Handheld Business Has Collapsed Gen Over Gen

[zorg1000]

Soundwave said:

supernihilist said:
its the normal depression after hyperinflation

thing will get back to normal which is 100 m Hh console market. the anomaly was PSP and DS

It's not normal, it's way below the GBA at comparable points in its lifespan too. And the GBA never sniffed things like an original 3D Mario, Animal Crossing, Luigi's Mansion, etc. etc. etc. Nintendo makes far more handheld software today than back then. 

http://www.vgchartz.com/yearly.php/?reg=World&console=&date=2001&maker=

This shows that 3DS & GBA are tracking very similar globally.

GBA end of 2001-13.12 vs 3DS end of 2011-13.25

GBA end of 2002-28.01 vs 3DS end of 2012-27.36

GBA end of 2003-46.72 vs 3DS end of 2013-42.20

GBA end of 2004-62.91 vs 3DS end of 2014-??? Likely 55ish

When u add in Vita sales it looks like the handheld market has reverted back to gen 6 levels which isnt bad at all, 80 million is still a sizeable market. Will it continue to shrink next gen or is 80m where it will level out at? Thats impossible to tell as of now.

Ur right that GBA didnt have the mega hits like the one u listed for 3DS but ur def selling GBA short. GBA was the nostalgia device, Super Mario Advance, Classic NES Series, Pacman Collection, Namco Museum, Donkey Kong Country, Link to the Past, games that havent been released in 10-20 years and before the times of emularion and virtual console, also the only platform at the time supporting 2D gaming. Also the first Mario Kart on handhelds, the long awaited return of Metroid, return of 2D Sonic, introduction of Mario & Luigi, Golden Sun and Fire Emblem/Advance Wars in the west. Pokemon, Yugioh, Dragonball Z were all big hits at the time, Spyro/Crash on handhelds for the first time, sequels to Kirby/Wario Land.

Outside of Pokemon, GBA didnt have any single megaton hits but it made up for it with an excellent library for a cheap price. DS/PSP greatly expanded the market with casual hits like Nintendogs/Brain Training on DS and multimedia/3D gaming for the first time on handhelds with PSP. Things like that are easily accessible now on smartphones/tablets the expanded market is gone and its very likely we simply see the handheld market shrink back down to gen 6 levels.