Switch 2017 is ahead of every 3DS year

[curl-6]

Nuvendil said:

curl-6 said:

The thing about GBA though is that it was replaced after only 3 years on the market. 3DS/Vita got 6 years without replacement until Switch arrived.

Ultimately, the direction we're heading is clear; Nintendo have gone with the Switch hybrid concept instead of another dedicated portable, and Sony aren't making another one at all, so dedicated portables will die out with the 3DS. There isn't really any need for a dedicated portable in a market where Switch and smartphones exist.

I know the GBA was cut off early, I was accounting for that.  I would say had all things been left to their original paths, 110 mil or so would have been the GBA's final numbers.  Not dissimilar to the GB/GBC.  And I think if Sony and Nintendo had been on top of their game with the 3DS and Vita, similar numbers could have been seen.  But they weren't, of that there can be no doubt.

Oh I'm not saying that handhelds will persist now, but rather that their end wasn't for lack of demand.  Nintendo could have kept it going, but they went with a solution that would grab most of not all of the handheld market and also work its way into the console space.  There won't be another handheld because frankly the only company that knew how to work that market has moved on to a different approach. 

I dunno, I still think that if Nintendo had made another dedicated portable it would have sold less than the 3DS, as smartphone competition is much stronger now than in the early days of 3DS and most kids grow up on that now instead of getting a portable, while the market as a whole is moving away from dedicated devices and has been for some time. Nintendo could have spent years and billions prolonging the decline, but thankfully they don't have to as the Switch manages to solve the problem.