trend and defy expectations, providing hours upon hours of joy for players even now in 2018. With the release of the Nintendo Switch however the 3DS is no longer the only portable Nintendo system on the market and many have speculated that the system’s time in the limelight is essentially run out. But while the 3DS might no longer be the sales juggernaut it once was for Nintendo it has managed to not only remain a valuable pillar of their business model but an integral part of the immediate future for Nintendo and one that might end up sticking around for longer than many might expect.

The biggest reason (as well as the most plainly obvious) as to why the 3DS has remained relevant for Nintendo is that, well it sells. Currently the Nintendo 3DS family of systems will, on average, move around 40,000 to 60,000 units a week worldwide. Now while that’s significantly less than the other systems on the market none of those are anywhere near as old as the 3DS either and the fact that not only can the system still command interest, even during crowded holiday shopping is pretty darn impressive. This is a big reason why Nintendo and even some third-party publishers are still putting support into the 3DS, with the system being home to a series of ports and remakes of various Nintendo classics.

But why not bring these games over to the Switch? Obviously that system is the future for Nintendo and has spent its time on the market largely changing Nintendo’s marketing image and development toolkits, so why are so many titles still coming to the older (and technically ancient) Nintendo 3DS? Well I think a lot of it comes down to marketing. Imagine this – you are a small development team, looking to bring your project to market. You could invest in high-definition development resources in order to bring your title to the Switch but because that system (or another console) has a crowded release schedule your game (which cost more to make) might not reach as wide an audience as it would on the 3DS.

And that’s really something that has always been a strength of the 3DS – being a gateway to smaller titles that just wouldn’t work on a home console, even a portable one like the Switch. Imagine if you a will a game like Kirby: Planet Robobot, a fantastic entry on the 3DS that perfectly fits the scope of the system and in some ways takes advantage of nearly every feature it has to offer. If that game though were to release on the Switch it would feel way too small for the console, especially if you were to direct compare it to Kirby: Star Allies. And this trend is true for a majority of the 3DS’ lineup, where the games aren’t quite ‘big’ enough to make their way onto the Switch but are far too ambitious for say a mobile title. Games of this size (and by extension – price point) need a place to call home and the 3DS offers exactly that.

But there’s another reason as to why the 3DS is still a very important and relevant piece of technology for Nintendo, maybe even just as important as the Switch – its price and its software library. The Nintendo 3DS is home to practically every major Nintendo IP under the Sun from Mario (2D and 3D), Zelda (2D and 3D), Metroid (2D and 3D), Donkey Kong, Kirby, Star Fox, Pokémon, Animal Crossing, Super Smash Bros., Fire Emblem, Pikmin as well as some lesser known names like Kid Icarus and Codename S.T.E.A.M. and that is incredibly important to Nintendo as the 3DS can essentially serve as a low-cost entry point to the wide world of Nintendo’s characters and game-worlds. What’s more is many of the game’s currently blowing up sales charts on the Switch have a 3DS counterpart like Mario Kart 7, Pokémon (Sun/Moon) and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds being excellent ways to promote Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Pokémon Let’s Go (Pikachu/Eevee) and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Many players have already moved on and I’ll admit I find myself booting up my 3DS less and less these days but the system that doesn’t quit still has a lot left to give players both old and new. The system is still selling well with the (horribly named) New Nintendo 2DS XL proving to be a popular hardware revision and it still has games lined up for release in 2019, including fairly major first party releases such as Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn and (the also horrible named) Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey. And I think that’s a trend that will continue, at least throughout the next year with Nintendo bringing some ‘medium’ sized games and ports over to the 3DS to continue to move these little Nintendo-joy machines to as many gamers as possible. So if you still have your 3DS kicking around or are wondering if it’s a system worth investing in I would definitely recommend still playing games on the 3DS.