Nah,I bought it in person on launch day. It was 90 bucks.

Its actually quite easy to anwser.

Lack of competition- The PS1 derailed Nintendo's home console success. That has never happened for handheld.

Innovation- PSP although arriving late could have damaged Ninties handheld brand if it was direct competition, instead Nintendo they innovated with the DS and tackled the casuals.

Exclsuive IPs that work amazingly on HH- Pokemon, 2D Mario, Animal Crossing, Nintendogs, Braintraining etc. 

There are many reasons. One is prioritisation and resources: After the original Gameboy took off a second time thanks to Pokémon, Nintendo made the GBA their priority because of low Gamecube sales. Their handhelds have been their priority ever since. Thus, resource allocation: Whenever Nintendo didn't have enough resources for both devices they prioritised their handhelds - which was logical, as handheld games were cheaper and faster to make. When the 3DS bombed at first they poured resources from Wii U to 3DS and saved the 3DS with price cuts while letting the Wii U die. And just in general, handhelds got more games because they were quicker to produce and could get quick ports of prior console releases, as well.

I would say lack of competition but Nintendo actually had some competition in the form of Sega handhelds in the 90s and the Wonder Swan in Japan (and mobile phones like the N-Gage). They just never had competition from Sony for a long time. Also, a year ago many people predicted the Switch would fail because of competition from Smartphones.

And then there's games: Nintendo is a company with arcade gaming roots and their systems do best when they produce games with an arcade-vibe for them: Think Super Mario Bros. and recently ARMS, Splatoon and even Breath of the Wild that just puts you into an open world and lets you die often. Nintendo always produced arcade-like games and games which are quick to pick up and play for their handhelds but they often tried to develop more "hardcore" / sophisticated experiences for their home consoles and that often failed.

All Nintendo titles suits perfectly for handheld devices and also japan love those portable.Nintendo also know this so they combine their two platforms into one but making it portable first.

It depends on the generation.

In the case of the Wii/DS, there were more games sold on Wii, and more users of the console. This is because, while Wii sold fewer units, most units had multiple users. This isn’t the same as DS, it’s usually one console, one user.

In the case of the Wii U/3DS or the Gamecube/GBA, it’s that those two consoles were not very appealing. They had games that people liked, but no killer apps that made players want it over a PS2 or have players saying “this I have to have!” Also, both consoles were a little ridiculous/unappealing. With Gamecube and N64, it’s not that there were fewer Nintendo fans, it’s that the consoles had clear issues that made them unappealing when compared to the competition. First of all, with Gamecube, all the big games were on PS2. Meanwhile, thanks to Pokemon and a lot of RPGs, Nintendo fans were still buying the handhelds, but were substituting their N64s and Gamecubes for PlayStations. With the Wii U, I think a lot of people hung onto the Wii or got a PS3, and were more or less waiting for the Switch, rather than the Wii U.

The Switch has the benefit of giving everyone their own personal unit, but is also very open up to sharing with other users.

I think this opens up the big flaw with the Switch. Come 2018 and 19, people will be screaming for Family Share. This kind of console that has people who may start out on the same console before splitting, are going to want full access to the DLC and digital games they are accustomed to when they upgrade from using the Family Switch to having their own personal unit.

Either you remember incorrectly or you got it discounted, it launched at $99.

Nintendo makes good handhelds better than anyone outside of Sony that one time managed to do. imho I cant really say the same for the home consoles, their hasnt been a solid one SNES everyone since then has had some weird design decision that held it back in some way. (wrong format, being way behind in performance, funky controller, etc) Its good they are making the Switch shouldve made that a while ago. Dont have to worry about catching the console audience with something "new" and focus on what they are good at, portables.

Pokemon

It's their content and target audience.

They make family games. But it appeals greatly to younger audiences and resonates with parents.

The competitors clearly aim for a different more mature audience. That means that Nintendo gets basically a monopoly on the younger audiences. Portables are obviously a better toy for a child than a home console.

I actually bought a 2DS for my 8 year old niece. The Switch came up as an option, but the tablet is something that she would probably break (she has broken one already). The 3DS family was the only choice, as the Vita is aimed at older audiences aswell. Home console software tends to me more complex to play as well.
That is the audience where Nintendo is very strong with and why i believe their portables do so well.

But the Switch is a mystery to me. Wich is why i am so curious to see how it evolves and having data on who exactly is buying it. I guess it makes sense in Japan due to cultural reasons, but in the west is am curious.

Literally every time I see you post you bring up Playstaion making a phone (in this case, Nintendo). 

It’s a good job you are not in charge of these companies or they wouldn’t last long at all!