Every generation, gamers are faced with a choice. This is a
choice of great importance, one that determines not only how they will play
games for some time. That choice is which console to purchase. Some lucky
gamers get all the consoles, but for the majority, choosing which hardware to
make your own is a daunting decision. So many factors go in to choosing that
you could easily hurt yourself Googling. That is why I’ve taken it upon myself to
assist in answering the question “Which handheld console is right for me, the
3DS or the Vita?”
When approaching handheld gaming, I’m going to rule out
smart devices since they are devices that also game, not gaming devices. For
the current generation of handhelds, Nintendo and Sony are both duking it out
for control over your pocket. Which deserves prime pants real estate: the 5”
dual touch device packing specs that rival home consoles, or the two screen 3D
wonder backed up by a bevy of classic titles and hardware backward
compatibility?
Hardware
The top screen of the 3DS is slightly larger than the
previous generation and has a higher DPI count. This makes 3DS games look much
higher definition than the previous models, but the odd ratio also makes
upscaling DS games look worse. Playing a DS game on a 3DS after using a DSi or
DS Lite even is like having someone rub their grubby fingers on your
glasses. There’s a way to display the
game in its native resolution, but then it only takes up a small portion of the
whole screen, and why would I settle for less screen real estate? The poor
upscale quality and Pictochat are the reason I still bring my DS to large
get-togethers.
The top screen on then 3DS also does stereoscopic 3D,
effectively delivering the 3D from the console name. Seeing this in person is
phenomenal… when it works. Nintendo includes a 3D strength slider to adjust for
people holding the screen at different distances, or not being able to
comfortably see 3D in full strength. For the most part, everyone who I have
talked to uses the 3D function for a few seconds with a new game just to see
what it does, and then promptly turns it off. The main reason is because of
headaches, and this is something Nintendo warns about with the console. So
without the 3D, we really just have a higher resolution DS, which isn’t a bad
thing at all. I only wish the upscaling of DS games was not so awful.
On the other hand, the Vita has a 5” touch screen with 2:1
higher resolution than the PSP. This allows for much easier, cleaner looking
upscaling than on the 3DS. The higher resolution screen is definitely taken
advantage of by the beefier processor and GPU. The quad core processor and GPU
mean that the Vita can display games that look very nearly like they came from
a console. The screen is also touch enabled, which allows for more intuitive
controls of not only the Vita OS, but in some games. The only place the
hardware went wrong was in its inclusion of proprietary memory and the rear
touch pad.
The 3DS includes an SD card slot to expand the memory and
those are dirt cheap these days. The Vita, on the other hand, has proprietary
memory for the Vita and you’re looking to pay 3x more for the same amount of
memory. I foolishly believed they had
learned their lesson with the failure of both UMDs and Memory Stick Pro Duos
with the PSP, but I suppose Bluray’s victory over HD-DVD bolstered their
proprietary argument. The rear touchpad is also a bit of a sore spot for me,
though I haven’t decided if it’s a hardware or software problem. For example,
In Uncharted: Golden Abyss, you throw grenades by hitting the back touchpad and
maybe I have monster hands, but I was throwing more ‘nades than Cave Johnson in
a lemon factory. Either the touchpad needs to be smaller, or the software needs
to have a fix.
The Vita also features a 3G data connection option, though
it is not used for all data transfer. The prospect of gaming truly on the go
and from virtually anywhere is exciting, but is a feature that’s sadly not
enabled at this time. Perhaps sometime in the future, though even if it were, the
$15/month price tag on 250MB of data would be enough to make me think twice
about using it.
Also, Nintendo sells a second circle pad for the 3DS as an
accessory that not only needs its own battery, but communicates via the IR port.
It makes the console fit better in your hand — and believe me, the 3DS needs
that — but it just seems silly, especially when they didn’t include that in the
XL version.
Software
So what about the software available for each of these
consoles? Not the games, we’ll get to those in a second, but the other stuff.
Nintendo seems to be taking its commitment to gaming seriously, as it offers
very little in the way of third party apps. Nintendo Video provides a seemingly
random selection of music videos, original shorts, and trailers for games. I’m
personally not enticed by any of these offerings, but seeing the Captain
America trailer in 3D was neat. The 3DS now features Netflix, with Hulu Plus
coming soon, with the promise of 3D videos coming to the 3DS, something the
Vita can’t do.
