Nintendo Remains “Very Much Committed” to Supporting DS

In the past, Nintendo has shown great commitment to supporting their older hardware after releasing newer, more advanced technology. Several great NES games were released after the Super NES had hit the market, and the Super NES still carried on for a time following the Nintendo 64′s release.

But more recently, it has seemed as though the release date of a new piece of hardware has been the death knell for some platforms. With the exception of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which had already been available for a few weeks on the newly-released Wii console, it seemed as though support for the GameCube dried up overnight. Even those titles which would have prolonged the system’s lifespan, such as Super Paper Mario, were instead ported over to the newer console.

And while the Wii is not in any imminent danger, the impending release and unknown price tag for the 3DS has owners of the various iterations of the current DS hardware wondering if their immediate choice for new games will be to go 3D, or go away.

According to Nintendo, DS owners have little to fear. “In terms of DS support we’re still very much committed to the platform and to making new and interesting titles for it,” a Nintendo representative told CVG, who added that the point of the DS torch being well and fully passed on is “no time soon.”

To illustrate their point, the Nintendo rep began naming titles yet to be released for the popular handheld: “Dragon Quest IX, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, Golden Sun, Pokemon Ranger and Mario vs. Donkey Kong – all new titles shown at E3 last week.”

In addition, some titles headed for Japan that were not shown at E3 last week include a new Fire Emblem and the upcoming Black and White versions of Pokemon. While Fire Emblem may be iffy, Pokemon seems like a sure thing for an American release.

Of course, since the 3DS is going to be backwards compatible with the original, those who are holding out will still be able to enjoy the best of both worlds when the time comes.

Source: CVG (via GoNintendo)