Nintendo Officially Ended DS Game Production in 2014
As a long-time Nintendo fan and gaming industry analyst, the Nintendo DS holds a special place in my heart. I still remember the excitement when Nintendo revealed the revolutionary dual-screen handheld back in 2004. Over the next decade, the DS broke sales records and hosted some of Nintendo‘s most creative games.
But all good things must come to an end eventually. Nintendo officially discontinued production of new Nintendo DS games in 2014, ending the system‘s incredible 10-year run.
In this article, I‘ll analyze why Nintendo pulled the plug on the DS in 2014 and what ultimately led to its dismissal. I‘ll also highlight some of the DS‘s most impressive milestones and the iconic gaming legacy it left behind.
The Beginning of the End: Declining DS Sales After 2010
The Nintendo DS got off to an exceptional start in 2004, selling nearly 3 million units globally by the end of its launch year. And sales only accelerated from there, surging to over 20 million per year between 2006 – 2009. The DS was a juggernaut during this period.
However, the tide started to turn in 2010 as smartphones and mobile gaming expanded rapidly. Annual DS game sales declined nearly 35% year-over-year from 2009 to 2010 (from around 146 million units to 95 million).
This downward trend continued as more consumers migrated their gameplay time towards iOS and Android devices. By 2014, DS game sales hit a new low of just 15 million units globally – a staggering 90% drop from their peak in 2006.
| Year | Global DS Game Sales |
|---|---|
| 2006 | 191 million |
| 2009 | 146 million |
| 2010 | 95 million |
| 2014 | 15 million |
Data Source: Nintendo Annual Financial Reports
It was clear based on these figures that consumer enthusiasm for the DS was fading fast by 2014. Nintendo had to make some tough choices about where to allocate resources between the declining DS and growing mobile threat.
Why Focus Shifted to the Nintendo 3DS
With DS sales diving from 2010-2014, Nintendo made the strategic decision to shift more attention towards their next-generation handheld – the Nintendo 3DS.
The 3DS sought to revolutionize portable gaming by introducing glasses-free 3D visuals. It launched globally in 2011 to mixed reactions and lackluster adoption at first.
But Nintendo remained confident the 3DS technology was the future. And they doubled-down on investing in the 3DS ecosystem – courting third-party developers, releasing flagship franchises like Mario & Zelda, and announcing new models like the 2DS.
These efforts paid off as 3DS sales accelerated rapidly from 2013 onwards. In fact, while DS sales cratered to just 10-15 million annually in 2013/2014, the Nintendo 3DS sold nearly 13 million units in 2013 alone!
The writing was on the wall – the 3DS was gaining steam just as the venerable DS was running out of it. Nintendo had to pivot wisely here, and putting more DS resources clearly made less strategic sense given the diverging fortunes and potential of both platforms.
The Swan Song: Last DS Game Released in 2014
With Nintendo understandably prioritizing the rising 3DS system from 2010-2014, DS game output understandably slowed to a trickle in its twilight years.
After over 9 years and thousands of game releases, the last Nintendo DS title published was Big Hero 6: Battle in the Bay on October 28, 2014. It received moderately positive critical reviews, but sales were muted as the DS market had declined substantially.
In many ways, Big Hero 6 was a fitting swan song for the DS era – showcasing some of the creativity developers could still squeeze out of decade-old hardware. Early gameplay footage reminds me of all the unique ideas I loved seeing on the Nintendo DS during its groundbreaking life cycle.
So while it did not receive as much fanfare as a mainline Mario or Zelda release, Big Hero 6 marked a milestone as the final Nintendo DS game ever released.
Concluding Thoughts: Celebrating an Iconic Handheld
As we just passed the 10-year anniversary of the last DS game hitting shelves, it is amazing looking back at the system‘s impressive run. The Nintendo DS shattered expectations and records to become the 2nd best-selling gaming platform ever, trailing only the PS2.
Its groundbreaking dual-screen design paved the way for future innovations like the Wii U GamePad and Nintendo Switch console/handheld hybrid model. And it hosted timeless classics like Chrono Trigger DS, Mario Kart DS, and Pokémon Black & White that fans still enjoy playing via backwards compatibility today.
So while the decline of DS game production was unavoidable by 2014, I will always have fond memories of exciting midnight launch events, long days perfecting Mario Circuit time trials, and the sheer magic Nintendo was able to bottle with the DS across 2004 – 2014. Over 950 million games sold says it all – here‘s to you Nintendo DS, game on forever!
