1. [dropcap]N[/dropcap]intendo’s press conference was a lot of business as usual, and it’s a lot to read for how little new information is really available, in the long run. While the bulk of it doesn’t tell us anything new, it’s worth taking the time to talk about those numbers, because it could mean some interesting things for the 3DS’s near future! With that in mind, we’re gonna take a moment to wrap all that information up in a neat little package.

Software Performance

First and foremost, Kimishima wanted investors to know that the handheld system was still doing well. They talked about how Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon are now the best-selling Pokemon games on the 3DS. Nintendo themselves think that the success of Pokemon GO is in part responsible for this. The two games combined have sold over 12 million copies worldwide!

Not only is Pokemon doing well, but Animal Crossing New Leaf is seeing some new business, too. Selling just under a million copies, this fiscal year, New Leaf seems to have greatly benefitted from the Welcome Amiibo content. It’s impressive to see the game still selling so well, given its age. On a similar note, Mario Kart 7 also appears to still be doing well, shipping just under two million copies, this year.

Other games on the 3DS’s honors list for this year include New Super Mario Bros 2, Super Mario 3D Land, Super Smash Bros, Tomodachi Life, and all four of the other Pokemon games on the handheld. This is an overall unsurprising list, but the implication is that the 3DS isn’t quite dying out just yet. More on that in a bit.

3DS Hardware Performance

Let’s get straight to the good part on this one. The 3DS sold close to 7 million units, last year. This is interesting, because last year, it was having trouble breaking 6 million. That’s the lowest those numbers have been for any single full year. In fact, hardware sales have been on the decline since the very first year. This uptick in sales, even by less than a million units, is significant because the drop-off of 3DS sales rates has been increasing. As such, the sales increasing suddenly is a sign that this system isn’t going anywhere too soon

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Another interesting tidbit is the fact that the 2DS makes up 19% of Japanese 3DS sales, 32% of North American sales, and an impressive 50% of 3DS hardware sold in Europe, this year. This certainly brings to mind Nintendo’s announcement of the New 2DS XL. In fact, this knowledge was likely part of why they announced another model of 2.    , zcvcDS, this year.

3DS Games to Come

Nintendo showed off some titles we already knew about, just to reassure us the 3DS had more games coming. Here’s a list of some of those:

• Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
• Hey! Pikmin
• Ever Oasis
• Team Kirby Clash Deluxe
• Kirby’s Blowout Blast
• Miitopia
• Monster Hunter Stories
• Yokai Watch 2
• Layton’s Mystery Journal
• Snack World
• Radiant Historia
• Strange Deep Journey

Just to name a few! Most importantly, Dragon Quest XI launches in Japan on July 29th. The presentation says nothing about a North American or European release date.

Conclusion

So what does all of this mean? Well, Nintendo is not done supporting the 3DS, for sure. While I don’t think this is the beginning of some second coming for the system, I do believe that the 3DS will live at least a couple more years. It certainly won’t fade as fast as the Wii U did. So if you own and love a 3DS or plan on getting the New 2DS, rejoice! This conference spells out good things for you in the near future.