The 3DS featured 3 cameras, one on the front and two on the back for taking 3D photos. Online Experienceīesides the obvious bummer that the Switch locks online play behind the Nintendo Switch Online subscription, the Switch is also missing a Netflix app and even an internet browser, unlike the decade-old 3DS. The Switch is the first Nintendo console since the SNES to not support the previous generation, with no 3DS game card slot in sight, as well as NES and SNES content locked behind an online subscription. Not only did the 3DS support DS game cards, the 3DS eShop had many retro games ranging from the best hits of the NES to Gameboy Advance games. While the Switch does include local multiplayer support for many games, all Switches must own a copy of the game.
One player would own the game, whether it was Mario Kart, Zelda or dozens of other supported games, and allow up to three other players to instantly download a small portion of the game to play local multiplayer, all for free. Originally a DS feature, Download Play allowed two 3DS devices within local range to play a game together with only one game card. Mii Universe, what more could you want? 2. Such an experience has no equivalent on the Switch. Although Miiverse could be described as chaotic and unruly as a platform, there was a nice sense of a big interconnected community that existed within the little 3DS machine. Some games such as Smash Bros would feature the posts within the game. The service allowed players to post text and hand-drawn images into different game communities. The platform then crossed over to the 3DS a year later.
Miiverse was a social media platform that originated on the Wii U in 2012. While the Switch is objectively an evolution of most aspects of the 3DS, there are seven features the 2011-born handheld possessed that Switch fans aren’t as lucky to have. When Animal Crossing New Horizons released for Switch, the 3DS game Animal Crossing New Leaf surged in sales to the amusement of many. While the Switch is positioned to leave the 3DS in the dust, the popularity of Nintendo’s previous handheld has not waned as much as one would expect. It is clear that the Nintendo Switch is the hottest (and only) handheld hybrid console on the market.