I respect their opinion, though I wholeheartedly disagree. As an early adopter of the system, I've only purchased 5 games over it's lifetime. Resident Evil Revelations was a fantastic benchmark for what I was expecting from the system, though it's still waiting to be topped. MH3U was also a rather excellent time sink, though the lack of online stung it pretty hard, and the grinding elements did get a little much as I hit the 50 hour mark.
I feel that in terms of delivering a new generation of hardware fit for portable gaming, Nintendo dropped the ball; putting it's main selling point on the 3D was sound in theory, though in practice is irksome, given the very specific viewing angles + range from the screen. It's second demerit would come from the lack of a second (non-optional) analogue stick; without that extra input option, developers are somewhat limited by what genre can comfortable and effectively played on the system (using the touch-screen in a FPS for example, while perfectly functional, is a hand-cramp magnet for those of us with a larger hand).
In all, I find the Vita has more what I'm looking for from a handheld. Despite popular belief, it has plenty of games (having purchased/obtained from +, an alarming back log that may realistically never be conquered in it's entirety) from a pretty diverse range of genres, and their quality is so beyond that of the 3DS that Nintendo's offerings are left feeling archaic and rehashed.
Despite how lovely the new Pokemon looks, I can't condone dropping £35 on an experience I've already had numerous times before (and arguably at periods of my life where the games just suited me better); and despite great attempts at making Animal Crossing fresh once more, it failed to grab my attention after my first few weeks with it - leaving me with perhaps too clear memories of AC:DS.
3DS is a great system, if you don't mind looking past the clear deficiencies in the hardware (screen resolution, single analogue, uncomfortable to hold for long periods, and the rather abysmal battery life), and the strong sense of de ja vu whenever you boot up a new installment of a nintendo franchise (bitterly disappointed by SML3D, though impressed with OoT). But it just fails to impress me when my Vita sits mere inches away, with it's vast digital library, console quality experiences and more engrossing games (need I mention Persona?). And that's forgetting to mention the unmatched OLED display and the extra inputs (Back touchpad and second analogue stick over the 3DS).
But whatever! Popular opinion is in favour of the 3DS, and it's library is surely growing with what (seemingly) most people want from handheld games.
Sony take note, pump out some more first parties on the Vita :P
Just my 2 cents.
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