It's no secret that Nintendo likes to get creative with its handheld consoles. Since the Game Boy, the Japanese video game company has dominated the handheld gaming market and continues to do so today, even with recent surges in mobile gaming. Come 2011, the Nintendo 3DS looked to build off of everything that made the DS great, and after a bit of a rocky launch, the 3DS eventually found its footing.
While the console survived a bit after the launch of the Nintendo Switch, the 3DS has now been phased out of Nintendo's plans, as it focuses all attention on the Switch and its future. However, with recent rumors of a console revision in the form of a Switch Pro, it looks like the hybrid handheld-home console and the Nintendo 3DS may have a lot more in common than fans initially thought. This is mainly due to the 3DS' lengthy list of console iterations, and should Nintendo play its cards right, the Switch Pro could cement itself as the ultimate 3DS replacement.
3DS Iterations and Revisions
Fans may be surprised to know that from 2011 to 2017, Nintendo released a whopping 6 different iterations of the 3DS console, making its family of systems bigger than the those of the Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS. For a quick refresher, Nintendo started with the vanilla 3DS, then moved on to the 3DS XL, the 2DS, the New 3DS, the New 3DS XL, and finally, the New Nintendo 2DS XL.
Questionable naming conventions aside, it's clear that Nintendo had a lot of plans for the 3DS, and with the current success of the Switch, it wouldn't be too surprising to see Nintendo want to take the console in a similar direction, and with current Switch Pro rumors, it looks like the steps to do so could already be in motion, starting with the Switch Lite.
The Switch as a Handheld Console
First, it's important to view the Nintendo Switch for what it is. The Switch is most known for being what the Wii U couldn't, a hybrid handheld-home gaming console. And while the Switch existed alongside the 3DS for a few years, Nintendo has seemingly poured all of its resources into the Switch now, making it the go-to console for both home and handheld gaming for many fans. While docking the system to play it on the big screen all fine and dandy, the Switch's portability is one of its major selling points, so much so, that Nintendo decided the Switch Lite was a necessary iteration.
On the surface, the Switch Lite seems simply like a logical step: reach a wider market by making the hit console more affordable, appeal to more casual gamers with a handheld-only format, and improve its battery-life to better fit its portable nature. However, the creation of the Switch Lite had much larger implications for the Switch, essentially cementing it as not only Nintendo's flagship home console, but its major handheld console as well. Where portability was once a nice option and a nice perk, it is now the standard with the Switch Lite. But, aside from the Switch Lite releasing in the same year that the 3DS got its final first-party games, how does this all tie into the 3DS line of systems?
Similarities Between the 3DS and Switch
Fans may remember that after the 3DS XL, Nintendo introduced the 2DS, a 3DS system that stripped away its defining clamshell design and 3D functionalities for the sake of creating a much more affordable and colorful alternative in order to reach a wider market. If this sounds familiar, it's because the Switch Lite did the same thing 6 year later, introducing a system that stripped away the console's defining "switching" functionalities to create a much more colorful and affordable alternative to the hybrid system. And as with the 2DS, the Switch Lite was also able to give the Switch a great boost in system sales.
While Nintendo has become known to tirelessly revise its handheld systems, its home consoles hardly ever receive the same treatment, with only the NES, the SNES, and the Wii getting revised in the New-Style NES, New-Style SNES, and Wii Mini respectively. Now, while some may argue that the Switch simply falls in line with the same three home consoles that received revisions in the past, it's important to note that the Switch family has also been treated as a handheld in the way Nintendo has come to handle system colors in recent years, constantly receiving bright new Joy-Con and Switch Lite colors like Nintendo has added to their previous handheld systems. However, apart from all this, it's the endless rumors of a Nintendo Switch Pro that shake things up in that department.
The Switch Pro's Ties to the 3DS
Just as the 3DS received a more affordable version of the system in the 2DS, it received a major console revision in the New Nintendo 3DS in 2014. This version of the console was a full-on upgrade, adding improved processors and RAM, a brand-new C-Stick nub, the addition of the ZL and ZR buttons, eye-tracking 3D, built-in NFC, and perhaps most importantly, exclusive New Nintendo 3DS titles, like Xenoblade Chronicles 3D and Fire Emblem Warriors. Nintendo has only ever brought such a massive upgrade to the 3DS family of systems, but rumblings of a Switch Pro seem to be changing that.
Although rumors and supposed leaks are all that fans have to go off of so far, the possible upcoming Switch revision is shaping up to be a very similar upgrade to that of the New 3DS. Credible sources and rumors have revealed that the Switch Pro will likely include an bigger, OLED display, improved graphics and overall performance, 4k visuals when docked, Nvidia DLSS technology, and of course, Switch Pro exclusive titles. Despite the abundance of speculation, fans expect Switch Pro exclusive games to include upcoming titles like Metroid Prime 4, the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Pokemon Legends: Arceus. It may also be worth noting that the New 3DS was introduced 6 years into the 3DS' lifespan, and the Switch just entered its 5th year on the market.
Additionally, just like the New Nintendo 3DS, leaks and rumors speculate that the Switch Pro is by no means a replacement to the current Switch console, but instead a nice new option for more dedicated gamers, just as the New 3DS was for the 3DS. Similarly to the New Nintendo 3DS bringing back and improving the 3D functionalities to the system, the Switch Pro is rumored to bring back and even improve the Switch's hybrid functionalities. Finally, fans and insiders fully expect the supposed Switch Pro live alongside the Switch and Switch Lite like the New 3DS and other 3DS iterations. And, should Nintendo continue to capitalize on the Switch's success, if a new Switch Pro comes to fruition, it's possible that that won't be the last fans see of the Nintendo Switch.