They did actually state that the 3ds was going nowhere in 2018 and beyond but i don't believe them about the "beyond" part. That's why i believe it will be discontinued in late 2018. Of course, if they hang it out even longer, then that makes much of my post pretty moot anyway.

There is also Yoshi & Fire Emblem confirmed for next year.

But when was it stated that Kirby was delayed?

Internet complaints don't reflect real world performance, so looking at sales is preferable to looking at rants.

The 3DS hasn't been discontinued because there's still demand. It isn't and wasn't any different for Nintendo's previous consoles. Discontinuation only happens once demand is so low that it isn't worth anymore to continue production.

The reason why there has been continued first party support for the 3DS in 2017 is that Nintendo built in a fail-save for Switch. Switch was always going to be their future, but they had doubts that it could single-handedly carry the company in the fiscal year ending March 2018, so the 3DS had a bunch of games put in development that could be made quickly with few resources, but were still guaranteed to bring in revenue. So in case that the market response to Switch had been hesitant in its first year on the market, the 3DS would keep the company's financial balance at a positive level through that period. A hypothetical struggling Switch would have got on track in the fiscal year ending March 2019 by virtue of price cut, bundle options and a notably bigger game library than in the beginning. Switch was a success out of the gate though, so Nintendo is sitting damn pretty now and their stock price reflects that.

When you say discontinue do you mean stop making and selling in stores? I don't think that's gonna happen until Switch is $199 at the earliest. 3DS still has a niche as the cheap portable, and even if it's not getting new 1st party games anymore, it's amassed a strong library that should keep it afloat a while longer.

I've heard this a lot, but as I recall they are two seperate teams. Some (not all) Animal Crossing people joined with others to form the Splatoon team.

I agree with you on the most part but firstly, given that the Switch was a resounding success right out of the gate should have given Nintendo the belief that the Switch didn't need a fail-safe. Also, 3ds sales were beginning to stagnate and Nintendo put a lot of effort in to stimulate 3ds sales to where they are right now.  Effort that would have been better placed in trying to make sure Switch sales were both optimised and readily available to everyone. As for whether internet complaints reflect real world performance, regarding US/UM i guess we will never know but i'm pretty sure had they been revealed for Switch, it would have been an even more desirable and sought after product than it is now!

The 3DS games that released this year started development in 2015 and 2016. It's not like Nintendo saw Switch's preorder number and launch sales and then said: "Okay, let's make 3DS games."

Good point about Pokemon. However that decision still appeared to piss quite a few fans off. As for your other point, the Switch is the future and i feel Nintendo should be concentrating on the future. As much as some have said the 2 don't cannibalise each other, i disagree. 1 of the main selling points of the switch is in competition in the handheld market with a device from the same company. Surely there will be a time when they are tripping each other up regarding sales.

Nintendo have said it themselves. The Switch is a hybrid. They have admitted it is a replacement for the Wii u but not for the 3ds. However, they are not gonna let the 2 cannibalise each others' sales indefinitely.

So far the Switch seems to  have been marketed towards young adults/20+ and older. Seems like a departure from the family and child friendly Nintendo consoles from the past. The 1st party releases seem to back this up too. Blockbuster AAA home console on-the-go type titles. However, there is no way Nintendo is going to give up on a large part of its potential audience.

My prediction is simple. They will quietly drop the 3ds in late 2018 and then we will start to see more "handheld-like" game releases. Such as:- Mario and Luigi, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Paper Mario and..... Animal Crossing. Also it will be around the time that Pokemon lands on a "home" console for the first time. These 2 handheld behemoths will be among the first, sometime in 2019 to go after the handheld crowd who will be searching for something to  replace their 3ds's with. Of course, among that crowd will be children and family-orientated gamers. Slam dunk Nintendo! Get the hardcore on board first, then chase all the others once you have discontinued the 3ds. Now i know the 3ds is considerably cheaper but i believe part of Nintendo's strategy to catch all of the hanheld crowd too will coincide with either a price cut or a different/cheaper Switch Sku.

Just my opinion so please don't bash. (Too hard, anyway!)