Handhelds have always been an easier go for Nintendo.
Japan is completely handheld centric and the kids demographic in the West is still a stronghold for Nintendo that still buys handhelds, sometimes multiple ones per household for each kid. They get decent third party support for the 3DS in Japan too, so that helps.
People also simply don't expect the same variety of games on handhelds. It's not a big deal to not have FPS shooters or racing sims or sports games or cinematic action games on handhelds or to have a software drought now and again.
On consoles, people tend to buy more games, which comes with pressure to have a more well rounded library and steadier lineup of releases, something Nintendo struggles with. That's where not having Western exclusives and "hardcore" games hurts you.
