I've posed this question online before. It's kind of both.
Arguments for it being a successor
- Identified as such in an Iwata Asks Interview
- Released 9 years after the Game Boy
- Over 2/3 of the library is incompatible with the Game Boy. I know people can point to New 3DS games that don't work on normal models, but there were far less by numbers and percentage. Same with trying to use the DSi argument. A lot were digital too, and the Game Boy Color was before digital distribution. Nintendo made a conscious choice to have a lot of the games not run on Game Boy.
Arguments for it being a mid-gen upgrade
- Very similar form factor, and identical controls.
- Hardware sales lumped together with the Game Boy.
I can kind of understand why people think it's a refresh, but to me it's closer to a successor than anything like the DSi, New 3DS, PS4 Pro, etc.
Lifetime Sales Predictions
Switch: 161 million (was 73 million, then 96 million, then 113 million, then 125 million, then 144 million, then 151 million, then 156 million)
PS5: 122 million (was 105 million, then 115 million) Xbox Series X/S: 38 million (was 60 million, then 67 million, then 57 million. then 48 million. then 40 million)
Switch 2: 120 million (was 116 million)
PS4: 120 mil (was 100 then 130 million, then 122 million) Xbox One: 51 mil (was 50 then 55 mil)
3DS: 75.5 mil (was 73, then 77 million)
"Let go your earthly tether, enter the void, empty and become wind." - Guru Laghima
