Poll Nintendo DS vs PlayStation Vita (59 votes)
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Okay, so this is what it all came down to.
I asked you all what your favorite Nintendo handheld is, and after an asinine three way tie that lasted two days, you guys finally voted the DS the winner (... as of right now. Please don't go back and vote for something else to tie it again).
I asked you all what the best PlayStation handheld is, and that one was a whole lot more one sided, with the PS Vita getting the lion's share of votes.
So, of these two, then, which is better?
The Nintendo DS (and especially in its Lite incarnation) might be the greatest, most perfect handheld ever conceived- an ambidextrous layout, two screens that protected themselves with a clamshell layout, a battery that really never dies, and a system that differentiated itself from the competition and from home consoles so much it got all these amazing games that simply weren't possible anywhere else- mind you, no other handheld ever, Nintendo or otherwise, has actually differentiated itself like the DS did. Oh, and the DS's library! It is probably the greatest handheld library of all time. With the entire backing of first party and the most third party backing (western and eastern) a Nintendo system has ever gotten, the DS was a goldmine of brilliant, amazing, quirky games. It is the veritable PS2 of handhelds, and it shows. When you throw in GBA compatibility that was available in most DS systems on the market, it just becomes hilariously overkill, there's no stopping that.
The PS Vita is a gorgeous piece of kit. Immaculately crafted, it may actually be the best designed and engineered hardware this generation for what it is (yes, better than even the PS4). And on the older model, that OLED screen is a thing of beauty, gorgeous and stunning, that makes you sit up and take notice. The Vita took several cues from the DS too, differentiating itself from every other system on the market, with not just its touch screen- everything has a touch screen these days- but also a rear touchpad, which, okay it sucks, but it's there. Much better was the Vita's attempt at having two analog sticks, meaning the Vita actually learned from its predecessor, which isn't necessarily something we can say about the DS's successor. The Vita's tragedy is is that as great as the hardware is, the library lets it down- it never got the support it deserved, not from third parties, and not even from Sony, who consistently treat it as the red headed step child. Nevertheless, it has amassed an impressive collection of incredible games (including my favorite game of all time), a lot of which come from an unexpected direction- indie developers.
So, those are the two systems going head to head. Which ones win for you?
Here's my ranking:
- Nintendo DS
- PlayStation Vita
This was, sadly, not even a competition. Not only is the Vita's library completely dwarfed by everything the DS has to offer- and again, the DS has a staggering amount of things to offer- but the hardware itself, as handheld hardware, has too many flaws, whereas the DS hardware achieved everything it set out to do. Notably, the Vita's poor battery life or its reliance on proprietary overpriced memory cards must be mentioned.
Nevertheless, this is just what I think, and you are all free to disagree. So I ask you- Nintendo DS vs PS Vita? Which system will win the battle of handhelds?
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