One of the only things bdbdbd and I agree on.  The 3D part of the 3DS has been the major contributor to the lack of truly good games.  The 3D aspect has been a major distraction, many people just turn the damn 3D off, and wasted time for devs.

As for the rehashes and/or the continuation of a franchise that should have died or at least not had so many games over the years.  There is a reason why most franchises don't have a 7th or 8th+ iteration, they usually end up slowly circling the drain of mediocrity.

If Switch can sell 60 million or so (3DS range) that would be a fairly good success. A userbase that size will give Nintendo a good base of users and hopefully the software ecosystem can be more diverse than the 3DS one is.

Of course it's more challenging these days with smartphone/tablets being available to everyone. 

@Hiku:

I believe you're the only one talking about Japan here. You use Japan as an example of trends, at the same time they're two decades behind the trends.

I see, this was the modern day equivalent of the Soviet propaganda back in the day, when everything was invented in Russia. There was a running joke in Star Trek, where Chekov has the line "did you know it was invented in Russia?". If Apple hadn't invented fire, I think we'd still live in the stone age.

DS replaced GBA in the end because the market decided so. Nintendo isn't ditching 3DS (like they are Wii U) because Switch is coming out. If the market decides Switch will replace 3DS, we likely see portable version some day, maybe even as early as christmas 2017.
I think we can trust Nintendo on the topic of Switch being a home console first. If it wasn't, I believe it would have been designed as a more portable device than it currently is. Of course the consept gives you to option to play it which way you like to - and the rumours about Nintendo selling separate docks to plug into different TV's in your house would just further support it being a home console. When you look at Switch trailer, playing it in and airplane does not look very convenient.
I don't remember Nintendo saying Switch (or NX) isn't to replace Wii U, Nintendo has said the device is not like Wii or Wii U, and Iwata went on to say he'd like to include Wii U into NX some day.

Look, this "casual" and "hardcore" you're talking about is the same market. For example, just the other day I and a few other guys were laughing a typical used game console sales ad, where some guy sold his PS4 with all the COD games on it and two NHL games. This is your todays hardcore gamer that plays only what's popular at the moment. This is also the group that play the games on mobile devices, because they are the same games you can have on your console or PC.

Personally, I'm more like the typical non-gamer from the games industry perspective. I use Wii U mostly for Netflix and Virtual Console games, play virtually nothing on 2DS outside of Virtual Console. Played Clash of Clans for 15 seconds today on my tablet. But, I've been a smartphone user since 2005(?), mainly to replace everything I use my PC for (this is pretty much why people bought these in the first place), and there's a reason why companies like Canon have released printer drivers on Play store and Apple store to use on Android and Ios devices.

Well, there's the people who move horizontally within the content. The same people that play Final Fantasy on home consoles, play Final Fantasy on handhelds and the same people play Final Fantasy on other mobile devices. The more "proper" games you have on mobile, the more it's going to eat away the sales on "proper" platforms, because the vast majority of gamers buying hardcore games are casual gamers anyway, who do not have emotional investment put into the hardware. If you play a few rounds when the new game is still hot, it really doesn't matter which platform you play it on. It is also why the games have moved from PC to console.
You get only half of the Wii/DS audience; the people who play COD and FIFA. Where Wii and DS were able to tap, is the people who reject the modern game industry games, which is the audience Wii U and 3DS did not cater to. Just because you rehash your games or make casual games and the hardcore and the casual are lining up to buy them, does not mean the Wii audience would buy it at all, because their standards are higher than that anyway.

Yup. And even the Switch itself is a type of tablet functioning like a game console.

DS replaced the GBA in large part because Ninendo stopped making GBA games. Just like they're going to stop making 3DS game eventually. Largely it's already over for their main groups as all their projects are farmed out for 3DS now. 

Switch is the freaking portable version. Like what about that do people not get? It's a freaking tablet form factor. Tablet's are portable and far more popular than the tired "clamshell portable" design. This is simply a device designed more for what people in 2016 want ... not what 2003 want. Even if Nintendo at some point offers some gimped, smaller clamshell version of the Switch I'll predict it right now that model will sell much less than the main Switch model, just like 2DS to the 3DS. 

What about playing the Switch didn't look convienant on an aiplane? It even has a built in kick stand ... have you been on an airplane or airport lately? You'll see dozens to hundreds of tablet devices, very, very few DS like devices. A switch is no more "complex" to use than a tablet. Turn it on, set it down on the tray surface, and play. Or you can just hold it in your hand. What's the issue here? 

I don't game on handheld cause I have no time. I see handheld taking not off once self driving cars start to come out

I'm glad that you realize that this thing that will be released in March could be not 3ds real replacement...

Be careful with your predictions... Many people of 3ds audiene might be not intrerested in the hybrid idea, so they wouldn't justify the price and wouldn't like something more portable, traditional and cheaper!

Remember the trouble of 3DS at 250$.

Since you were talking about clam shell and tablets, do you like this?

It's a 3ds x tablet...

Nobody gives a shit about clam shell electronics anymore. That may be blunt but it's true. 

It's like saying an iPhone isn't really a cellphone because it's too big and doesn't have a fold out design like a phone from 1999 does and you're going to sit around and wait for a "real" Apple phone that has a clamshell design. Well things change. 

iPhone changed the entire conception of what a cell phone is and that's the new standard.

The 3DS/DS/GBA SP design is dated and old. Adopting a tablet style design was always going to happen, I said this like a year ago too when some people were still going on and on about a "NX DS". 

You didn't answer me! Do you like the 3ds tablet cross-over which is depicted in the picture above?

Clamshell in a handheld console means dual screen though, you omitted that...  Clamshell in mobile phone means just physical keyboard and the majority of smartphone owners don't care about it.

 However, I guess 3ds audience would like the retention of  dual screen gaming... Especially, Pokemon gamers ;).

It also means thicker device or less battery life.

the case of the second display takes space which could be used for a higher capacity battery and the second display need additional power from the battery.