PS Vita vs 3DS. Is The 3DS Winning The Handheld War?
Recently I wrote an article called: Smartphone vs PS Vita Gaming. Is The PS Vita There Yet? I for the most part got three answers to the question. Two of them tied for the second most answers, the ones that chose one of the devices. The answer that won, was the reason why I wrote this article: You can’t compare a dedicated gaming device with a smartphone. That is totally true, so I won’t. I will compare two handhelds, and you will decide which is the winner.
Hardware
I want to start off by helping out the Vita a bit. I’ll let the graphical comparison do the talking.
The PS Vita specs beat up on the 3DS’s. Hard. But this is one of the cases where specs don’t really matter. Both devices do well with the hardware that they have, ad the software specific to each, runs just fine. Because o the big difference in hardware I’m assuming that I don’t need to talk about pricing (the image does anyway). The PS Vita also has more features such as dual analog sticks (3DS can add another) and a rear touchpad.
Also relating ‘hardware’ is units sold. As of the end of March, the 3DS has sold 44.87 million units, after being released February of 2011. The PS Vita has sold 8.4 million units. Although the 3DS was released a year before the PS Vita, you can do the math and still see that the PS Vita is getting wrecked (sales numbers via VGCharts. Very interesting list, check it out).
Why has the 3DS sold way more units than the PS Vita? The answer lies in one aspect. Games.
Games
In terms of pricing of games, PS Vita and 3DS are pretty equal. ‘AAA’ games on both handhelds cost around $40. Although, I believe that over time you will spend less on 3DS games.
There is also the backwards compatibility point to look at. When you go from say a DSi to a 3DS, you think of it as an upgrade. You can easily just insert the same cartridges and continue as if nothing happened. When going from a PSP to PS Vita, it’s more like a change than upgrade. Cartridges are different, completely different UI, and others. Think about it like this: would you rather go from, after getting used to it, an iPhone 5 to 5S, or from an iPhone 5 to an HTC M8?
Nintendo has done a great job on the games that they bring to 3DS. It gets all of the games that you’d expect it to get. Mario, Zelda, Animal Crossing, Pokemon. Games that keep gamers coming back to Nintendo, games that the brand was built on. With this assurance that they will be getting games that will be of good quality and enjoyability, gamers will buy the device.
Sony on the other hand, never did this. We got some titles that you can typically expect on PlayStation. Uncharted, Rayman, Sly Cooper. Then, they is whole load of first time names, new games, miscellaneous. The games are fun to play, don’t get me wrong, but the are missing something that 3DS seems to have.
Sony’s goal was for the PS Vita to bring a console experience to a handheld. A lot of people say that they failed. But i think just the opposite, they did just what they set out to do. the problem is that they set out to do the wrong thing. Because it is a handheld, it needs to be treated like a handheld. Nintendo understood this, and made the 3DS an amazing handheld experience. Sony did not, and made the PS Vita into a less than acceptable console experience. The 3DS has games optimized solely for a mobile experience, and the PS Vita has games that are supposed to make you feel like you are playing on a console. A lesson that carries over into real life. Don’t try to be something that you aren’t.
That’s all for now from me, The Jay Doctor. Feel free to leave your opinions in the comments. If you would like, follow myself and Wololo on Twitter using the handy links below.
one word.. “AGREED!”
So many egos hurt..
had a 3ds, sold it and bought a vita. excuse me for asking this… but what war? It is a massacre. To have a wa we would need to have a handheld, and what we got is a companion device for ps4. To wtar a war you need to fire back, sony is just watching it die.
i mad a be on vita and i need to realize that i lost it. Waiting for an exploit is the only thing that keeps me from seeling it already. And i honestly bought it less than 2 months ago.
So many opinions just being written off as fanboys on this discussion. Wow, well I am a fanboy….. of the medium of video games in general. Just now getting into some P.C. stuff since I will never trust the reliability of overheating issues from either $ony or Micro$oft again. At least when I buy a handheld it lasts more than a year or two. Regardless of which one it is they are both great systems which each has strengths and weaknesses but the price is not a weakness for either. I think they are both a good price point at this time for what you get in return and I can no longer say that about the console market. Of course as time goes on there will be price drops and this fight is not over for the Vita which, I think will win in the long battle.
Nyeh, where I am from, a standalone wifi Vita has the same price as a 3DS XL. The standard 3DS is about 30 euro less. So, the “price” gap here is basically non-existant. Specs are on the Vita’s favor. From the game library point of things, I’d say both are now on an even standpoint. Admitedly, I have seen more games that I want on the Vita now than on the 3DS. Sadly… Europe always gets the shaft on new releases. *drools over the Japanese selection of games on both consoles* Anyway, the bottom line is, you just pick what has the most games you wanna play, or get both (getting both is the same price as a home console and I do not like any of the two, WiiU does not count.) But I am interested to see what the “Steamboy” will do.
