I didn't say it hadn't declined.

Obviously hh sales are down from last gen but if the DS is ignored (as an anomaly) then combined hh sales/software are going to be higher than the GBA.

Handheld gaming won't die out easily, just like console gaming

It definitely declined and was not what it once was, but it's still fine

Dedicated handheld consoles is in a decline, but that doesn't mean it still can't sell games. While the 3DS has a great attach rate, it's sold just above 1/3 of the original DS; I'd call that a decline. A decline is when something retracts, become less than what it used to be, and that's exactly what's happening with handheld.

But don't worry, the trend is present In home consoles as well!

hhahah
Is it hard for some people to understand what the op means?

From  no sony handheld console and 81.5m GBA in 6th gen, to 154 and 82m psp ,  as of now at 61m+ 13-14m PSV and counting for this gen!
Okay gba could have sold 100m because ds replaced it in its 3rd-4th year, why not more? Fat ds replaced gba and that thing had a slow start, it sold only 18m in two years, the almighty ds lite in late 2016 was that, which had an adverse effect in GBA sales.

If we use ds to 3ds and psp to psv decline to say that handhelds are dead, then home console are dead too, owing to wii->wii u and later xbox-xbox 360.
Xbox one is currently outpacing it but it will fall below it soon and will be a lot under it in the end, unless xbox scorpio makes miracle! Xbox one just had aggressive price drops and a slim model fairly earlier than xbox 360 had, it merely sells fast.



Thread writer simply says that handheld console market dwindling is more of normalization and not future death...
Sadly, I can't suggest to wait for switch to come into conclusion , due to the nature of the product, isn't a real successor to 3DS!
Unless, Nintendo can sell it for 199 standalone or make a ''2ds version'' of switch...

( A famous twitter persona which tweets about video games markets, won't like your thread... )

Apropos, don't make the mistake to use GB'S numbers in comparison, it's two gen handheld console...
GB and GBA, released in 1989 and 1998 respectively and the second one had its own vast brand new game library... I find absurd the fact that Nintendo aggregated their sales. 



P.s
3DS compared to GBA is a lot down in the NA market though, smartphones were surely detrimental for handheld console gaming there but 3DS will end with 25m+ there, is that bad? However, it's a lot up in Japan, where smartphone gaming is bigger. Let's not forget Pokemon GO  effect to 3DS hardware sales.

I don't exactly know the meaning of fluke, but I guess he means anomaly? if then, why are you laughing at it? Was ds a regular thing?

Even if you ignore DS handhelds are in decline. The GBA was replaced after 3 and a half years while the 3DS has been the only Nintendo handheld since early 2011. 

But more imporantly, handhelds are going to continue to decline. Nintendo is going to start focusing more and more on the mobile market and that's going to really hurt handheld sales. If Nintendo even bothers to make another dedicated handheld.

The GBA sold a lot faster than the 3DS, and would've passed 100 million easily if it had gone as long without a successor as the 3DS had. The DS launched only 3 and a half years after the GBA did. Meanwhile, the 3DS launched nearly 6 years ago and is still about 20 million behind the 3DS...

Enough with that...

Fat ds replaced gba  in the time period you cite. It  sold only 18m in two years, the real damage was made by ds lite in gba's 5th year-6th year! Fat ds had a very slow start and didn't really have any significant effect in gba sales, plus that gba was in decline before fat ds release... GBA would have barely sold 100m if it hasn't had a successor in 2004.

The unpleasant thing is the decline in NA but 3DS will have sold 25m+ there, that's very good but in Japan where smartphon gaming is bigger, 3DS has stomped gba.

What will Nintendo do? Mobile games for Nintendo are a synergy with their core business, it won't become their focus.

Look what Pokemon go did for 3DS and Pokemon S/M!

  What? 3DS sales in its first three years are the same with gba's... Go check it! My reply to normchacho pertains to you too..

 Guys, fat ds  only sold 18m in  two  years, gba was almost unaffected by it.

 DS lite was its real successor, which came in gba's 5th-6th year ...

"Only 18 million" dude, 18 million is substantial, and even then, the DS Lite came earlier in the GBA's life than we currently are in the 3DS's life. So I don't get why you keep repeating this. It's correct but it doesn't take anything away from the point here. The GBA would've sold substantially more if it had been replaced as late as the 3DS, and the 3DS and Vita will still end up below that, and handhelds will likely decrease from this gen to the next one as well. This doesn't mean dedicated handheld gaming will die, but it won't sell as much any more.

You're never going to see a video game system sell DS numbers again I don't think. Not Playstation, not XBox, not anything from Nintendo. 

Dedicated hardware will be replaced by streaming before you see a 150 million system video game system again.