Nintendo 3DS (universe)

The Nintendo DS (ニンテンドーDS, Nintendō Dī Esu) universe refers to the Super Smash Flash series' collection of stages and properties that hail from the default software on Nintendo's Nintendo DS handheld video game system. The series first got represented in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, with a stage based on the PictoChat application. This is somehow misleading and inaccurate for Super Smash Flash 2, were the series is represented as well, but is used to categorize properties coming from its succesor, the Nintendo 3DS, with a stage based on the handheld system itself. There are no characters nor items coming from this universe.

Franchise description
On November 13, 2003, Nintendo announced that they would be releasing a new game product in 2004. The company did not provide many details, but stated it would not succeed the Game Boy Advance or GameCube. On January 20, 2004, the console was announced under the codename "Nintendo DS" (which initially stood for Developer's System). Nintendo only released a few details at that time, saying that the console would have two separate, 3-inch TFT LCD display panels, separate processors, and up to 1 gigabit of semiconductor memory. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said, "We have developed Nintendo DS based upon a completely different concept from existing game devices in order to provide players with a unique entertainment experience for the 21st century." He also expressed optimism that the DS would help put Nintendo back at the forefront of innovation and move away from the conservative image that has been described about the company in years past. In March 2004, the codename was changed to "Nitro" and a document containing most of the console's technical specifications was leaked. In May 2004, the codename was changed back to "Nintendo DS" and the console was shown in prototype form at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). All the features of the console were revealed by Nintendo at E3. On July 28, 2004, Nintendo revealed a new design, one that was described as "sleeker and more elegant" than the one shown at E3. Also, the codename "Nintendo DS" became the official name of the console that day.

On September 20, 2004, Nintendo announced that the Nintendo DS would be released in North America on November 21, 2004 for US$149.99. It was set to release on December 2, 2004 in Japan (¥15000); on February 24, 2005 in Australia ($199.95); and on March 11, 2005 in Europe (£99.99/€149.99). The console was released in North America with a midnight launch event at Universal CityWalk EB Games in Los Angeles, California. The console was launched quietly in Japan compared to the North America launch; one source cites the cold weather as the reason. As of June 30, 2013, all Nintendo DS models combined have sold 153.93 million units, making it the best selling handheld game console to date, and the second best selling video game console of all time.

The success of the DS paved the way for its successor, the Nintendo 3DS, a handheld gaming console with a similar dual-screen setup. It can display images on the top screen in a three dimensional look. The Nintendo 3DS launched in Japan on February 26, 2011, in Aqua Blue and Cosmos Black color variations, and sold its entire allotment of 400,000 Nintendo 3DS units during its release in amid reports of major queues outside retailers and pre-order sellouts. During that week 119,591 copies of Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask were sold, making it the best-selling Nintendo 3DS launch title in Japan. It was also the third best-selling title from any system in that week. On March 25, 2011, the system launched in Europe, selling 303,000 units during its first two days of its release. In the UK 113,000 3DS units were sold during its opening weekend, making it Nintendo's most successful hardware launch in the country to this day. On March 25, 2011 the Nintendo 3DS launched in North America. Nintendo announced that first day sales for the Nintendo 3DS in the US were the largest of any Nintendo handheld device in history. According to the NPD Group, Nintendo sold just under 500,000 Nintendo 3DS units during the month of March 2011 in the US, with 440,000 Nintendo 3DS units sold in its first week of release. As of March 31, 2011 the 3DS had sold 3.61 million units, short of the 4 million Nintendo was expecting. This, fortunately, changed by later game releases and revised models, like the Nintendo 3DS XL, released in mid 2012. An "entry-level" version of the console, the Nintendo 2DS, with a fixed "slate" form factor and lacking autostereoscopic (3D) functionality, was released in Western markets in October 2013. The New Nintendo 3DS (and XL) features a more powerful CPU, a second analog stick called the C-Stick, additional buttons and other changes, and was first released in Japan in October 2014. As of September 30, 2015, the Nintendo 3DS family of systems combined have sold 54.34 million units.

In Super Smash Flash 2
The series could be alternatively called the Nintendo 3DS (ニンテンドー3DS, Nintendō Surī Dī Esu) universe due to the representaion it receives in this game. Nonetheless, series' symbol and stage logo is that of the Nintendo DS universe, despite not belonging to the same console family.

Stage

 * Nintendo 3DS: Based around Nintendo's latest video game handheld console capable of displaying autoestereoscopic 3D images without the need of glassses and with some colors. Taking further the concept of stuff "popping out the screen", this stage develops into different phases that alter the course of the match, each based on a different indie or retail game, for example: a grid may appear and tetrominoes will star falling from above crushing players below, another one includes the alteration of the stage's gravity, something that temporary eliminates the stage upper and below blast lines in order to make characters continuously fall or rise through the stage. Without these hazards, it simply makes it an empty stage with just a hard, floating plaform.