You can explain the difference within a few sentances. A lot of exclusive games on the 3ds, a better appeal to family (which is the biggest market for a handheld) and a lower price (170$ for the 3ds 120$ for the 2ds)
On the other side the vita has only a few eclusive games and left families aside.
Don’t get me wrong I love my vita and have played it even more than my 3ds but I only use it for niche games such as danganronpa (a remake again) or hyperdimension neptunia.
what kind of question is “is the 3ds winning the console war??”
of course it *** is. only the blindest of sony fanboys can think otherwise, especially since sony just came out and said that they are no longer going to be seeing the vita as a game console anymore but as an “extender of the playstation now service for ps4”.
Personally, I own both the 3DS and the PS Vita. I love them both and (now) will not get rid of either one. I almost sold my PS Vita at one point. I wasn’t seeing enough games (good games for that matter), and it was just sitting on my desk collecting dust. That was before I bought Persona 4 Golden. I have never played Persona 4, so I picked it up when I saw it because it looked interesting. When I saw this game play so well on the Vita, I saw the potential Sony could put into the Vita, but for some reason, it seemed they “ditched” it. The only first party games I’ve seen recently are the God of War/Sly Cooper HD remake and ported over to the Vita. I haven’t been seeing any thought put into games for the Vita. Don’t get me wrong, I love my PS Vita and I play it almost every day. In my opinion, the 3DS is winning. (again, my opinion, don’t freak out because I dont agree with you.) I see too many people say “Oh, Nintendo is too kiddish.” “Every game they make is the same as the last.” IN MY OPINION, isn’t true. I would go as far to say that almost Everybody started gaming from the SNES/NES or Genesis (What happened, Sega?) And everybody loved Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country, Yoshi’s Island, A Link To The Past, etc. These games have been remade/ported over to the 3DS (except SMW) We have A Link Between Worlds (Excellent), Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, Yoshi’s New Island and many more great games for the 3DS that they are making. The people who criticize Nintendo are the ones who probably haven’t played a Nintendo game since the 64. It seems to me that Nintendo is actually caring about their fanbase and is coming out with more and more great games for both the Wii U and 3DS (I own both.) Sony (in my eyes) – “Everybody, buy a Vita! Its a controller for your PS4!” And that’s about it to me. This is why Nintendo will forever be my favorite gaming company ever.
Again, MY OPINION.
not just the games-they tied a noose around their neck with the restictions they put on their cnsole experience. couldnt they at least made their web browser html5 compliant if they gonna skip on the flash? Omg you gotta go to a computer if you wanna rearange your music? please oh please can i just name my downlaod picture and stick it in a folder.
Actually the “skipping” out on Flash wasn’t there fault. Support was cut. And the VITA is partially compatible with HTML5.
where the snot is the JARPG games too? i want more games withe fantasy star/monster hunter feel. Turn based is great, but variety in rpg is good too. and atellier dont count, taking away your inventory cause its time is just sacrolege. rpg is great for hoarding. collecting. disgea 3 i run outta space even in the 1000 slot inventory. take away your nventory, someone nneeds to smack some sense bac into their heads
there is actually one other variable that is in the mix, and that is simply availability of the consoles. i’ve been looking for a vita slim for2-3 weeks now, and am still empty handed. in the us, these systems just aren’t anywhere. best buy, gamestop, walmart, sony.com, all sold out. amazon, 3rd party sellers only selling a $200 system for $280, with amazon customer service saying they have no idea when/if they will be getting more systems.
sony can’t sell systems unless they make them available. it’s literally easier to find a ps4 right now than it is to find a vita.
Great minds think alike!
The shame about this is that the 3DS shouldn’t be beating the Vita, but because of a lack of decent games on the Vita side, it is.
Why, because its not as powerful? The reason the 3DS kicks *** is because nintendo does not focus on the hardware as a main priority and puts most of its effort into the quality and experience of the game itself and thats what true gamers love. Plus the console appeals to more of a variety of players young and old!
Dont get me wrong I love vita, psp and all things PlayStation, but if sony put as much effort into the experience of there games as they did into there hardware they would win hands down!
IMHO, the ONLY worthwhile games on a Nintendo console are those developed by Nintendo directly. Vita has so many indies and 5-10$ games that people think it’s the same thing as a phone. The 3DS on the other hand pretty much only has physical games (because the 3DS eShop sucks), and doesn’t have that many indies (well, if they do, not many come to mind).
Excluding the widescreen, I fail to see much of a difference between a 2DS and a DSi.
