The Nintendo DS is, without question, one of the most successful and significant video game consoles ever released; not only did it pioneer the use of touch screens in game design, but it also helped expand the gaming population to demographics that previously wanted little to do with gaming. Heck, the old handheld and its library of games have proven surprisingly popular even recently. However, time is catching up to the system, slowly forcing it down the long path to obsolescence.
At the end of this month, April 30, Nintendo will stop offering repairs on original 3DS systems in Japan. Of course, it is worth mentioning that later iterations of the handheld, like the DS Lite and DSi, will still be supported. Also, so far, this announcement appears to only be applicable to Japan, but considering the fact the system is over a decade old now, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see the rest of the world follow suit.
Interestingly enough, this news coincides with rumblings on NeoGAF that Nintendo has discontinued production of DS game cartridges. All things considered, this wouldn’t come as much of a surprise either considering the fact no future games are planned for the console. Regardless, Nintendo DS has been a console for the history books and it has to ride off into the sunset sooner or later.
Source: Kotaku