I don't know if it came out too late for the 3DS but it came out at a bad time. Splatoon 2 just came out, there's no new hardware to push it in Japan like the 2DS XL is keeping units alive here, and Nintendo's recent 3DS output isn't getting anyone excited about the system.



I think it also might be a mismatch in target audiences. The 3DS version is targeting more of the nostalgic fans, but it seems like those people would be more likely to be interested in a console version. I think Square just assumed that the nostalgic fans and the casual fans were mostly a single-circle venn diagram, but there's enough difference that it could easily cause a misread of the audience.



Announcing but not showing the Switch version early on was also a mistake. I imagine Nintendo twisted their arm to announce it when they did, but if you're a handheld gamer who doesn't own a console but know DQXI is coming out on a hybrid down the line, you might be inclined to wait, especially if you just bought a Switch for Splatoon, or are unable to find it anywhere and are discouraged in general.



That said, it's not doing badly, and I can see why Square had such lofty expectations, they just aren't bearing out.