The end of the line; reminders to all 3ds/ds owners

[BluebearL]

As everyone is probably well aware, the eshop for the 3ds will be discontinued soon. 3ds games are seldom found in gaming stores and 3ds consoles are now in the retro gaming category. In other words; extremely expensive.

I would like to take this time to remind 3ds/ds lovers of some crucial maintenance advice going forward. Given how expensive and difficult it is and will be to buy a replacement 3ds console, if you want to be able to use whichever 3ds console you own and play games please remember to charge it at least once every three months. This will give your battery a little extra longevity. Nintendo does not repair old consoles, and it will be painful buying and manually replacing the 3ds battery if it stops working. Boot it up every now and then to keep the memory working, hopefully, you'll get some years yet out of it.

If you want to buy a 3ds/ds console now without paying $600, if you are in the UK or the AU I would recommend going in-store and selecting one from a CEX store. They are still selling them at much cheaper prices. They have a 2-year warranty which is awesome- means you can order online as well with little risk. If you have been thinking about buying a 3ds/ds console do it NOW before you can't even find them at these stores. If anyone knows of other places where they can be bought for cheaper prices, please let me know.

Edit: Due to the dual-screen function of the console, it is unlikely we will see many of the 3ds/ds games ever ported to new consoles like other retro games such as the 64. Having access to a 3ds is a great idea if you want access to this catalog.

 

[.: Meri :.]

Thank you so much for sharing this! I've been quite active on my 3DS the past couple of years, but I know prior to that I could be neglectful about charging it if I hadn't played on it in a while. ;u; So I'll definitely be sure to keep this in mind going forward. I've got way too many games I still want to play/potentially revisit; my 3DS isn't allowed to go out on me for some time yet!
This also reminded me that I need to charge my DS Lite and PS Vita, so thank you again for that.

 

[BluebearL]

Thank you so much for sharing this! I've been quite active on my 3DS the past couple of years, but I know prior to that I could be neglectful about charging it if I hadn't played on it in a while. ;u; So I'll definitely be sure to keep this in mind going forward. I've got way too many games I still want to play/potentially revisit; my 3DS isn't allowed to go out on me for some time yet!
This also reminded me that I need to charge my DS Lite and PS Vita, so thank you again for that.

No problem! Yes, definitely want to be able to play those games- I was thinking about it today since I saw another one of those 'will Nintendo ever make a true successor to the 3ds' type discussions. With the close of the eshop, it's a great time to make sure your console is still working well while it's still possible to do something about it!

 

[Haru Okumura]

If you want to buy a 3ds/ds console now without paying $600, if you are in the UK or the AU I would recommend going in-store and selecting one from a CEX store. They are still selling them at much cheaper prices. They have a 2-year warranty which is awesome- means you can order online as well with little risk.

Seconding! I bought my n3DS XL there a few years ago for about £140-£160? They'll also let you inspect it before buying. I'd recommend picking up a 32GB micro sd card if you plan on buying digital games.

 

[Mr_Keroppi]

I will remember to be careful! I have made sure to play my 2nd 3DS every once in a while instead of just using it for looks and ACNL badges. I love the 3DS and I hope everyone can enjoy them while they can! I do not know is this is stupid but I will not be buying and of my last 6 3DS games I want atm. I am waiting until everyone stops going crazy so in like 4 or 5 months I can get them for 10 dollars again. All games were like 10 - 20 dollars and now they skyrocketed to 30 - 50 so I am waiting for them to go back down.......

 

[Xara]

As everyone is probably well aware, the eshop for the 3ds will be discontinued soon. 3ds games are seldom found in gaming stores and 3ds consoles are now in the retro gaming category. In other words; extremely expensive.

this lowkey made my heart hurt lmao. it feels like only yesterday i got my purple 3ds for my 11th birthday, impatiently waiting for the NA release of new leaf. i would take my 3ds with me everywhere (when i actually remembered to, that is lol) so that i would earn play coins and hopefully streetpass people. i would also always look at the 3ds games available whenever i went to walmart, toys "r" us, etc. i can’t believe that was over 9-10 years ago now… where has the time gone?

it sucks about the reboot thing. i’ve kinda maybe been hoping for a new leaf reboot for the switch, but i never considered that the dual-screen would make it a bit hard. oh well. thanks for the heads up about the eshop; it shutting down doesn’t really affect me (besides making me kinda sad lol) since i don’t use my 3ds anymore, but i’ll still try to keep the date in mind in case i change my mind last minute and decide to buy a game or two.

 

[BluebearL]

Seconding! I bought my n3DS XL there a few years ago for about £140-£160? They'll also let you inspect it before buying. I'd recommend picking up a 32GB micro sd card if you plan on buying digital games.

absolutely! They are generally pretty good with second-hand devices. I haven't bought a ds from there personally, but they run pretty good deals- especially with the skyrocketing prices everywhere else. Glad to hear you were able to get one, solid advice with the micro sd card.

