GBA would've sold 110-120 million or so if it had not been prematurely replaced.

I've said this before, I travel a lot for work so I'm constantly in airports and I see hundreds if not thousands of kids with their family ... the ratio to tablet/phones to portables is staggering. I see like maybe one 3DS/Vita for every 15-20 kids playing on a tablet/their parent's phone. 

I had the funny experience on one of my recent flights where I was sitting across two elementary age girls and their mom, both the girls had their own tablet and they're playing games, and I brought out my 3DS, and the look on their faces was like "what in the hell is *that* thing", lol, I chuckled. 

Makeing a handheld is risky in this day and age.
3DS might be the last of its kinde.

Mobile is just too big.
Nintendo/Sony need to make a phone, that can play games like a handheld does.

If Nintendo can hold at 50 million handhelds sold, that's still more than enough incentive to make one. 

Once you start getting under 35 million though it starts to become a murkier proposition because handhelds generally don't move as much software as home consoles (per unit). 

Are you sure? Just an assumption! How can you be so certain? Prematurely replaced by  fat ds... Remember, ds became a hot thing after the release of ds lite in the end of 2006,!

Fat sold just 16m in its first two years ( and another 2m in the end ) ...What 3ds sold in its first year! Gba in fat ds years sold 8m more than it! Fat ds failed to steal gba's thunder but ds lite destroyed it!

Ok,  lets cut the comparison in three years when there was no ds, 3ds vs GBA , 41m vs 51m... Smaller gap than in the  5 years comparison, which includes ds release! You just made an abortive attemp of... You know! Unless, I misunderstood you intent, if so, then forgive me!

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2004/040527e.pdf

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2014/140507e.pdf

There's virtually no chance the GBA wouldn't have hit 100 million at the minimum with a proper full 5-6 year cycle like the 3DS has had. 

What is it with some people on this site and "Everything is an attack against my favourite company so I must defend them to the death" attitude. 

Does this include digital sales?

  The thrend of it sales wasn't pointing to that.. I provided  the comparison  of 3ds vs gba in  three years ! How gba would have sold 49m in two years, when it had started to decline after  peaking in its third year? It sold 17m in its third year!

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2004/040728e.pdf GBA was down yoy by 1m in FY04 Q1 and ds hadn't be revealed then!

And again,  4th and 5th year of gba include fat ds, I told you that it sold only 16m and gba 24m! Would these 16m consumers have purchased gba if there was no fat ds, and how many of these were already owning a gba?

DS  was released only in Japan and NA in 2004, sold in  5m! Wow it affected gba sales, really! GBA sold 15m then!

Don't you see it? You exaggerate!

2015 Mobile game sales and growth rates by region:

=

$24.4 million total

$17.0 million smartphone (69.7%)

$7.4 million tablet (30.3%)

"It baffles me when people try to say 3DS is doing well"

Of course it baffles you, that's pretty obvious, what baffles me is people trying to deny that 3DS did well after selling 60m of consoles (wich is more than anything this gen will sell except for Ps4) just because mobile is doing better or because is not doing as well as the best selling handheld of all times, hilarious.

Handhelds being in decadence doesn't turn the 3DS into a failure or a dead console, the fact that it was able to sell as much as it did in a market dominated by so many smartphones models and tablets is already a success, it doesnt matter how much it baffles you.