Nintendo has left 3DS at auto pilot since long time ago, I doubt they have high expectations for games with so low investment from them.
Yeah 3DS is actually doing better than I expected this year due to DQXI, MHXX and new 2DS revision. Still it will definitely get over 1.5 million by the end of the year, so the decline will be far less pronounced than I expected at the start of the year. It will be down YoY no doubt but not going to be a huge decline like I expected. With Pokemon still to release it's likely going to end up north of 1.6 million for the year. Next year thought I'd be absolutely amazed if 3DS managed to sell more than half that.
With the Switch doing as well as it has, I still expect it to clear 4 million sales this year.
Nintendo is no doubt going to be happy with around 5.6 million hw sold in Japan. It would be their best year since 2013 in terms of hardware sold. The Switch also has a lot going for it:
- Greater sw sales than 3DS launch year.
- No price cut required to keep up with 3DS launch aligned.
- More accessories than any device since the Wii(JoyCons, Grips, ProControllers, Amiibos, Carrying Cases etc)
- Huge online game like Splatoon 2 which will drive subs for their online service next year
- Far greater share of digital sales than any previous Nintendo Platform(this one isn't confirmed yet, but I think signs are pointing towards it)