Is a Price Drop the Great Equilizer Between the 3DS and PSV?

Posted on Friday, July 29 @ 00:17:59 Eastern by Daniel Bischoff

If you're like me, you're in the market for two handheld gaming platforms. You've probably already gotten a Nintendo 3DS, knowing full well that you're buying your childhood, at double the price, and with your own money instead of your parents money. I loved the Nintendo 64. After playing 3DS games at E3, I knew I wouldn't hesitate to pick up Nintendo's next-generation portable with a copy of my favorite game of all time, Star Fox 64... in 33333DDDDDDDDDDD (pronounced: THREEEEEDEEEEEEE).

Did you know that the 3D version of Star Fox 64 has all the same gameplay, a new layer of graphical polish, and multiplayer where you can see the face of your victim before you blast them out of the sky?! Of course, the voices aren't the same and there's no online multiplayer.... Talk about missed opportunities.

The PlayStation Vita didn't really appeal to me though. I'd heard lots of stuff about the device, back when it was called the Next Generation Portable. It wasn't until Sony's press conference that I'd have a chance to play the games.

Of course, before I'd get my hands on Sony's handheld, I'd also learn a lot more information about its release. What?! AT&T only? Eh, that didn't bother me as much as it did everyone else in the audience: remember, I'm an early iPhone adopter. $300 for 3G and $250 for WiFi? OK! Let's do it!

Suddenly, my interest was piqued. I didn't yet own a 3DS and now I had choices! The games at the show weren't particularly enthralling, except for Sound Shapes, but even that would be reason enough to get in on the Vita-ground-floor.

Despite having purchased a 3DS, I'll use my powers for good, not evil and tell you which handheld you'll be choosing over the other this holiday season:

Neither! Only the rare few will be buying a handheld gaming system this year. The Vita may not even be available before Christmas (HAHAHAHA, surrrre). Neither handheld has a very good lineup of software, unless you're a super-fanboy of the Nintendo variety.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you'll be happy with either machine, should you choose to buy. Maybe the Vita will have some awesome remote-play capabilities so you can get to your PS3 games from any room in the house. That's what I'm looking out for. Maybe you never had a PSP, like me, and there's a whole library of games you're looking to play on the Vita.

Take solace in the fact that you'll be getting 20 free games Nintendo fanboys. That's a pretty sweet deal. Most of them will probably be great Nintendo games! Let the nostalgia train roll! Yes! I remember the Nintendo Entertainment System! I also remember the Game Boy Advance! I remember how the 3DS doesn't have a GBA slot anymore! ... Oh no! I made myself sad.

Did you know that early adopters of the iPhone in 2007 were given $100 in store credit to the Apple store after the price-drop? Have you been to the Apple store?! $100 in credit is essentially a bill for $300! There's NOTHING in there for $100.

I suppose yes, the 3DS price-drop does equalize the field between the Nintendo and Sony handhelds, but really, you've probably already made your decision. No one dropped everything today and said "that's it, I'm buying a 3DS" or "that's it, the Vita is the way to go." That moment will come when a killer app is released for either handheld, and that's not happened yet.

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Related Games: Nintendo 3DS

Tags: Nintendo, Sony

Comments

tinymhg
Joined: Jun 2011

Posted: Jul 29th, 2011 at 5:11 am
I had an original Gameboy in all it’s 4 shades of green glory. Mario Land 1+2, Final Fantasy III, Ultima, Star Trek, Wario, and Zelda: Link's Awakening. All helped me learn to love Nintendo handheld games. My Gameboy Advance SP helped me learn to love Pokemon. Final Fantasy V, Zelda: A Link to the Past, Golden Sun, and many others made me a fan for life of the big N. My DS-Lite doesn’t gather dust, and I won’t bore you with more game titles because there are far too many.

To tell the truth I don’t think I could name one PSP title. I know that the PSP has more horse power under the hood than my DS, and that the PSV will run circles around the 3DS too. It’s the games I love not the hardware, so call me a fanboy, I’ll get my 3DS as soon as I can afford it. Laugh or snicker if you must, but I will have the games I love to play as soon as they make/port some more.

Btw good rant.

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usaglory
Joined: Mar 2009

Posted: Jul 29th, 2011 at 7:57 am
It's hard to believe that anyone would b*tch and complain about a price drop but it's happening. When you buy any piece of hardware you know it's gonna drop its price, be it in 3 months or three years, it's gonna happen. So if you buy on day one you have to live with the fact.
As far as 3DS vs Vita, it's nothing new, the games are gonna be the deciding factor as to which one comes out on top. Nintendo has the best franchises but little third party support, Sony is the other way around but both companies seem to be too stupid to fix the issue.

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Anthony_Severino
Joined: Oct 2010

Posted: Jul 29th, 2011 at 2:04 pm
I've got a 3DS and I've played with the Vita a few times now. IMO it's the Vita hands down. Don't get me wrong. I'll still buy a ton of 3DS games, but the system itself just isn't good enough to be the successor to the DS. The Vita on the other hand, is a true successor to the PSP.

Nintendo dropped the ball with the 3DS, and meanwhile Sony seems to have learned from their PS3 mistakes. Affordable price, check. Launch library, check. Developer support, check. I'm sold on day one.

I was sold on day one with the 3DS too, but that's because I'm a gadget whore and I need to have a new gadget the day it comes out if not earlier. I've been like that since I was a kid, and if it means paying more than everyone else, so be it. I don't mind. It's the price I pay to be better than everyone else I know. Even if I don't ever even show anyone, so they don't know that I'm better, I'm happy enough just knowing I'm better than them. I'm ****ed up like that.

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tinymhg
Joined: Jun 2011

Posted: Jul 29th, 2011 at 6:32 pm
Wow. A look inside the mind of a GameRevolution gadget whore.... It's quite disturbing.

Btw gadget whoring is illegal in the state of California, with a penalty of 3-5 years of having to live with other smug self-important people in a state of the art, brand new, everybody’s dieing to get into exclusive facility.

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ButtonCombo
Joined: Jul 2011

Posted: Jul 29th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
Great article! If anything this gives Nintendo the edge over Sony now.

I wanted to email you this but I wasn't sure how often the staff here check their accounts.

The Sun Spreads More Lies About 3DS, Help Us Stop Them

Please help us spread the word about The Sun, and get involved with messaging the author. The more people that do this the better.

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danielrbischoff
Joined: Nov 2009

Posted: Jul 29th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
I saw your article on N4G as well. If you check back here and want to post your link you have to remove the h t t p : / / w w w . and just post the rest of the URL.

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ButtonCombo
Joined: Jul 2011

Posted: Jul 29th, 2011 at 2:24 pm
Whoops! It appears I can't links. :(

1 0

ButtonCombo
Joined: Jul 2011

Posted: Jul 29th, 2011 at 2:26 pm
Whoops! It appears I can't links. :(

1 0

ButtonCombo
Joined: Jul 2011

Posted: Jul 29th, 2011 at 2:29 pm
Whoops! It appears I can't links. :(

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De-Ting
Joined: Nov 2006

Posted: Jul 29th, 2011 at 4:04 pm
Whoops! It appears you can't thinks.

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tinymhg
Joined: Jun 2011

Posted: Jul 29th, 2011 at 6:17 pm
me thunk so two

0 2