I'm gonna say yes. This year wasn't all that great for 3ds hardware and software wise. Actually both Wii U and 3ds have had pretty lackluster sales this year compared to the previous year.

Fe Fates, Shin Megami Tensei IV, Pokemon Z (?), Yokai Watch, Zero Escape 3
And best for last...

METROID PRIME FEDERATION FORZZZE!

3DS is king 2016.

If they do a discount, even if it's just $25 or $30 I can see it sell better. At least we know software wise it's going to sell like crazy. Too many games coming and some of them are going to be million sellers for sure.

You are asking that too early...I mean,we must be at least near the end of 2015 to ask/answer this question...
Firstly,We need to know how much the final(or estimate them but that cannot happen now with safety) sales of 3DS will be in 2015 to decide if 2016 can be bigger or not...

Only price drops now can boost 3DS considerably,especially of NEW3DS/XL!

I'm definately looking forward to see the performance of New 3ds xl,in the USA in black Friday and holidays...This period will tell a lot about 3DS future and sales!

No / thread
Why is this even open for debate?

No

it might have a little bit better sales for 2016 on the 3ds compared to the 2015. but i agree with the poster above that we need to wait for almost the end of 2015. we don't know if there would be a price drop this year for 3ds or next year which i think would move hardware sales, and just after announcement it can also lower the sales of the 3ds as well.

for a game lineup standpoint, 2016 seems good.

People have been saying that every year, yet the decline continues. A lot of people said it would sell better this year than in 2014 due to the games and the hardware revisions; that didn't happen either.
I say no, I think it will down about 12-15% yoy in 2016, very much like 2015.

No.
Yes, next year's lineup is looking very impressive.
In fact, I'll go as far as to say 2016 is looking like the most impressive lineup for the 3DS since 2013, which was the peak year of the system. In fact if you look at the 2013 lineup and compare it to 2016, there are lots of similarities.

2013: Fire Emblem Awakening 2016: Fire Emblem: Fates
2013: Shin Megami Tensei IV 2016: Shin Megami Tensei IV: Final
2013: Mario & Luigi: Dream Team 2016: Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
2013: Youkai Watch 2016: Youkai Watch 3

Plus other titles like Bravely Second, Pokemon Z, Federation Force, etc. If we're lucky, we'll get Gen 7 of Pokemon in celebration of the 20th Anniversary. If all this holds through, then 2016 can be just as impressive if not an even more impressive lineup than 2013, and software sales will definitely be up, YoY compared to the past 2 years.
But, that's only for software.
Hardware sales, I expect to be quite down. In fact, next year, I believe will be the weakest, lowest selling year that the 3DS has ever had for 2 reasons.
1) The reason why I brought up the similarities between 2013 and 2016, is because during 2013, it was obvious that the 3DS still hadn't reached its peak and that the software lineup they had that year would bring about that peak year, and highest point in hardware sales. With that said, the people who bought a 3DS, any 3DS system, that year for those games, will already have one so that they can buy the next installments of those franchises next year. The target audience is already there, plus potentially new fans and sales, due to the increase in install base that has added these past 2 years. And if there is a spike in sales for every time hose games come out, they won't be as high as they were back in 2013, because a majority, if not the entire audience that wanted to buy a 3DS system to play those games, has done so already.

2) The 3DS has been holding steady in hardware sales units these past 2 years, despite the software lineups not being anywhere near as impressive as they were during 2012, 2013, or 2016 for that matter. ANd the eason for that is simple. Q4 2014 - New 3DS came out in Japan, HUGE spike in sales. Q1 2015, New 3DS came out everywhere else in the world, another HUGE spike in sales. And for those reasons alone, 2015 and 2014 are looking very even in the hardware sales department.
Unless there's a New 3DS 2 in the works, there won't be a new, refurbished system coming out in 2016 to experience that HUGE spike again. And that with the established audience that already bought the system for back in 2012 and 2013 for all those franchises I just mentioned, and will already have a system to play the next installments.
I'd expect a pretty steep drop in 3DS sales next year.

Not sure if 2016 will have better sale. The 3DS feels like it's on the decline already. It's prolly been that way for awhile. Not sure with the lack of updates in numbers...