Nintendo 3DS
- Manufacturer
- Nintendo
- Production
- 2011–2020
- Generation
- Gen 8
- Type
- Handheld
- Launch price
- $249
- Media
- Flash
- Units sold
- 75.9M
About Nintendo 3DS
The Nintendo 3DS is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 and released beginning in early 2011, it succeeds the Nintendo DS and DSi. Building on the basic design of the DS, the 3DS retains the clamshell form factor and backward compatibility with Nintendo DS software, while introducing autostereoscopic 3D visuals that do not require special glasses. As an eighth-generation console, its primary competitor was Sony's PlayStation Vita.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Lifetime sales
Official manufacturer-reported figures.
75.9Munits
392.3Mgames
5.2games / console
Worldwide Nintendo 3DS family (incl. 2DS, 3DS XL, New 3DS).
Source: Nintendo Co., Ltd. IR — Dedicated Video Game Sales Units, as of June 30, 2026.
Library & collector facts
1,432licensed games
- North America: 807
- Japan: 725
- PAL: 765
Lineage
Release timeline
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- February 26, 2011
- 🇺🇸 North America
- March 27, 2011
- 🇪🇺 Europe / PAL
- March 25, 2011
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- August 15, 2012
- Lifespan
- 9 years on market
Pricing
Launch price (2011)
- 🇺🇸 USD
- $249
Launch titles & exclusives
Pilotwings Resort · Nintendogs + Cats · Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition · Steel Diver · Madden NFL Football · The Sims 3 · Ridge Racer 3D · Lego Star Wars III · Dead or Alive Dimensions · Bust-A-Move Universe
None at launch; Mario 3D Land bundle later popular
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D · A Link Between Worlds · Majora's Mask 3D · Super Mario 3D Land · Mario Kart 7 · Fire Emblem: Awakening / Fates / Echoes · Pokemon X/Y/Sun/Moon/Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon/Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire · Animal Crossing: New Leaf · Bravely Default / Second · Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate · Shin Megami Tensei IV / Apocalypse · Persona Q 1 & 2 · Etrian Odyssey IV/V/Nexus · Kid Icarus: Uprising · Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon · Yoshi's Woolly World / Yoshi's New Island
Just Dance 2020 (2019) was among the last major Western releases; JP eShop continued briefly before the 2023 eShop closure
Pokemon Bank exclusives; Cubic Ninja (Ironfall vulnerability vector, prices spiked post-modding interest); Culdcept Revolt sealed; Etrian Odyssey Nexus boxed; gold/silver Zelda Anniversary 3DS XL bundle
Variants of Nintendo 3DS
Hardware specs
- Os
- Nintendo 3DS system software
- Cpu
- Dual-core ARM11 MPCore @ 268 MHz, Single-core ARM9
- Gpu
- DMP PICA200 @ 268 MHz
- Ram
- 128 MB FCRAM, 6 MB VRAM
- Power
- Nintendo 3DS:, 1300 mAh, 3.7 Voltage, V, 5 Kilowatt-hour, Wh lithium-ion battery, 3DS games : 35 hours, DS games : 58 hours, Sleep Mode : ≈ 3 days, Nintendo 3DS XL / Nintendo 3DS LL:, 1750 mAh, 3.7 V, 6.5 Wh lithium-ion battery, 3DS games : 3.56.5 hours, DS games : 710 hours, Sleep Mode : ≈ 3 days
- Sound
- Stereo speakers (pseudo-surround), microphone
- Weight
- 235 g
- Dimensions
- 134 × 74 × 21 mm
- Display Output
- Nintendo 3DS:, Upper : 3.53" Autostereoscopy, autostereoscopic (3D) LCD @ 800 × 240 Pixel, px (400 × 240 WQVGA per eye), Lower : 3.00" resistive touchscreen LCD @ 320 × 240 (QVGA), Nintendo 3DS XL / Nintendo 3DS LL:, Upper : 4.88" autostereoscopic (3D) LCD @ 800 × 240 px (400 × 240 WQVGA per eye), L…
- Storage Internal
- 2 GB eMMC
Hardware revisions
- Original 3DS CTR-001(2011)
launched at $249, dropped to $169 after just five months in the 'Ambassador Program' (offered free NES/GBA VC games to early adopters)
- 3DS XL SPR-001(2012)
~90% larger screens, no second analog stick
- 2DS FTR-001(2013)
budget non-folding flat form factor, no 3D effect, locked-hinge design
- New 3DS KTR-001 / XL RED-001(2014)
faster CPU, C-Stick, ZL/ZR buttons, NFC, exclusive games (Xenoblade Chronicles 3D)
- New 2DS XL JAN-001(2017)
folding 2DS with New 3DS internals, no 3D
Launch colorways & special editions
- Zelda 25th Anniversary Gold (2011)
- Pikachu Yellow Edition
- Pokemon X/Y Blue/Red (2013)
- Animal Crossing: New Leaf Edition
- Persona Q Edition (JP)
- Monster Hunter 4 Editions
- Fire Emblem Fates Edition
- Majora's Mask New 3DS XL
- Pokemon Sun/Moon Editions
- Hyrule Edition New 3DS XL
Modding scene
- Difficulty
- soft-mod
- Custom firmware
- Luma3DS (CFW); Boot9strap (the underlying exploit chain); FBI installer; Anemone3DS for themes
Reception & legacy
Disastrous launch — $249 price was too high, library was thin, and the dramatic 'Ambassador Program' price cut alienated early adopters; recovered strongly through 2012
$249 to $169 price cut after only 5 months; eShop closure in March 2023 left digital-only purchases unreachable for new buyers; the StreetPass feature became culturally significant in JP urban centers
Defined the early-2010s handheld market against the smartphone tide; eShop closure became a flashpoint in the game-preservation movement; final dedicated Nintendo handheld before the Switch unified handheld and home console
References
More from Nintendo
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Best Nintendo 3DS Platformers
3D or no, the Nintendo 3DS featured a bunch of fantastic platformers that made it a wonderful handheld for fans of the genre.
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