The Handheld Revolution · 1989–present
Nintendo 3DS
Sought After?
Increasingly, since the eShop was permanently shut down in 2023, making physical cartridges and pre-shutdown digital purchases collector-relevant again.
Downsides
The glasses-free 3D effect caused eye strain for many users and was widely turned off; most owners simply played it in 2D.
Why It Faded
Handheld gaming as a category was squeezed hard by smartphones through the 2010s; Nintendo ultimately folded handheld and home console lines together into the Switch.
Trivia
The 3DS's autostereoscopic 3D screen required precise head positioning to work, a limitation so persistent that Nintendo later released a "2DS" model that removed the 3D feature entirely and sold well anyway.