Nintendo 3DS

The Nintendo 3DS carried a headline gimmick right in its name: a top screen capable of displaying stereoscopic 3D without glasses, its depth adjustable via a slider on the side. It was a bold flourish and, as it turned out, the least important thing about the machine. Launched in 2011 as successor to the record-breaking DS, the 3DS inherited the winning dual-screen, touch-and-stylus formula and set about proving the handheld still had life in it as smartphones swarmed the space.

The launch was rocky. A steep price and a thin early lineup led to weak sales, prompting Nintendo to slash the price dramatically within months and offer early adopters a suite of free games as an apology. It was a rare public misstep, and it worked; the machine steadied and then flourished.

What rescued the 3DS was software, delivered patiently over nearly a decade. Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and Ocarina of Time 3D, Fire Emblem Awakening (which arguably saved that franchise), Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Monster Hunter, Bravely Default, and the era-defining Pokemon X/Y and Sun/Moon gave it one of the deepest handheld catalogs ever assembled. A parade of revisions, the 2DS, the more powerful New 3DS, and various XL models, kept the family fresh.

The 3DS ultimately sold roughly 76 million units, a strong result that fell short of the DS but comfortably outsold its direct-era rival, Sony's PS Vita, in a market being hollowed out by mobile phones. The glasses-free 3D effect faded into a rarely-used novelty, but the platform thrived regardless.

Its legacy is bittersweet and fond. The 3DS was the last dedicated handheld of its lineage before Nintendo folded portable and home gaming together with the Switch. For many it represents the final chapter of the classic two-screen Nintendo handheld, a machine that overcame a disastrous start to become one of the most quietly cherished systems the company ever made.