Are Handhelds = Consoles?

[Super_Boom]

Well, the terms are used as shorthand for "home console" and handheld console", so technically, yeah, they are consoles by definition.

Regarding comparing the two, which seems to be the larger point of the thread, it really depends on context. I personally don't see the problem with comparing the overall sales, since they're both dedicated gaming devices, and there's a pretty large overlap in their userbase (even larger this generation I'd argue). If you're comparing them based on habits of people who prefer playing on the go over staying at home, then sure, comparing is silly. It's why qualifiers are important to the discussion, I suppose.

Someone mentioned comparing handhelds to phones. I think the problem with that comparison is just that mobile phones are multi-purpose devices. While you'd buy a 3DS to play a certain game, your decision to buy a phone will likely have little to do with what games you want to play on it. Not that no one buys phones for gaming anywhere...but it just seems impossible to reconcile that difference in userbase. It's like comparing console to PC sales. You can do it...but it's not exactly meaningful.