Recently canceled 3DS titles (including a Fire Emblem remake) may now be headed for Switch

[Axe]

According to Imran Khan, the poor sales performance of the Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story remake and AlphaDream's subsequent bankruptcy prompted Nintendo to reevaluate their 3DS plans. Supposedly they were working on a number of titles for the system, and he believes those games will now be coming to the Switch. Most interesting of all, he claims that one such title was a remake of a Fire Emblem game.

Rumour: Canceled Fire Emblem remake and other games could "eventually come to Switch"

Nintendo's plans for the 3DS—their eight-year-old handheld console—have gone adrift, with a credible source now mentioning that many of their plans have been "shuttered" and they might "eventually come to Switch".

These games include another planned remake from the Fire Emblem franchise and other unmentioned titles. In an episode of Kinda Funny Games, hosted by Greg Miller, Imran Khan, former senior editor at Game Informer talked about the issue. He mentions Alpha Dream's bankruptcy being one of the core reasons. Alpha Dream, for those unaware, are the developers of the Mario & Luigi RPGs.

The sales figures for Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr's Journey, their recent game for the 3DS, were alarming. Only 11,000 copies made their way onto store shelves in the first month. The game was released on January 11, 2019.

This failure led Nintendo to cancel "a bunch of further 3ds plans", which Imran says, he won't be "shocked to see those games eventually come to Switch."

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This comes hot on the heels of Shuntaro Furukawa's remarks that 3DS franchises may come to the Switch.

I thought this is interesting news, but poke me in the eye with a stylus if old.

 

[Heromanz]

Who could have thought that no one wanted to play video games on a old ass handheld and not on there brand new switch?

 

[Yarbskoo]

I'm okay with this.

 

[Ashby]

I find it really surprising to hear that Nintendo still had plans for the 3DS until a few weeks ago? The release calendar of 3DS games doesn't seem to indicate this

 

[It’s Time To Go]

Path of radiance remake?

 

[MarcelRguez]

So much for the first pillar

 

[BasilZero]

Another remake?

Yes please


Also I hope they port the 3DS games in a way kinda like how Wii was capable of playing DS games.

 

[cw_sasuke]

I find it really surprising to hear that Nintendo still had plans for the 3DS until a few weeks ago? The release calendar of 3DS games doesn't seem to indicate this

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Yeah, this doesnt make alot of sense - they havent had internal devs working on relevant 3DS games for nearly two years now.

Nintendo knew since 2017 that Switch would be a viable plattform the their handheld IPs and they will be able to retire the 3DS in due time.

 

[Youabra]

As much as I would love to see a remake of PoR and RD, I hope it was a remake of Geneaology of the Holy War.
But hey, if it ever comes to switch, they could just work a little more and release it with Thracia too.

 

[Chris1964]

I have serious doubts Nintendo had more 3DS games in development.

Another FE 3DS remake after Three Houses on Switch?

 

[Comic Obsessed]

This is for the better, we don't need more great games and studios being wasted.

 

[Phoenix Splash]

So, what's in the still not localized menu for Fire Emblem? Wouldn't that be the priority?

Hey, while we're at it, that's a really nice franchise titled Wars over there. Why not try it again with a remake of those Advance Wars games? People seemed to enjoy them

 

[Instro]

I find it really surprising to hear that Nintendo still had plans for the 3DS until a few weeks ago? The release calendar of 3DS games doesn't seem to indicate this

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Probably the discussion is not being summarized very well. Regardless in a general sense I have no doubt that there were some late stage 3DS games that were shuttered and/or restarted on the Switch after the 3DS precipitous software sales dropoff in 2017-2018. Hell it's completely possible that was the case with Links Awakening considering the original rumors about it.

 

[cw_sasuke]

I have serious doubts Nintendo had more 3DS games in development.

Another FE 3DS remake after Three Houses on Switch?

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More importantly after FE Heroes and 3H - i really doubt that they had resources allocated for another 3DS title.

 

[treasureyez]

Count me with the people saying this makes no sense. Nintendo hasn't really talked about the 3DS line since they launched the 2DS XL. I have a hard time believing there were still games in development when AlphaDream filed for bankruptcy.

 

[LewieP]

Probably not a bad plan, but I do kinda think the under-performance of Mario & Luigi isn't really a sign that there's no market left on the 3DS.

But even still there's probably very little juice left to squeeze, even with titles that would be more appealing. No major harm in moving on now I think.