What the Vita can do, however, is integrate into your social
networks better. It offers foursquare, Twitter, Facebook, Skype and Flickr
integration in addition to Netflix, Hulu plus, Crackle, and Youtube for video.
You can also play movies you’ve put on your Vita memory card, something the 3DS
still doesn’t have. The inclusion of YouTube is one of the most exciting
features, because now I can pause a game, YouTube a tutorial, and flip back to
the game without ever having to pull out my smartphone. It also features access
to Music Unlimited to purchase songs, in addition to playing MP3s you’ve loaded
onto the device. Now why would you care about all of these extra things that
you know your smartphone can do today? To be honest, I’m not sure, since most
people have smart devices, though these features could be invaluable for those
that do not. Being able to say you can do these things is one thing, but I’ve
yet to see someone using their Vita to do all of the things it can do, perhaps
because smartphones can do them faster, are more connected, and have longer
battery life. If you don’t have a smartphone, however, the Vita is a godsend.
I’d like to give Nintendo credit for sticking to games, but
if you’re really looking for extra software, the Vita has you covered for
almost any need.
Games
This is arguably the most important category. A console can
be the most powerful, user friendly, full featured contender in the race, but
with no games to back it up, it is doomed to fail. Just ask the Dreamcast.
The 3DS has been out over a year now, and has had time to
accrue some great titles, most notably of which are Mario Kart 7 and Super
Mario 3D Land. Both titles were developed with the 3DS in mind, integrating not
only the 3D display, but the gyroscope and accelerometer as well. In addition,
Resident Evil Revelations takes hardcore gaming to the 3DS in a big way, being
lauded as the best portable Resident Evil yet. Rounding out its list of great
new titles is Kid Icarus Uprising, a revival of a very old, classic series from
my childhood in a radically different way. All of these titles use the hardware
well and look great doing it.
Not to be outdone, the Vita features Uncharted: Golden
Abyss, a full-fledged Uncharted game that cuts no corners and delivers a
comparable experience to the one found on the home console. Nathan Drake moves
just as well as he has on the PS3, though that back touchpad wastes grenades if
your fingers stray too far. The hands-down best Vita title yet is Gravity Rush.
This new IP is one that will be around for some time, featuring an interesting
art direction, innovative gameplay, and environments far larger than should be
possible on a handheld title. For lovers
of classic PSP titles, a new Lumines game is out and it looks prettier than
ever before.
At launch, and throughout each of these consoles’ respective
lives, ports or remakes are bound to come up to push hardware sales and garner
interest. This generation is no exception. The 3DS came out of the corner
swinging with Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, a graphically updated of one
of the most beloved Zelda games of all time. I’d be willing to bet more than a
few people bought a 3DS specifically for this title. Super Street Fighter IV
also made the cut and feels almost identical to the console version. The lack
of a second stick meant almost nothing in a 3D fighter that’s bound to a solid
line, but it certainly does in Metal Gear Solid 3D: Snake Eater. Just like
Metal Gear titles on the PSP, not having a second thumb stick really cripples
Snake’s agility as the player is scrambling to remember exactly what buttons do
what.
The Vita’s ports feature Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, and
all of the games included look and play spectacularly. Including not one, but three games on the
cartridge sells this game about at well as the gameplay does. Ultimate Marvel
vs Capcom 3 is about the same as Super Street Fighter IV—nothing really new,
but a comparable experience to consoles. And Mortal Kombat has roughly the same
story. Eventually, ports are going to be more common, as the Vita is toted to
be a platform that can receive PS3 code with minimal changes, but as of now,
pickings are slim.
Both consoles also feature some form of backward compatibility, although Vita's is certainly more disappointing. It's compatible with PSP and PSOne games, but only when downloaded from PSN, so if you bought UMDs for your PSP, you cannot transfer those games. The PSOne capability is also an upcoming, promised feature that has not quite made it to the handheld. The 3DS offers direct hardware backward compatibility, though it has the issues mentioned earlier. Though GBA games are listed, only ambassadors (early adopters of the console before the price drop) have access to those games at this time.
