Topic: Original Luigi's Mansion Being Ported to 3DS

[Kairon]

This year the beloved GameCube launch title is getting a whole new lease on life.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/46631/original-luigis-mansion-being-ported-to-3ds

The original Luigi's Mansion is coming to the 3DS. The original GameCube title came out in 2001, and 17 years later it will get ported to Nintendo's handheld.

The 3DS actually received the game's sequel, 2013's Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, so with the release later this year of the port of the original, the handheld will be home to the entire Luigi's Mansion line of games.

[Adrock]

Okay, but why though?

I guess it’s nice 3DS is getting some love. At the same time, I feel like people would probably rather have an HD version on Switch.

[Ian Sane]

I think the "why" is to continue to pad the 3DS lineup.  Remakes take less resources to make.  Nintendo revealed a fair bit of 3DS stuff but it's all port/remakes and stuff that can reuse existing assets.  In this case they probably can re-use the engine from Dark Moon and most of the models.

I think it fits my theory that Nintendo isn't sure yet if the Switch can properly replace their handheld line so they're continuing with 3DS support but it's all cheap content so they can drop the 3DS when they're ready without having to cancel some big project they put a lot of resources into.

[Mop it up]

Their thinking is probably that people who played Luigi's Mansion 2 are more likely to grab the port of 1 on 3DS since LM2 is also on 3DS. I think 2 sold more than 1, so there are a number of people who have played 2 but not 1.

[Adrock]

I think it fits my theory that Nintendo isn't sure yet if the Switch can properly replace their handheld line so they're continuing with 3DS support but it's all cheap content so they can drop the 3DS when they're ready without having to cancel some big project they put a lot of resources into.

Nintendo merged its hardware divisions years ago so internally, Switch has already replaced 3DS. Switch’s ability to be undocked makes it really hard for Nintendo to justify a separate hardware line. My question above was rhetorical. If we’re actually answering it, I guess as long as 3DS is still selling at a decent clip, might as well throw 3DS owners a bone.

[Ian Sane]

The Switch is a successful system but it could be seen primarily as a console and not necessarily a handheld.  So Nintendo abandoning the 3DS may leave a vacuum for a competitor in the handheld market.  They ideally want the Switch to be seen as both a console and a handheld.  They may have some Switch revision that makes for a better handheld in the pipeline and they need to stretch out the 3DS's life until they can release that product at a decent price.

Alternatively Nintendo probably had some sort of a backup plan if the Switch flopped.  Imagine if it ended up like the Wii U and then Nintendo was stuck without a console OR a handheld?  They were risking a lot on the Switch being the one Nintendo platform.  If it flopped they must have had some plans for the 3DS to stick around for a bit until a dedicated handheld successor could be released.  So maybe that is still in their back pocket if they get cold feet about the Switch replacing the 3DS.  Or maybe we're just getting all the cheap and easy 3DS projects that were put in place as the Switch's safety net because, hell, they already were working on them so why not finish and release them?

[Oedo]

There was a video posted a few days ago for the Switch's first anniversary where Shinya Takahashi mentioned that Nintendo's thinking has started to shift from one Switch unit per household to one Switch unit per person. That seems like a tacit admission that they're going to move more towards positioning it as a handheld. Last year, Kimishima mentioned that Nintendo's feedback showed that there were already more instances of multiple Switch units per household than they were expecting, so it seems like the market is already receptive to the idea as well.

It's a fair point that Switch isn't currently priced like a handheld, but honestly, it doesn't really seem to matter. Hardware, software, and accessory sales are great, and the price drops and revisions will come eventually. This just seems like Nintendo trying to cash in on the 3DS userbase.

[jarodea]

Okay, but why though?

I guess it’s nice 3DS is getting some love. At the same time, I feel like people would probably rather have an HD version on Switch.

70 million sold?  Bigger in a different demographic?

[Evan_B]

Makes sense to get the series out to as many people as possible on 3DS for an eventual Luigi's Mansion 3 on Switch.

I hope it would feature the open-ended exploration of the original and not the mission-based structure of the sequel.

[RPG_FAN128]

The 3DS lives!  I am happy that games are still coming out for this system.  Every time I think "OK *this* will be the last game ever released for 3DS" it turns out I'm wrong...again...and again...and again...

[Lemonade]

Im very happy this is getting a remake. I like it a lot more than Luigi's Mansion 2. I will buy it, but I would have been happier if it was in HD on Switch.

