Another nail in the 3DS coffin
For decades now, Nintendo has produced special edition Game Boy/DS/3DS models for new mainline Pokemon games.
It was an inevitability that collectors savored, as the little pieces of hardware would often sell out quickly and skyrocket in value. But with Pokemon making the move over to the Switch, the expected day has come where Nintendo has moved over the beloved portable hardware promotion to the newly minted Switch Lite. It’s not like anyone thought Nintendo would make a new 3DS model for a game that doesn’t exist on the platform (and Let’s Go exists even though it’s not a mainline new entry), but it’s still a significant day in the history of Pokemon hardware.
Yes, Nintendo has announced that on November 8, you’ll be able to grab a Pokemon Sword & Shield legendary edition (emblazoned with Zacian and Zamazenta) of the Switch Lite for $199.99: the same price as the base model Switch Lite. This explains why they didn’t announce it out of the gate. The actual set of games is out on November 15, mind.
This is a watershed moment for the Switch (and Nintendo’s strategy as a whole) now that the Lite is out in plain view, and potentially, the final nail in the coffin for the 3DS. Although Nintendo maintains that it will be an “entry point” for younger gamers, the Switch Lite can do that just as well.
