Griptonite Games has been talking up Shinobi on the Nintendo 3DS, and explained to NowGamer why it chose to bring the series to the Nintendo 3DS rather than a home console.
"From a Sega perspective, there were several reasons why this project ended up on a handheld versus one of the home consoles. Mainly, though, it just seemed like the 3DS was a better fit for what all of us were trying to accomplish for the project.
By being able to take what was great about the previous Shinobi titles and then “modernizing” them with all the new features that the 3DS is capable of, we were able to end up with a title that bridges the gap between the classic and the new.
Now, for the first time, players can enjoy that timeless gameplay, but with the bonus of gyroscope and touch screen support, as well as experience a unique art style that’s only enhanced further by the stereoscopic abilities of the system.
The addition of Street Pass provides an incentive for players to go out and meet each other, which we hope will help to build up that dedicated Shinobi community of fans even further and in a way that wasn’t possible before. Lastly, though, it’s been many years since a Shinobi title has been released on a handheld and we felt that now was the time to do it."