Sorry, I ccan't the post about someone being insane to have thought the 360 would pass the Wii in lifetime sales.
In response though, I would say it was crazy to think that Nintendo would simply go on autopilot, then drop a system after 4 years on the market and not release a succesor for 2 years, while at the same time MS kept a console on the market for 8 years (and Sony for 7). That it happened doesn't make it any less crazy to have thought it would happen 5 years ago.
I agree that tablets and phones are at least part of thereason the handheld market in the us is so bad. That doesn't change the fact that it is bad.
I mean, if someone says that I'm a slow runner, I don't tell them to reevaluate fast/slow because I'm old and have bad knees. I am slow. That's life.
Leaving aside the issue of defining "bad", saying the market is bad is a bit different than saying it is done. Personally, I have been in the group that thought smartphones and tablets would have a deleterious effect on handhelds but that it wouldn't kill them. Handhelds would simply revert to their mean of the days when a single $100-120 handheld could do really well. That's basically what has happened, 2 handhelds entered 1 is still standing, and sales are about what they were 10 years ago if the GBA had cost $150 or so and had few games released for it. Nothing shocking in the numbers and to the extent they are bad Nintendo is definitely to blame (along with the super strong yen).