Nintendo is now completely out of parts to repair the majority of the 3DS family of consoles in Japan, giving us a solemn reminder that that glorious previous-gen console era really is over.
It was last February when Nintendo first announced that the end was near for repairs of the New 3DS, New 3DS LL (the Japanese XL model), and the 2DS, with the company set to stop offering to fix the handhelds in Japan once it ran out of parts. By August, its stock of regular New 3DS parts had been depleted, and now, it's been confirmed that it's all out of the necessary bits to repair the XL version and the wedge-shaped 2DS.
With that, the only 3DS family console that the company is still seemingly offering repairs for in Japan is the New Nintendo 2DS LL, the infinitely more stylish 2DS model that has a far more complicated name than I initially remembered. Even so, this support won't last forever, as Nintendo similarly confirmed last September that repairs will stop once it's out of parts for them.
Regardless, owners of any other 3DS or 2DS models are out of luck, as are any remaining Wii U fans, as Nintendo confirmed that it was out of parts for the home console and its peripherals – like the GamePad controller – last July. The latter is particularly problematic as the home console is massively reliant on its unique controller for a number of games, as well as to access its system settings, if you can believe it.
Nintendo's support of the Wii U and 3DS family has now ended in pretty much every conceivable way – the company also shut down the consoles' online servers last April, preventing fans from playing online in the likes of Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Pokemon X and Y, and the first Splatoon game. Some dedicated players managed to stay online for way longer than intended, though, with the longest-standing survivor finally disconnecting 210 days after the shutdown after his 3DS crashed.
While you're here, be sure to check out our roundup of the best 3DS games of all time.
