RolStoppable said:
I can only rely on my own recollection, but we are talking about a decade ago here. I am fairly sure that the general consensus hovered slightly above the 100m mark before the 3DS launched. Another general consensus was that the marketshare split between 3DS and NGP (Next Gen Portable, later known as Vita) would be about 60/40, so Sony being able to make it a closer race than DS vs. PSP. But those original 100m+ expectations (my own one included) got quickly dashed with the 3DS's slow start and the ensuing even worse start for the Vita made people realize that the market would shrink by a tremendous amount instead of one company's loss being another company's gain. Lifetime sales expectations for the 3DS kept being adjusted down year after year, and by year 5 it was so bad that 70m was considered incredibly optimistic. So the 3DS kept defying expectations for a very long time. Initially too much optimism, eventually too much pessimism. I suppose you can call it an interesting generation. The 3DS also incurred temporary losses for Nintendo, so the overall conclusion can only be a negative one: The 3DS did not live up to expectations. ~76m lifetime is only good in the context of where the expectations were when they hit rock bottom, but that doesn't negate the initial loftier predictions at all. |
That checks out! And virtual boy aside, it seems fair to label it as Nintendo's least successful handheld. It was even outsold by the GBA, with its shortened lifespan...
