i said "pretty" accurate. They are only a million or so off at most.

Ok, well I just gave a example from recent history that seems to least prove there can be exceptions to that concept. I didn't study economics in university, studied political science, however I dont doubt your correct about probaby 90 percent of the products out there I'm just simply stating some products can early sales hell and go on to sell very well like 3ds is doing now. Thanks for the lesson on markets.

The difference of course is that in generations where Nintendo wasn't "dominant" sales wise, they still make a **** load of money. MS and Sony on the other hand have spent generation after generation sacrificing profit for hardware sales. "lost as much as its won" is nowhere near accurate. Compare that comment to Sony, who has the #2 selling console of all time, PS2, and yet the PS3 has erased everything they earned from the PS2.

WW and SMS both sold millions of copies and have meta scores in the 90's. Just because you saw a couple trolls on GameFAQS trash the game does not mean they were not liked.

Aw, the ry guy still hurting about N64/GC era? Virtual hugzz!

Actually, VGC numbers for DS are over by ~800K, while they are at least under for the PS2 by ~3M.  And considering the DS only just passed the PS2's shipment numbers from late 2011, I think its safe to say the PS2 will remain king.

The DS is still selling, the PS2 is no longer being manufactured. With, at worst, a 5 million difference right now, there is a quite respectable chance that the DS will overtake the PS2. The DS did only just pass the PS2 shipment numbers from late 2011... but what that really means is that the DS has sold better than the PS2 relative to launch, and has a reasonable chance of selling better in terms of final numbers.

Not selling much, as shipments show.  And as I stated, it's already been shown it is ~800K overtracked.  Also, it has never been confirmed the PS2 has been discontinued, only that it has stopped shipping to Japan.  If Sony stops combining PS3 & PS2 in their Q4 report for March, then it will be confirmed.  Now, at the rate the DS is selling now, which is probably still overtracked, it will take over 7 months to make that back up.  And considering DS sales for 2012 were actually ~2.7M, if the DS is down another 61%, that would put total lifetime sales at the end of 2013 at ~154M.  That would make it ~154.5M shipped.  Still ~3M less than where the PS2 sits today.  And if you think Nintendo is going to keep the DS on the market for more than 3 years more, just to pass the PS2, you have another thing coming.

I think its time Nintendo fans let thi one go.  Being the 2nd best selling console of all time is nothing to sneeze at.

Shipments for FY2013 are expected to be 2.3 million. There is no reason to expect it to be "down another 61%" - for one thing, January sales of DS do not support this, as it's not down nearly that much. More importantly, December sales, where most of the units get sold, were only down about 39% last year, and the drop was even smaller for November, which is the second-biggest month.

I don't expect Nintendo to keep the DS on the market to pass the PS2. I expect them to keep it on the market because the 3DS has that pesky minimum age and the DS is continuing to sell (outside of Japan, of course), not to mention that third parties are still making games for the system.

As for Sony ending production... here you go: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/07/sony-confirms-production-end-for-playstation-2-worldwide/

I don't think Nintendo will survive this gen. In fact I predict that

1. Wii U will place third in lifetime* sales compared to PS4/Nextbox

2. As a result of 1, Nintendo will significantly withdraw** from the home console market and focus primarily on handheld markets.

*Lifetime measured at the first sale of the first next-gen console
** significantly withdraw means business restructuring and modification (like Sega's route) or complete withdrawal.

You do realize that if they meet their expectations, that only puts DS shipments at 153.82.  This will mean they only expect to ship ~150K in Q1 2013.  That's 67% down YOY, which will probably stay flat or get worse for the rest of the year.  Of course, that doesn't change that Sony predicted to ship ~3M PS2s for their FY, which given their shipment numbers and statements, it seems like they will make that prediction.  Yet another deficit that the DS must make up for.  Again, at the current rate of decline, it will take the DS 3 or more years to pass the PS2.  Which won't happen, as Nintendo will take it off of shelves sometime in 2014, if not earlier. 

As for the production link, I'm not sure how reliable the Guardian is, but I'm not going to believe it til either Sony confirms it with a statement (with final numbers) or if FY Q4 rolls around and there are only PS3 numbers.  Until then, we only have the word of one paper report, that no one bothered to confirm with Sony, and contains grossly outdated shipment numbers.