I'm not sure I can agree with him, but he brings up some interesting points.
Here are my thoughts why the 3DS probably didn't get great initial sales:
1. The devise came too late to rely on 3D - The 3DS would have probably sold better at $250 a couple of years earlier, but a large portion of consumers have tired of 3D. With Hollywood putting out so many poorly done 3D conversion movies, consumers have come to think of 3D as a bad gimmick. Avatar made many people fall in love with 3D again, but many other movies soured consumers, including me. If the system hit right after Avatar there is a possibility they would have sold 3DS' like gangbusters.
2. Touch phones, tablet computers and touch based mp3 players eating up audience. Many handheld gamers like to play short session games while they are commuting, waiting in line, etc. Unfortunately for Nintendo these other touch based devises with a glut of games have stolen a lot of potential customers away. How often do you hear a kid crying for a DS/3DS to play Mario vs them begging for an iPhone/iPod touch/iPad to play Angry Birds or Cut the Rope. Recently the kids in my family and their friends just want an iDevise to play those popular games.
3. Economy. Though spending $250 for a handheld gaming(only) devise has always been considered pricy by the masses, now with the economy in the can a lot of people are not willing to spend extra cash on a new dedicated handheld gaming devise. Why spend $250 on 3DS when you can get a Lumia 900 which can play games, music, text, give you directions, etc? Yes you will be paying $80+ a month having a smart phone, but a lot of consumers think in the short term. Or why not get an iPod touch for your kid? They can play games on it, put their music on it and the games are a hell of a lot cheaper. (Sure many don't have the same production value, but in this economy why not get something that is cheaper that is still fun?)
