The other thing I gather is a lot of people don't like the 3D effect. It's kinda 50-50, half the people like it, the other half I have to tell them "don't worry your eyes will get used to it, after a couple of days", which isn't really something people want to hear, lol.

Basically centering the entire machine around this feature was probably a mistake in hindsight.

It is selling poorly, it shocked me that there was really little to no improvement when Luigi's Mansion hit. That is their big game this spring for 3DS, and is wasn't able to boost hardware at all.

Pokemon will help, I really just think that Nintendo built a console that isn't going to see huge success in America, and that's sad because it's a fantastic system.

Oddly enough, Nintendo consoles and the game industry in general hit its peak at the height of the recession. However, as Nintendo has declined, other game makers have not picked up the slack. The industry was bit by the recession, but it was just hit later then other parts of the economy. The economy certainly isn't healthy now.

It really does correlate a lot with the rise of the iOS marketplace and the double whammy of the release of the iPad in spring 2010 though.

In effect I think what's happened is the creation of the tablet market on top of the exploding smartphone market was like this monstrous double explosion that rocked Nintendo hard.

I see so many kids at home that use their moms/dads iPad to play games on, and when there's a family trip, boom, the iPad is in backseat with the kids, even if its technically mommy's or daddy's iPad.

Also the release of Angry Birds in December 2009 was kind of the "we've arrived" moment for iOS games.

Seriously though, when are we going to get a "proper" 3DS revision?

They can do better than the 3DS XL. DS to DS lite, GBA to GBA SP. We need another one soon.

3DS Pro-April 2014 $139.99, all the improvements of the XL, also better battery life and has a 2nd analog nub

3DS Pro XL-Aug 2014 $169.99

Considering the thing is lighting the world on fire in Japan, you can live with sales like these in America if you're Nintendo. But I'm definitly surprised. I just got a 3DS myself and it's a great console, with a now massive library of great games. I guess DS is such a strong handheld, it's hurting the potential sales of its successor, and people are finding little reason to migrate over. Plus, you've got the factor of gaming on smartphones and tablets, though I really don't believe that's is the main source of the problem like most here seem to think.

Japan is what's keeping the 3DS alive.

The 3DS XL is quite a bit of an improvement over the original, with better d-pad and buttons plus bigger battery for longer comfortable play... the 3D effect is even more immersive with the bigger screen. It's just better.

I hardly played my 3DS at all but I'm finding myself using the XL quite a bit more. At $199 it really should've been what they came out with in the first place, then release the original 3DS a year or so later as a "lite" version.

I thought the 3DS was doing okay with 30 million units sold in two years, though I think it is a victim of the DS's success. It shares too many things with it, looks and plays too similiar, that it doesn't appeal as a must-have to someone who already owns one.

Mobile gaming isn't the problem. I believe it's mostly a matter of lack of advertising.