Tarumon on 12 January 2013
As good chance as any handheld ever has. MH4, DQ7, Pokemon have fanbase that aren't quite the same as Mario series. These 3 behave more fervantly and will drive home huge sales within months if not weeks of coming out. Just like when I bought PS3 for Ffxiii and Xbox360 for Halo, and never touched them again. MH and Pokemon players will buy it on whatever platform because they are dedicated to games first.
Not sure if 3DS would exceed DS lifetime but 2003 might be the year 3DS broke records. (Edit: Lol it'd be first time a HH traveled back in time)
