Handhelds? Bleh. Yeah I'm a crusty old timer at age 31, but I really don't understand the mobile computing obsession. Generally, when I am out and about it is because I have things to do, not roam the streets while gaming. Staring into shitty little screens compared to what I have at home? No thanks. Sadly you might be right. But "consolitis" has regressed gaming a lot in both technical advancement and actual depth of gameplay, I dread to see the garbage that would spawn from handheld focused gaming.
I agree. Handheld gaming is shit. Its a bit more mainstream with things like iPhones, but its no replacement for consoles/PCs.
I personally think handheld games are better when they're simple skill testers ala NES/arcade games anyway. So the best handheld games are going to be the sort of shit indie developers can whip up, not the sort of shit your big name games publishers like EA and Activision are going to be producing.
Handheld gaming is more like replacing crossword puzzles and comics and stuff, not consoles/PCs. Even if its a bit of a fad, people will realise "oh shit, gaming on a 55" TV is better than gaming on a 3" handheld!"