@The Jay Doctor
“”Sony’s goal was for the PS Vita to bring a console experience to a handheld. A lot of people say that they failed. But i think just the opposite, they did just what they set out to do. the problem is that they set out to do the wrong thing. Because it is a handheld, it needs to be treated like a handheld. Nintendo understood this, and made the 3DS an amazing handheld experience.””
Well, except taking 3D pictures of ***, I don’t see how this is a more enjoyable handheld. Granted, games on my Vita like Uncharted or Killzone are awesome, and I’m considering buying a PlaystationTV to play them on the TV, but if I could, I’d do the same with the 3DS… Most of the games I have are home-console games ported to 3DS (Zelda: OoT, Starfox64 3D, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, Super Mario 3D Land, etc). Err, just clarifying, I’m not saying these are available on home consoles, I’m saying I’d play the exact same games on a home console.
Also, (a thought came to mind whilst typing) the switch from UMD distribution to a more Digital-Download model feels a LOT more like a handheld to me. I never bring my 3DS around because I don’t want to carry/lose my 3DS cartridges, whereas my PSVita has over 35 games digitally-obtained, no VitaCart required. Of course, I DO have physical games (like Uncharted, Little Deviants, NFS: Most Wanted, Senran Kagura (import), Borderlands2 and more), but I just throw 2-3 vita cards in my Vita HardCase (they take less room than a 3DS game) and leave.
The only digital games I have on 3DS are some Retro titles (Kirby (NES), Zelda: Link’s Awakening (GB), Zelda: Oracle of Ages (GBC), Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (GBC)) and 2 retail games (Senran Kagura (bought it for 3D ***, got 3D pixels) and Pokémon X). In all honesty, I’d rather play a Zelda game on a 42″ TV than on a 3.5″ screen (so I play retro games in emulators on my Wii instead, but buying the game makes me feel less guilty)…
“”In terms of pricing of games, PS Vita and 3DS are pretty equal. ‘AAA’ games on both handhelds cost around $40. Although, I believe that over time you will spend less on 3DS games.””
Of course, there are less worthwhile games on 3DS. 30-40$ a piece for 10 good games costs less than 10-40$ for 50 good games. 😉 (trolling)
Denial is a painful thing. Reading the comments from Vita owners on this thread kind of makes me feel sad for them. I tell you, the way they just keep defending the Vita and trashing the superior handheld, it really is quite pitiful. I am being serious. I know what that feels like to commit yourself to something, and not want to give it up. So what do they do? They defend it. And why do they do this? Because they happen to own a Vita, that’s why. Literally no other reason than that.
No one wants to admit that they’ve invested into failure. I imagine that a lot of these posters are either very young, and the Vita was a gift (so that’s their only option), or they may not have a lot of money, and the Vita was a real plunge for them.
They simply have to hold out as long as they can.
I keep hearing people bring up the PSP and DS. This situation isn’t like that situation. While it may be true that the same tired arguments were used by PSP owners in it’s defense against the DS, the fact is, the PSP was at least competitive with the DS. The DS still tromped all over it (I owned both systems), but it did hang in there.
This particular war isn’t even close, people. While this handheld generation may not be over yet, the battle between the 3DS and the Vita most certainly IS over. It’s been over. It’s like a football game where one team is up 10 scores at the intermission. The game is decided. It’s over. Nintendo is winning this one in a rout.
There will be no comeback. It’s O.V.E.R.
Deal with it.
You know what sucks the most about 3DS? You either need to have tiny fingers, long fingernails or just always hold your stylus. Why does a douchscreen in 2012-2014 (WiiU is as stupid) still need a Stylus for single-point touchscreens. We’re not in 1995 with a Palm Pilot!!!
touchscreen*
PS VITA IS MORE BETTERER
3DS IS MUCH LESSER THAN THE VITA!
LOL, IT DOES!
Ahout the carry/lose 3DS cartridges, Dude U can buy R4 3DS flash card and download Roms…
3DS totally wins..
the VITA is the DAMN BEST CONSOLE EVER CREATED!
but sony is just making the wrong desicions about the price…and the console
du u really need a camera to play
or 2 touchscreens? (what u r gonna do once it is broken? )
buy another? with that price!?
sony only need 1 thing
INNOVATION
like wireless earphones that charge just like a ps3 controller( plug it in the vita, play while charging )
and even more wireless addons
why not?
MAKE YOUR MASTERPIECE CHEAPER AND MORE ACCESIBLE
the new changes from psp to vita are just OUTSTANDING
is like having a f***ing portable ps3 !!!
BEAT NINTENDO FOR GOOD!!
u have 2 sticks,nintendo has a stupid little thing that is supposed to be called *c – stick*
OPEN YOUR EYES AND WAKE UP SONY!!!!
you have the best console in your hands even the ps4!
open your eyes before is too late…