1st September 2016, 8:11 PM
Heh, well I expected that. Nintendo supports each of their handhelds for a good long while. I think the only "clear cut" from the previous generation was with the transition from Gameboy to Gameboy Advance. Heck, even when the Color was going strong, there were still non-color GB games coming out in droves.
Remember the original DS? Nintendo initially claimed they were going for a "3 pillar" strategy, positioning the DS as an "alternative" to the Gameboy. I recall everyone looking at the DS and thinking it was bizarre, stupid looking, and way way too big. The moment it proved to be popular though? Yeah, Nintendo began phasing out the Gameboy Advance "pillar", and aside from the micro remodel, that's where the Gameboy "line" died. (Of course, in reality the Gameboy line just got renamed. There never was any "3 pillar" plan.)
I wouldn't be surprised if they are doing something similar this time. If their new NX console (which, remember, they have yet to even officially announce) is what it's claimed to be, it's going to be primarily a portable (I'm calling it now, it won't be backwards compatible with the Gamecube/Wii/WiiU line, but it'll be fully backwards compatible with the DS/3DS line). But, if it bombs unexpectedly, they don't want that to hurt the 3DS line, so they'll keep supporting it for now. I predict this though. If the NX takes off, just you watch those 2018 titles turn into NX games in later announcements.
Remember the original DS? Nintendo initially claimed they were going for a "3 pillar" strategy, positioning the DS as an "alternative" to the Gameboy. I recall everyone looking at the DS and thinking it was bizarre, stupid looking, and way way too big. The moment it proved to be popular though? Yeah, Nintendo began phasing out the Gameboy Advance "pillar", and aside from the micro remodel, that's where the Gameboy "line" died. (Of course, in reality the Gameboy line just got renamed. There never was any "3 pillar" plan.)
I wouldn't be surprised if they are doing something similar this time. If their new NX console (which, remember, they have yet to even officially announce) is what it's claimed to be, it's going to be primarily a portable (I'm calling it now, it won't be backwards compatible with the Gamecube/Wii/WiiU line, but it'll be fully backwards compatible with the DS/3DS line). But, if it bombs unexpectedly, they don't want that to hurt the 3DS line, so they'll keep supporting it for now. I predict this though. If the NX takes off, just you watch those 2018 titles turn into NX games in later announcements.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)