Email: Luigi’s Mansion 2 was inevitable

Of course Nintendo is making a Luigi’s Mansion 2. And of course it’s on the 3DS.

Why was it inevitable? Because Nintendo is indeed all about making what they want. And what they wanted, when they made Luigi’s Mansion originally, was 3D output.

Iwata:To go back a little further, the Nintendo GameCube¹² system actually had 3D-compatible circuitry built in. 12. Nintendo GameCube: A home video game console released in September 2001.
Itoi:Huh?

Iwata:It had the potential for such functions.

Itoi:Nintendo GameCube did? And all the Nintendo GameCubes systems around the world?

Iwata:Yeah. If you fit it with a certain accessory, it could display 3D images.

Itoi:What a secret!

Iwata:Nintendo GameCube was released in 2001, exactly ten years ago. We’d been thinking about 3D for a long time even back then.

Itoi:Why didn’t anyone ever know?

Iwata:The liquid crystal for it was still expensive. Simply put, Nintendo GameCube could display 3D images if you attached a special LCD, but that special liquid crystal was really expensive back then.

Itoi:Yeah, we’re talking about ten years ago.

Iwata:We couldn’t have done it without selling it for a price far above that of the Nintendo GameCube system, itself! We already had a game for it, though—Luigi’s Mansion¹³, simultaneously released with Nintendo GameCube.

Itoi:The one in which Luigi shoulders a vacuum cleaner?

Iwata:Yeah, that one. We had a functional version of that in 3D. 13. Luigi’s Mansion™: An action-adventure game released simultaneously with the Nintendo GameCube system in September 2001.
Itoi:That was 3D?

Miyamoto:It would jump out at you pretty nicely.

Iwata:Even without special glasses, the 3D looked pretty good. But we considered how much the liquid crystal would cost, and it was just too expensive. We figured the market just wasn’t there for it.

Itoi:So you gave up. Whew! And now you’ve done it. I see! You never give up!

Iwata:Yeah. We never give up. (laughs)

Miyamoto:(laughs)

The market: (laughs)

http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/3ds/how-nintendo-3ds-made/0/2

Of course. You could even say the Gamecube was originally designed to be the 3DS (since it was originally planned to have 3d output).