 

[Zombine]

I would really like a 3D Glory of Heracles for switch. I feel like a lot of the DS/3DS games with good bones that didn't perform super well could find new life on Switch.

 

[Mr. Pointy]

So, what's in the still not localized menu for Fire Emblem? Wouldn't that be the priority?

Hey, while we're at it, that's a really nice franchise titled Wars over there. Why not try it again with a remake of those Advance Wars games? People seemed to enjoy them

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There's the SNES Fire Emblems, the first GBA game and that one DS game.

Advance Wars or any Wars game would be great but IS don't care.

 

[rude]

I'm ready for another Echoes game. SoV was great. Hidari is also the perfect artist for this franchise.

 

[Etrian Darkness]

I'm assuming the remake was Genealogy. Weird if true. I dunno why they would do Three Houses and just make a 3DS game just before it.

 

[Instro]

Probably not a bad plan, but I do kinda think the under-performance of Mario & Luigi isn't really a sign that there's no market left on the 3DS.

But even still there's probably very little juice left to squeeze, even with titles that would be more appealing. No major harm in moving on now I think.

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Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), M&L wasn't the only bomb. Essentially all the 3DS software that released after the Switch launch bombed, particularly after 2017.

 

[residentgrigo]

Those late-era 3DS games were lunacy by Nintendo. Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War is the next in line when it comes to FE and the only game in the series than can be described as actually well written. A remake could do wonder to fill in some holes and they could easily move on to Thracia 776 due to the shared everything. The fan translations are well done but they extreme difficulty and impossible to play if you didn´t start with the franchise early.

 

[Waluigilicious]

Mario Party Top 100 could also benefit from making the switch over.

 

[Axe]

Probably the discussion is not being summarized very well. Regardless in a general sense I have no doubt that there were some late stage 3DS games that were shuttered and/or restarted on the Switch after the 3DS precipitous software sales dropoff in 2017-2018. Hell it's completely possible that was the case with Links Awakening considering the original rumors about it.

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My interpretation is that they shelved the games back when M&L flopped, and didn't really know what to do with them (since they were likely smaller scale games compared to typical Switch software). AlphaDream's demise and the Switch Lite's availability are simply the nails in the coffin for the 3DS.

 

[Deleted member 10737]

i'm SO confused by nintendo not realizing that 3DS projects should be cancelled or moved to switch. i mean, 3DS games were cute in 2017, but surely anyone could see the platform had no future in 2018 and beyond.

 

[Asbsand]

The fact that they let AlphaDream be part of their misguided 3DS life-support business is some EA level corporate mismanagement.

 

[catboy]

i'm SO confused by nintendo not realizing that 3DS projects should be cancelled or moved to switch. i mean, 3DS games were cute in 2017, but surely anyone could see the platform had no future in 2018 and beyond.

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it is very strange. i also find it very strange how some users still view this opinion as "anti-3ds" or something as if the sales data doesn't correlate with the idea that people buying 3ds games after the 2017 drastically fell off.

 

[RecRoulette]

Makes sense. The Link's Awakening remake was rumored to be a 3DS title for years before it showed up as a switch title

 

[decoyplatypus]

Those late-era 3DS games were lunacy by Nintendo. Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War is the next in line when it comes to FE and the only game in the series than can be described as actually well written. A remake could do wonder to fill in some holes and they could easily move on to Thracia 776 due to the shared everything. The fan translations are well done but they extreme difficulty and impossible to play if you didn´t start with the franchise early.

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I don't think it would be so easy to move from Genealogy to Thracia. Sure, they share a setting and some characters, but you still need almost entirely new art assets for Thracia due to the games' different map styles (and many new characters). The system design issues are also very different. Figuring out how you want to update marriages and bloodlines in Genealogy means nothing for Thracia. And then Thracia has so many mechanics (movement stars, fatigue, capture, etc.) that aren't in Genealogy.

This is not to say Nintendo shouldn't remake both. They're great games, and I think remakes could find an eager audience. But they're two very different projects.

 

[BassForever]

The fact Gamefreak wasn't trying to make another 3ds game should have been all the warning in the world that 3ds was done. Not sure if it was arrogance or stupidity that had them developing 3ds titles in 2018/2019

 

[Rotobit]

I figure they kept the 3DS alive solely because the Wii U spooked 'em. They needed to have the back-up platform incase things went sour again.

