I think it's a combination of affordability, good design and broad support, not just Nintendo games (unless by "popularizing through games" you also meant third-party ones, in which case sure - agreed).If you are talking about the specs alone then yeah, but Nintendo manages to popularize their handheld through awesome games. I haven't touched my 3d function on the 3ds since I bought it, but I love the games on that system, that alone makes it worth it for me. Although I do feel extra $$$ was wasted for gimmicks.