I will remember to be careful! I have made sure to play my 2nd 3DS every once in a while instead of just using it for looks and ACNL badges. I love the 3DS and I hope everyone can enjoy them while they can! I do not know is this is stupid but I will not be buying and of my last 6 3DS games I want atm. I am waiting until everyone stops going crazy so in like 4 or 5 months I can get them for 10 dollars again. All games were like 10 - 20 dollars and now they skyrocketed to 30 - 50 so I am waiting for them to go back down.......

I don't think it is stupid, I think most people are saying that the skyrocketing prices will plateau and go up and down by small amounts every now and then. I am not confident that they will ever drop back down to those prices again, I think they are officially retro/collectors games that are hard to get. However, by waiting there is very little risk of it getting worse for a while. So you might as well. Keep an eye out for individuals selling their second-hand stuff- every now and then someone will offer their games collection for a reasonable price.

Post automatically merged: Apr 27, 2022

this lowkey made my heart hurt lmao. it feels like only yesterday i got my purple 3ds for my 11th birthday, impatiently waiting for the NA release of new leaf. i would take my 3ds with me everywhere (when i actually remembered to, that is lol) so that i would earn play coins and hopefully streetpass people. i would also always look at the 3ds games available whenever i went to walmart, toys "r" us, etc. i can’t believe that was over 9-10 years ago now… where has the time gone?

it sucks about the reboot thing. i’ve kinda maybe been hoping for a new leaf reboot for the switch, but i never considered that the dual-screen would make it a bit hard. oh well. thanks for the heads up about the eshop; it shutting down doesn’t really affect me (besides making me kinda sad lol) since i don’t use my 3ds anymore, but i’ll still try to keep the date in mind in case i change my mind last minute and decide to buy a game or two.

I completely understand, while the switch is better in a lot of ways, the 3ds is still probably my favourite console (nostalgia). I loved streetpass and all the fun things you could do without even having to have a game cartridge or paid game booted up! It is a very charming device and still has both a huge and epic library. Feels like just yesterday for me as well, I consider the current n3ds I own to be new hahaha. I truly hope we will see a proper sequel to the ds line someday, but I very much doubt that will ever eventuate. Really miss those days being over.

Yeah, the dual-screen situation actually makes it quite hard to reboot the games to a normal console- even for games that didn't overly utilise the two screens. In the case of New Leaf, they would have to change several menus and the way that they function + where they pop up. It would be more effort than I have seen Nintendo put into any of their other reboots.

 

[michito]

Oh, I had no idea of the charging thing..... I got 2 ds lite I barely use, they still work but are pretty broken. I should turn them on a bit, I dont want to lose them.... I mostly use them for games where I need more than 1 console for a certain task (like evolving pins in twewy or to transfer pokemon from a game to another)

Back to the 3DS, I actually would be more worried for the games than the console itself.
In december I bought both a brand-new ds lite & a 3d xl for $20 and $95 respectively; the general prices were either retail price or lower. You can find lots of deals if you look up 2nd-hand stores and websites (specially local-ish ones), a good chunk of people only bought the console for their kids who played a few months before getting tired or just for playing a few specific games and sold it after.
Physical games on the other side... lots have gotten very pricey since 2020, often going for $60-100. So if you want one I think it's best to buy it as soon as you're able to, I feel like they're going to be increasing in price even more in the next years....

3DS are very durable too, I have used mine almost daily for 10 years and the only thing that broke is the camera! (the D-pad is sluggy if you turn left, but if you dont mind walking a bit slowly, its ok...) If you treat the console well I dont think there's need for panic, as I said I bought a new one just in case, but I feel like my old one will still work fine for a few years more.

 

[Corrie]

Good to know! I'll probably forget and not charge it for years lol but still good to know!

It's interesting how physical copies of the 3DS games have went up in price. Even at hock shops they're $50+.

 

[BluebearL]

Oh, I had no idea of the charging thing..... I got 2 ds lite I barely use, they still work but are pretty broken. I should turn them on a bit, I dont want to lose them.... I mostly use them for games where I need more than 1 console for a certain task (like evolving pins in twewy or to transfer pokemon from a game to another)

Back to the 3DS, I actually would be more worried for the games than the console itself.
In december I bought both a brand-new ds lite & a 3d xl for $20 and $95 respectively; the general prices were either retail price or lower. You can find lots of deals if you look up 2nd-hand stores and websites (specially local-ish ones), a good chunk of people only bought the console for their kids who played a few months before getting tired or just for playing a few specific games and sold it after.
Physical games on the other side... lots have gotten very pricey since 2020, often going for $60-100. So if you want one I think it's best to buy it as soon as you're able to, I feel like they're going to be increasing in price even more in the next years....

3DS are very durable too, I have used mine almost daily for 10 years and the only thing that broke is the camera! (the D-pad is sluggy if you turn left, but if you dont mind walking a bit slowly, its ok...) If you treat the console well I dont think there's need for panic, as I said I bought a new one just in case, but I feel like my old one will still work fine for a few years more.

