Playstation Vita versus Nintendo 3DS: early thoughts

 

Nintendo's 3DS has been out for while now, and while there are some great improvements over its predecessor - the DS/DSi - how does it compare against the PSP and its successor, the Playstation Vita?  Well, firstly the graphics and screen are a significant improvement, and at least bring it on par with the PSP.  And while the 3D screen is larger than the 2D screen (or even the DS screens), it is still smaller than the PSPs.

 

The 3D feature is incredible and adds a fantastic new dimension to gameplay, though its difficult to use it for long durations of time - which is a problem for long games like RPGs.  The promised feature of 3D movies has yet to even eventuate, and demand is so less than expected that Nintendo have dropped the price considerably. 

While I've been tempted to get a 3DS, I've held off, preferring my PSP and waiting for the Vita.  From what I've seen of Sony's new handheld, I'm blown away at what it is capable of.  It has a larger and higher quality screen than the PSP (that is touch, similar to quality smartphones), a touchpad on the back, 2 x control sticks (compared to the 3DS' one) and the processing power of a Xbox360/PS3.  So powerful is the Vita, that a PS3 game was ported (yes, ported) to the Vita (and it only took around a week to do so!).

 

It will use a new type of flash-card in place of the UMD that the PSP uses ... and while Sony have said it can play PSP games downloaded from the PSN, it still has not addressed the issue that has been raised by PSP owners - being able to play UMD games (since it does not have a disc drive).  There has been talk of an exchange option, where UMD games can be exchanged for the new flash-card format, but if this does go ahead, it looks as if it may only happen in Japan.  Also, there is no feature that allows gamers to play the Vita through the TV ... so no being able to play the big Vita games on a big screen (which, considering the potential for PS3-like Vita games, is rather disappointing).

With both the 3DS and the Vita expected to be about the same price upon the Vita's release, and both backward compatible, it's really going to be a matter of which system has the games us gamers want to play.  Both systems have improved remarkably over the DS and PSP, and while the 3DS has 3D and the ability to be backward compatible with its physical games, the Vita has the power and speed of a high-end home console, not to mention several dozen games already in development and being supported by every major developer on the planet.  And if Sony can sort out the issue with playing physical PSP games on the Vita, and have it able to play through the TV, then I will be getting the Vita over the 3DS.

But as any good gamer would say, you should always go for the system that has the games that you want to play on it.

ADDITIONAL NOTE (Nov. 17, 2011):  Sony have confirmed that they will be releasing a UMD-converter for the Vita, which will mean users will be able to play UMD games and movies on the Vita.