[stevey]

I don't get the urge people have to kill off the 3DS, I could see the 3DS living on comfortably for few more years.

[Khushrenada]

I don't get the urge people have to kill off the 3DS, I could see the 3DS living on comfortably for few more years.

I'd love to see the 3DS still rocking for another few years but it does look like support for it is starting to wrap up. The urge to kill of the 3DS is the same idea as people wanting to Nintendo to go third party. They just want all games and titles to be available on a single console. The one console dream. So, if Nintendo keeps making stuff for the 3DS and people don't have one or prefer playing games on their Switch then that is a title they are missing out on or a resource that they think should have been applied to the Switch. It's the Nintendo competing against itself paradox. But unless there are some big announcements being saved for E3 then I think there is a good chance 2019 is the end of the road for 3DS.

While typing this, I realize the majority of the gaming I've done in the past 7 years now has been on handhelds of either DS or 3DS. I still play some games here and there on various consoles but handheld gaming has become my go-to choice even at home so I may feel differently when I get a Switch myself (the console hybrid nature of the Switch may actually be Nintendo's best decision in decades) but since I'm still getting use from the 3DS, I'd like to see it continue. Just as I've always felt the DS was the actual winner of the Wii/PS3/Xbox360 era, 3DS was the clear winner for me in the Wii U/PS3/XB1 era.

[Adrock]

I loved my 3DS. There are two main reasons I want Nintendo to move on from it:

1. The Circle Pad, while passable, is not as good as an analog stick.
2. I don’t really like looking at games in 240p in 2018.

I have a Switch. Going back to 3DS is first-world difficult.

[Khushrenada]

I'll take 240p still if the games are in 3D. Love that third dimension. Actually, I think you just made me realize something. I've been playing the 3DS enough over the past few years that an analog stick feels weird when I play with one. I noticed this with BotW, XCX, and some Gamecube games but there is a moment of re-adjustment when playing with them and I think I like the flatter smoother circle pad. I'm just afraid sometimes of doing something to break it especially in the days of Smash 3DS when people were showing pictures of broken circle pads but that's never happened. I lost responsiveness in both L & R triggers for my original 3DS and have worn off the finish from the bottom plate of my NEW 3DS XL where my thumbs/palms push up against it. Had to replace the battery for it as well.

[nickmitch]

My A button isn't as responsive as it used to be, so I'm about ready to retire my 3DS.

[Oedo]

I don't really have a problem with continued 3DS support because it seems like a lot of these games wouldn't be an option for Switch. I don't think it's a 3DS vs. Switch decision for Nintendo, it's more likely 3DS vs. not doing them at all for most of these games. If Nintendo announced a Luigi's Mansion remake for Switch, people would expect a lot more work and effort to go into, and it might not be worth it for Nintendo at that point (especially if they've already got a Luigi's Mansion 3 in the works for Switch that will come out relatively soon, which could very well be the case).

I do question Nintendo's continued 3DS support in the sense that it doesn't seem like anything they're making can actually move systems, and with 3DS software sales slowing down, it doesn't seem likely that they'll be huge sellers on their own either. But as a fan, I have no problem continuing to play good games on 3DS as long as Nintendo and other publishers, like Atlus, continue to put them out.

[Lemonade]

2. I don’t really like looking at games in 240p in 2018.

Do you use an XL?
The low pixel density on the XL always bothered me. I went back to the small one when the New 3DS came out.

[Adrock]

Do you use an XL?

Yes. I upgraded twice, first to get the XL then again when the L button on the OG 3DS I gave my brother stopped working. I gave him the XL while I picked up the New XL.

Games look better but still not good on the smaller screen. And I like the extra screen real estate. More importantly, I prefer the feel of the larger models. I always got pins and needles after playing on the smaller model for an extended period of time. I’m not sure anyone else had this problem. For me, it was an easy choice. Video games aren’t fun if I’m not comfortable while playing.

Linkle Link brought up a good point. For some, 3D is still a selling point even if Nintendo has downplayed it in the past couple years. It’s something no other platform offers which will always be an advantage even seven years after launch.

[Lemonade]

For some, 3D is still a selling point even if Nintendo has downplayed it in the past couple years.

It is for me. I will buy the 3DS version of Captain Toad. I wouldnt if it was only on Switch.