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This Handy Chart Shows The Decline Of The Dedicated Handheld Market In The West

        3DS 2014  PSP 2008  NDS 2008
January       97       230       251
February     153       243       587
March        159       297       698
April        106       193       415
May           97       182       452
June         152       337       783
July         108       222       608
August        91       253       518
September    141       238       537
October      138       193       491
November     515       421      1570
December              1020      3040
Through 
November     1757     2809      6910

Total                 3829      9950


A NeoGAF member has rather handily created a chart which shows the decline of dedicated handheld gaming in the west. As you can see the Nintendo DS was throwing around big numbers back in 2008 whereas now in 2014 the Nintendo 3DS is struggling to get anywhere near the same numbers. There will always be a place for a dedicated Nintendo handheld, but the statistics are slightly worrying.

Thanks, Kyle

20 thoughts on “This Handy Chart Shows The Decline Of The Dedicated Handheld Market In The West”

      1. um.. you consider well over 70 million units sold worldwide a failure? really?

        and of course the 3DS isn’t a failure either

        anything that generates a decent income can’t be considered a failure and that’s exactly what the 3DS does, even if it can’t be compared to the PSP or the DS

    1. What´s the big deal about that? ALL the console market is smaller now than it was in 2008. Since 2009 every year the overall number of consoles sold is lower and lower, even with the success of the PS4 worldwide. This year will be no different and it´s going for another low numbers for consoles, handheld or home.

  1. This chart proves nothing.

    The DS sold 160 million units, something that will never be repeated. It was
    a once in a lifetime event. Just becouse something doesn’t sale on par with the mighty DS, does not mean it’s a failure.

    The Psp was a huge success as well. It sold 80 million units, which can be repeated. It clearly shows that the 3ds outsold the psp last month.

    The 3ds will sell anywhere between 60-80 million lifetime. Thats more than the NES and SNES. Hell, the Game Gear only sold 11 million copies, and it wasn’t really considered a failure.

  2. the DS was roughly 3/4 of a year further into it’s launch cycle by comparing these timelines so it’s not fair

    within 3/4 of a year, the 3DS could drop in price and sales could increase

    they should have compared 2007 … not 2008!

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