The real deciding factor for games on these consoles comes
down to two questions: How much do you love Nintendo IP, and what kind of gamer
are you? Nintendo and Sony aim at two different markets—family/kids and
teen/adults respectively—and it shows in their games lineup. Only one 3DS game
is markedly violent, as opposed to the Vita’s lineup. If you’re looking for
more adult games, you’re more likely to find your cup of tea on Sony’s
platform. That being said, Nintendo pushes its core IPs quite hard in both
handhelds and consoles (notice how Mario and Zelda are the top 3 games?).
Though that may mark a lack of originality to some, the games still sell and
are beloved by quite a large number of people, myself included. Zelda, Mario,
Samus, and the lot all hold a connection with me, and it’s one that’s quite
powerful.
Even taking those IPs away, the 3DS still holds dominance
over Vita in the amount of games it offers. Perhaps the story will be different
next year, but as of right now, the 3DS is winning this category.
Sales
I don’t really need to say much about this data, other than
we’re seeing now what we saw in the last generation—a clear lead by Nintendo.
Not only does this mean that the 3DS is more popular, but it also means that
the online community will be larger. The implications of this are far reaching,
as I’m sure Vita has people using it, but I can’t seem to find anyone when I’m
looking for people online.
To be fair, this data is skewed, as the 3DS has been out
quite a bit longer than the Vita. Perhaps a more meaningful dataset would be
their respective launch sales:
And here again, we see Nintendo leading the pack, and this
was before the price drop to $169.99. Each console had arguably lackluster
games on launch day, so why did Nintendo beat Sony?
I’d say this probably has to do with the poor performance of
the PSP. For far too long did PSP owners like myself say “Just wait, in a few
more years, we’ll have some great games from great developers.” And so we
waited. And waited. And waited. And then the Vita came out and some of us said
“Not again.” This position is completely understandable, and Sony has something
to prove with its latest hardware. Nintendo has great first party support and
decent third party support. Sony needs to show its commitment to its handheld
games by introducing some great, worthwhile titles. Games like Uncharted and
Gravity Rush are a start, but they’ll need more than two to convince someone to
make the investment.
Numbers don’t lie. 3DS wins this one.
Connectivity
The 3DS has the same problem that DS had—friend codes.
They’ve gotten better over the years, but I still fail to see why I can’t just
have a username and give people that. It’s silly. The Vita, on the other hand,
is connected to PSN, which has a large built-in infrastructure and a community
to go with it. The only downside is that Nintendo’s multiplayer community was
never hacked and Sony is still reeling from the blow that hacktivists dealt two
years ago.
The other side of this is how the handhelds connect to other
devices. The 3DS should connect to the Wii U, and feature cross platform
gaming, though no specific examples have been given yet. The prospect of being
able to get a new experience with my handheld while someone plays on the
console are wonderful, and I can’t wait to see what they do. The other side of
this is the Vita’s connectivity to the PS3. It can turn the PS3 on, stream
media, and turn it off. There’s also already two or three announced titles that
support cloud saves and game transfers seamlessly between the PS3 and the Vita,
allowing you to literally take the game with you anywhere you go. The same
game, just on two different platforms that talk with one another. They even
demoed Playstation All Stars Battle Royale playing 2 people on PS3 and 2 people
on Vitas connected to the PS3. If they are already this far along, it’s going
to be exciting seeing how far Sony and the developers will push it.
Both promise console connectivity, but Sony is more concrete
about its plans and has shown off what it can do and how already. Sony wins
this one.
Verdict: Long story short, handheld gaming is about playing
games, not listening to music, streaming video, or updating your statuses. It’s
also not about which console induces the most TechnoLust. What’s the point of
stellar hardware if there are so few titles to enjoy? It’s that reason why I’m
declaring the Nintendo 3DS the recommended console for this year. Playstation
Vita has so much potential, but too much potential, too little action is what
killed the PSP, and I know myself and others are nervous about that happening
again. The 3DS offers a decent library, is natively backward compatible (though
at a cost), and costs less than a Vita. Until Sony and other developers show
off what the Vita can do and why it’s worth the extra money, Nintendo is King
of the Pockets yet again.