That said though, releasing Bowser's Inside Story in 2019 was incredibly silly no matter how you look at it

 

[Common Knowledge]

This isn't the first time we've heard that M&L caused Nintendo to quickly pull the plug on future 3DS plans. If that's the case, it's a shame it took the death of a developer for Nintendo to finally realize the 3DS reached its end.

 

[Dark Cloud]

I don't get how Nintendo didn't see this? Didn't end well for AlphaDream since they had to do remasters for deadass 3DS

 

[NeonZ]

More importantly after FE Heroes and 3H - i really doubt that they had resources allocated for another 3DS title.

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Unless FE Heroes is taking all of their resources, IS actually does have free developers available. Three Houses was mostly outsourced to KT outside of a few lead positions.

 

[K Samedi]

Whatever they were, they were probably filler titles to extend the life somewhat. I don't think they were huge games. I'm curious about the FE remake though. I'm always in for some more Fire Emblem.

 

[sfortunato]

i'm SO confused by nintendo not realizing that 3DS projects should be cancelled or moved to switch. i mean, 3DS games were cute in 2017, but surely anyone could see the platform had no future in 2018 and beyond.

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I do believe Nintendo expected stronger sales given 2DS price and New 2DS XL.

 

[Blade24070]

They still had 3DS titles in development this late? Damn, guess those cheap development costs were enticing.

 

[Tibarn]

Imagine releasing a remake of Genealogy on the 3DS post 2019.

 

[Xavi]

I can see that FE game being The Binding Blade.

I'll stay true to my theory that FE4 is a 100% Switch Remake coming out in 2021 for the 25th anniversary

 

[Deleted member 37233]

I know Imran Khan is an insider with a good track record, but nothing indicates that Nintendo had any plans to release 3DS games this year. I don't think they mentioned the 3DS in any Direct since early 2018.

 

[Dark Cloud]

Fire Emblem remake in 2021 and a new Fire Emblem in 2022.

 

[Drax]

Unless FE Heroes is taking all of their resources, IS actually does have free developers available. Three Houses was mostly outsourced to KT outside of a few lead positions.

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that and the engine was already made etc.

 

[Glio]

Old Fire Emblem remakes without supports and without all the things that make people now love Fire Emblem seem like a bad idea. They need more changes than they did with Shadows of Valentia to be a success.

 

[Jinfash]

A FE PoR + RD would really make me year. I never played either but everywhere I go, people won't stop talking about how memorable PoR was. My only request is have text size options because I'm struggling with 3H in handheld mode.

 

[Ehoavash]

Either remake them from the grounds up on Switch or I don't want a bunch of 3ds ports

 

[Drax]

I don't think it would be so easy to move from Genealogy to Thracia. Sure, they share a setting and some characters, but you still need almost entirely new art assets for Thracia due to the games' different map styles (and many new characters). The system design issues are also very different. Figuring out how you want to update marriages and bloodlines in Genealogy means nothing for Thracia. And then Thracia has so many mechanics (movement stars, fatigue, capture, etc.) that aren't in Genealogy.

This is not to say Nintendo shouldn't remake both. They're great games, and I think remakes could find an eager audience. But they're two very different projects.

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ayup.

before you had the Kaga vs post kaga fandom wars. you actually had the genealogy vs thracia wars as the two games are very very different.

 

[MaitreWakou]

Makes sense. The Link's Awakening remake was rumored to be a 3DS title for years before it showed up as a switch title

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That was just a lucky guess to be fair. That rumor was just a 4chan rumor among many others, and it talked about a reimagining/sequel a la A Link Between Worlds, not even talked about a remake.
And it's no secret that Aonuma is a big fan of Link's Awakening, a lot of people were expecting it even before that this rumor appeared.

 

[cw_sasuke]

Unless FE Heroes is taking all of their resources, IS actually does have free developers available. Three Houses was mostly outsourced to KT outside of a few lead positions.

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Even if thats the case they wouldnt use those resources on a 3DS game after what Gaiden sold and post Switch + FE Heroes success stories. Doesnt make any sense.

 

[Piston]

I think this is plausible... if they reversed course back in January or even last December. Not sure what form they would take on Switch, but if we don't see anything in the next general Direct we may not see anything.

 

[Dark Cloud]

Unless FE Heroes is taking all of their resources, IS actually does have free developers available. Three Houses was mostly outsourced to KT outside of a few lead positions.

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There's something called Paper Mario which is more important than a FE remake. FE remake would come after Paper Mario.