Have you heard about the Nintendo 3DS? Not so much? Well, that’s mostly due to the fact that the 3DS didn’t take off quite as Nintendo has expected. It would be easy to blame the new Wii U announcement that Nintendo made last week. Only, the Nintendo 3DS was put on consumer shelves toward the end of March, 2011.

So, what is to blame for the lack of enthusiasm surrounding the 3DS? The less than stellar game lineup could have something to do with it. Nintendo really missed the mark when it comes to games for the 3DS. But this device may please some casual gamers all the same.

Why, Oh, Why

Nintendo fans tend to be die-hard fans. From the very first consoles that Nintendo ever produced to the revolutionary Wii, Nintendo has been hard to beat. The reason why devoted Nintendo fans love this company so much has a lot to do with Nintendo’s legendary game line-up.

Zelda, Mario Brothers, Super Mario Brothers, Starfox – these games changed lives. So, why is it that Nintendo neglected to release any of their popular titles when the 3DS hit shelves? Instead of focusing on these great games, Nintendo went for newer, lack-luster, titles. A large collective sigh was released from gamers all around the globe when the 3DS didn’t support any of Nintendo’s famed games.

Visual Quality

Although Nintendo really missed the mark when it came to games for the 3DS, the company did get designing the console right. The images and graphics that are displayed through the 3DS are stunning. Of course, the 3DS is also 3D, which makes everything better (so it would seem in today’s world).

Nintendo also created a system that didn’t require those pesky 3D glasses. Instead of sitting through game after game wearing bulky glasses, the 3DS works perfectly fine without any additional viewing help. If visuals are what you’re after, the 3DS is worth a look.

Upstaged by Sony

Another significant factor that is leading to cool 3DS sales all across the world can be summed up in one word: Sony. Just one day before the 3DS was released, Sony unveiled its Vita. Vita came with good games. Vita was fun to play. Vita came with lots of great 3D games.

Needless to say, Vita blew the release of the 3DS out of the water. Some may even say that Nintendo lost some fans to Sony the day that Vita was released. When all of the things mentioned here were combined, the result was a Nintendo 3DS that didn’t impress.

New Games

By tuning into complains across the world, Nintendo figured out what was wrong with the 3DS. That’s why Nintendo released some additional 3DS games. These games included Super Mario Brothers, Super Smash Brothers, Starfox, and a number of other games. But was this release too little too late?

3DS sales aren’t picking up. In fact, a lot of people don’t know much about the 3DS at all. Thankfully, Nintendo has just released details about the new Wii system, so the company may be forgiven after all. Let’s just hope that the new Wii comes with some of those older Wii games that made the console popular to begin with.