Well, half of it's sales come from a single country who is diminishing market. Assume then the 3DS is going to keep its momentum and saturate Japan at 30-35 million consoles sold. But besides these japanese numbers? The overall fall compared to the DS generation would be at best comparable to the PS2 - PS3... and we all love to talk how Sony screwed up it's leadership don't we. A 70  million drop in one single generation. 

Actually the US sales show that the 3DS is outselling the 360 each week.

So even U.S. sales are stronger then the competition.

The Nintendo 3DS has sold more then any other Console in these sales:

First 1 month

First 1 year

First 18 months

Coming the end of February 2013: first 2 year sales.

Did the PS3 & 360 & PSP get replace earlier then expected?

NO.

Then same goes for 3DS & Wii U.

I think you are letting the bias of other gamers around you, affect your coherence.

If anything they will keep the 3DS around for 8 years, so the next Nintendo Handheld can outdo the Wii U in Specs & graphics just like the 3DS literally outdoes the Wii in specs & graphics, while selling the new Handheld at $200 at a profit with a 3 GB RAM and 3840 x 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080p per eye) and so fort, at a profit with each sold.

The PS3 & 360 & PSP did worse and are staying around longer because they are failing even more.

Well, the Wii U's future is too hard for me to guess at this point, but I really don't see the 3DS having a long life cycle. It's gonna be around for a while.

3DS is not a failure, but it won't reach DS levels. I said Nintendo is failing and their devices will be replaced sooner than expected due to missing key features this newer market demands in entertainment devices. Their sales will be in a diminishing manner. I think I proved that with 3DS' sales in comparison to itself between years. 2012 should of been much, much bigger than 2011... especially in the holidays. Yet the holidays were actually a YOY decline. Japan will saturate itself this year, then what?  We'll have to see if PokemonXY finally start to push it in the rest of the world.

Have you compare the first 1 month sells of DS vs. 3DS?

Have you compare the first 1 year sales of the DS vs. 3DS?

And the last time I checked the first 1 year sales of 3D TVs is better then the first 1 year sales of HD TV. And same goes for their 2nd Year sales.

Plus so many movies in 2013 are in 3D like Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and Jack the Giant Killer and The Great & Powerful OZ and Star Trek 3D and Superman 3D and many many more for the rest of 2013.

Theres a reason why the PS Vita can't hold a stick to the 3DS, and it is a sign of change, like Barack Obama before it.

Come the end of February you can compare the first 2 years sales of the DS vs. 3DS.

2D Smartphones have been around since 2006 and have already maxed their consumers. And 3D Smartphones have been discontinued for not having Netflix and lack of 3D games and having a fuzzy transparent looking 3D effect that made it unattractive when viewed in 3D & also a much shorter battery life.

In the past the only thing that stopped 3D movies was the lack of Theaters having the needed special displays for the movies that were recorded in 3D.......and also the movies converted from 2D to 3D to display on any display could only look full 3D on a minimum of a 100 inch screen, because it required a 2 1/2 inch difference between the 2 images because it was only "Monochromatic 3D" instead of "Stereoscopic 3D" (which looks full 3D on any size screen but requires special display).

You are clearly out of touch with consumers who want to play the first ever Polygon Graphic Pokémon game & watch 3D movies & Monster 4 & more Resident Evil 3DS exclusive and so fort.

The 3D market does less advertising and makes more money then their 2D only competitors. The 2D market advertises like crazy and still doesn't make 3D sales in neither movies nor gaming.

And if you want proof that 2D is dying:

Harold & Kummar 3D Christmas (Comedy)

Cirque de Soliel: Worlds Away 3D (Romance)

The second that a Romance Movie was made & premiere in 3D, and exclusively in 3D at that, was when 2D movies started taking its first steps towards its infinite grave.

FYI the 3DS is currently way far ahead of the DS in the same point of life spam sales. So unless the 3DS stops selling completely for the next many months.........well I don't see how the DS will ever be able to catch up for the same point in life spam sales.

And also for fun sake: here is proof that 3D is good for everyone's eyes, LITERALLY:

http://www.aoa.org/x17309.xml

I thought the title of the thread was funny. Nintendo is failing, but it won't be nintendo that will "replace" it's console. That will be the job of PS4/720.

I predict that there will be many disappointed MS and PS fans, when they realize that the graphics aren't dramatically different from the current gen.

Haven't you heard? 8 processors, 8 gigs of RAM, cutting edge graphic cards: the next generation is going to be quite a dramatic leap!

I wouldn't be super-surprised if this actually happened. I've also become dulled enough to no longer be disappointed if it does, either.

I'm less convinced that they don't realize that it's a bad decision, so much as that they lack the vision and courage to take any other route. The ancient Greek playwrights would have had a field day with these folks!