The PS3 isn't doing as bad as N64 did to PS1 when you think about it

[c0rd]

There are a few ways at comparing these two, and it doesn't look like the PS3 is doing much better than the N64.

Marketshare:
At this point in time, the PS3 slightly edges out the N64.  Nothing significant though, the PS3 will likely still end up within 5% of the N64's share (~22%).

Profitability:
The N64 made nice profits, as Nintendo always does, while the PS3 has eaten up at least 3 billion.  Sure, it helped win the HD format war, but we have yet to see how that will pay off.

Compared to predecessor:
The N64 sold about 2/3 of what the SNES did (drop from 49mil to 33mil).  To pull off a similar number, the PS3 will need to move 90-100 million, and I don't see that happening.