Hey that’s great that your console is still going! Not as many options for buying a console here in Australia- there aren’t any small businesses that sell them (most went out of business years ago). Eb games doesn’t sell them anymore, target, Kmart, big w etc- only switch stuff.It really is just CEX and their stock isn’t huge, everywhere else prices are $800 +

I and my friends have had battery issues with ds consoles in the past- there is a little bit of luck involved. Sometimes you just don’t get a very good one for some reason. I’ve always taken very good care of my consoles too, my current 3ds’ are doing very well.

Most game stores are still selling ds games, at least they are here and at cheap prices. It’s a fair point though, now is the time to buy them. I myself finished my collection, so it’s just about the cartridges being stored well so as not to collect dust I guess. I think they’re pretty durable though. Had some of them for 10 years.

Anyway, prices for all things 3ds are going to skyrocket and plateau at that price which sucks. Do you mind if I ask where you got a brand new ds lite from?

 

[michito]

Hey that’s great that your console is still going! Not as many options for buying a console here in Australia- there aren’t any small businesses that sell them (most went out of business years ago). Eb games doesn’t sell them anymore, target, Kmart, big w etc- only switch stuff.It really is just CEX and their stock isn’t huge, everywhere else prices are $800 +

I and my friends have had battery issues with ds consoles in the past- there is a little bit of luck involved. Sometimes you just don’t get a very good one for some reason. I’ve always taken very good care of my consoles too, my current 3ds’ are doing very well.

Most game stores are still selling ds games, at least they are here and at cheap prices. It’s a fair point though, now is the time to buy them. I myself finished my collection, so it’s just about the cartridges being stored well so as not to collect dust I guess. I think they’re pretty durable though. Had some of them for 10 years.

Anyway, prices for all things 3ds are going to skyrocket and plateau at that price which sucks. Do you mind if I ask where you got a brand new ds lite from?

Omg that sucks I just looked it up and seems like Australian consoles are PAL region, so maybe you can order a console from europe? I'm not sure how expensive the shipping would be, but even with a expensive-ish shipping, I'm sure it will be way cheaper than those +$800 chain stores are charging you.

I got my ds lite from ebay (the price I bought it for would be 30 AUD). As I said 2nd hand websites are super useful, but you also need to look up very often! I took me 2 months of looking 3-4 times a week to find it for that price ^^' But there's always someone bound to sell what you want to a reasonable price, the key is to not lose hope lol
(the 3DS was from a 2nd hand website too, but one localized in my country, not an international one)

I forgot cartridges had battery life too... my consoles are having a hard time recognizing a few of my 2005-ish games, maybe that's why...

 

[BluebearL]

Omg that sucks I just looked it up and seems like Australian consoles are PAL region, so maybe you can order a console from europe? I'm not sure how expensive the shipping would be, but even with a expensive-ish shipping, I'm sure it will be way cheaper than those +$800 chain stores are charging you.

I got my ds lite from ebay (the price I bought it for would be 30 AUD). As I said 2nd hand websites are super useful, but you also need to look up very often! I took me 2 months of looking 3-4 times a week to find it for that price ^^' But there's always someone bound to sell what you want to a reasonable price, the key is to not lose hope lol
(the 3DS was from a 2nd hand website too, but one localized in my country, not an international one)

I forgot cartridges had battery life too... my consoles are having a hard time recognizing a few of my 2005-ish games, maybe that's why...

Just looked it up, you're right- Europe is an option. That is an amazing price, I'll definitely keep that in mind. I have been thinking about getting a lite or dsi. I'll be sure to be on the lookout regularly. aaah yeah that is unfortunate, hopefully you can find some reasonable sellers for some replacement cartridges!!

EDIT: Bought a brand new DSI

Picked it up today, DS games look significantly better on it than the n3ds. Very nostalgic too.

 

[Soigne]

aw this made me incredibly sad to read. i have my 3ds a charge last night and booted up new leaf for the first time in a few years. definitely going to need to stay on top of it to make sure it lasts!

 

[amemome]

Thank you for the reminder! I charged up my babies a couple of nights ago thanks to this post.

I'm so sad to hear it's "the end" for DS/3DS... some of my most favorite Nintendo Handhelds ever.

 

[Shellzilla_515]

Thanks for the reminder! I haven't touched my 3ds since late February, so it's getting close to three months. The kind of 3ds I have is the original one released all the way back in 2011. It was initially a gift for my dad but eventually got passed down to me. It came in aqua blue and still works just fine despite playing on it for many hours, especially when I got New Leaf in 2015 (seven years ago!!!) and had numerous nights where I left it on while plugged in to hear the hourly music. The only things showing its age are the absence of the rubber for the circle pad and the chipped colours on the sides. It's definitely one of those durable handhelds along with the Gameboy Advance SP from my experience. I should definitely buy an extra 3ds in case my current one ever decides to not work anymore.

 

[honeyaura]

Thanks for the advice! I’ll have to pop my old 3DS out and give it a charge.

 

[TurnipBell20]

I should sell my 3DS now, lol. I don’t use it anyways.

 

[porkpie28]

I still play my 3ds from time to time but don’t play as much as it is old now