Something that a lot of people overlook when looking at the history of consoles is that the most powerful console has NEVER won.  You can go all the way back to the days of the Atari and there has always been something more powerful but the additional cost has never been worth it to the general public.

I think the DS might outsell the PS2 but I doubt any of the set top consoles will be able to this generation.  They all just have too many negatives that drive people towards the other consoles.  Its still possible and a year from now I might change my mind.

"I am very curious: in what ways do you believe the DS has failed?"

I feel it lacks the game library that the PSP has, the DS is great but it only does what the GBA did but better in terms of games. It's great that Nintendo was able to use it for educational uses in japan, but i feel this is not what the NA people would like.

The price of the DS is still a little high for what it does too, the games for it are also overpriced. The average DS game is 30-40 dollars while the average PSP game is 20-30 dollars.

The DS is the best at what it does it just lacks in what it offers.

Where are you buying DS and PSP games... I see PSP games average 29.99USD and 39.99USD very few in the 19.99 range

I see a ton of DS games at a MAX of 34.99 average being 29.99 with pleanty of 19.99 items available.

In addition the DS does the same thing as the GBA? Sure... they both play games but then so does the PSP. So they all do the same things then right? WRONG. DS enables pleanty of games that could never be done on the GBA, in addition to those GBA games. By your logic I can do everything on an original Xbox I can do on a PS3 so why buy the PS3? They can both play music and games and stuff and the PS3 is still too expensive.

(Just note that last paragraph was in aggrivated sarcasim)

I dare say it's the PSP that needs to review it's game library and sales are somewhat prooving me right. What did PSP sell 1/4 the games as a DS? Clearly the general public simply doesn't agree with you and there's a little rule I like to live by. MAJORITY RULES. If most people say it, sadly it is true because it's a more common conception. Do I like it, not always, but it's true.

Please note: I do enjoy my PSP, I do enjoy my DS PS2 PS3 etc. I'm just illustrating a point here. My point is it can be the best product in the world and it doesn't matter. It's all about how the general public percieves it, they basically decide. As gamers we know what each one is as an Average Joe, people might know little to nothing except, "This ones Microsoft this ones Nintendo this costs 350$ and this one 250$." As an uneducated person which do you think they'll probably buy? Is PSP a good product YES is DS a good product YES, does it matter what each individual gamer thinks, NO.

Blockbuster and future shop is where i see PSP games between 20-30 dollars, when i bought my DS i looked at 3 different stores for DS games and the only games i saw for under 30$ was the brain games and the ones sold to little kids, like the ones based off kid TV shows.

I live in Canada.  And blockbuster rents and sells HD-DVDs up here :(

It makes a little more sense to me now, though here in the USA most DS games are 19.99 - 29.99 very few passing that mark only big titles like Pokemon, Final Fantasy 3, and a few others.(Mostly the more traditional games like RPG's or adventures) As far as the 19.99/29.99 split to my eyes it looks like it's nearly half and half. On PSP I do see 19.99 titles but most fall in a 29.99 or 39.99 range.

I don't hate the PSP but I'm gonna say most people who buy a handheld want games they can flick on and enjoy for 30 minutes on their car ride, not some console type game. I honestly think that's where PSP messed up in presenting to the general public. I can turn on my DS and have fun for 30 minutes with no loading times etc, I can with my PSP too but not nearly as much and there is loading times etc which cuts down on it's appeal.

What I'm finding funny is.. PSP games use 1.87 GB on a UMD disk right? The DS is gonna use 2 GB carts on some of the newer games.. was there really an advantage to using UMD? 

That's as rediculous as saying the Wii only does what the GC did but better. Touch screen and duel screen has revolutionized handheld gaming and expanded the market to non gamers, primarily adults. Nintendogs and the Brain games have pushed the DS beyond just the market of the GBA, and that's happened in every market including the US. It's not what the NA people want? Well it's NA sales are still higher right now than the three next gen consoles combined so I think the people are liking it fine. Only two months this year was the DS not the best selling system in the US, and one of those months was due to shortages.

I believe the Wii will catch up to the DS before it can pass the PS2, but I believe that both will pass it.

I will wager the Wii passes the PS2 in November 2011-May 2012, with the DS passing it in November 2012-May 2013

 GBA sold more than the PS2 ... check again . Also , wasnt the GB numbers combined with the GBC , and thats the way how they got to 120 million ... thats not really fair neither IMO :?