Video: Is 3DS StreetPass Dead?

The start of this week saw the closure of the 3DS and Wii U eShops, a sad time for all of us, many of whom spent last weekend feeling a little sentimental about all of the brilliant games that we would be losing as we attempted to download as many titles as possible (not speaking from personal experience, of course). But what does this closure mean for the 3DS’ other features? Just three months into what we declared “the year of 3DS StreetPass,” could the feature really be dying just as we were getting started?

This is the precise question that our lovely video producer, Zion, attempted to answer this week. As many of you may be aware, Zion has been making a public push for the return of StreetPass ever since the start of 2023 — we even held a StreetPass event at this year’s PAX West. Aside from providing an update on how this journey has been going so far, the latest video explains the reality of Streetpass in 2023, how the eShop closure has affected the feature, and what its future might look like.

So, is 3DS Streetpass really dead? It turns out that it’s a little more complicated than a yes or no answer, but you can check out the full video below to see Zion’s findings so far.