Write your opinions on the matter. Which system was best for you or even which generation? You can take whatever you please, the total sales for each system, the games, the longevity, the legacy they leave after, or the system themselves. I will add some sales data here.

The Gameboy Advance for sure. Easily the best games, coolest design with the SP, terrific battery life and very affordable. No expensive memory sticks, spinning discs or 3D gimmicks. Without the DS launching so soon the system could have gone on to pass 100m sold. Shame its life was cut short.

Obviously the Nintendo DS.

Imagine if Nintendo waited to release the DS. The GBA was only 3 years on the market before the DS released.

Isnt the GBA the fastest selling system of all time? Thought I read that somewhere on this board. If thats the case, than the GBA hands down, the profit on it must have been really high.

GBA would have blown passed 100 million if it hadn't been cut short, it only really got 3 years as Nintendo's flagship handheld and sold like hotcakes during that time.
3DS and PSP took far longer to reach similar totals, with some significant bumps along the way like 3DS needing an emergency price cut and PSP being overrun by piracy.

Actually no, here are shipments, (rounded SW2 shipments to 21M, because my charts are every 4 months).

Switch 2 is doing better. DS has also beaten it after it's first two years. The big winner for those first three years - the Wii is quiet above everything else.

Launch aligned GBA is (or was… I believe Switch 2 caught up with Pokopia) the fasting selling console in NA for the start of its lifecycle.

GBA was massively popular for a shortlived console.

PSP was super impressive for the pricetag and being the company's first handheld. The hardware was phenomenal, but software while solid didn't sell very well. Overall a surprising success conaidering Sony's players were primarily on home consoles.

3DS was a disappointment, but it kept the company relavent during their dark age.

All in all I'd say GBA > PSP > 3DS. I would have gone with PSP if it spawned successful successors. But unfortunately it was a flash in the pan as far as the company's long term relevance in the handheld space.

Give me PSP any day of the week 8 days a week. Maybe because I worked at a Gamestop as a manager in the 2000s but I never saw GBA much more than a THQ shovelware system. I know it has some good RPGs and such. Tho Nintendo slapped bad SNES ports on it. Yes they are bad with a cropped screen and much worse audio. 3DS is the biggest letdown of any Nintendo system I ever bought. Best use I got out of it was recent years when a friend gave me a flashcart.

PSP had some cool mech games. RPGs. Shmups and stuff I like.