Originally Posted by 007 I'm asking this in the least dick-ish way possible, but have you actually played a 3DS? 3D aspect aside, hold Resident Evil Revelations up against any DS game and the 'improvements' are pretty clear. It's a much more powerful system, regardless of the 3D. I'm not debating that the 3D isn't a selling point, but let's not pretend it's the only thing that changed between generations.

Nah, it's a fair question and doesn't seem dick-ish at all. I've spent VERY little time with the 3DS. I guess in fairness, I would need to spend more time with it to give a complete opinion on it. But from an average consumers standpoint, the 3D aspect is the only difference. My real problem stems from just my disappointment in Nintendo. They usually make pretty big leaps with the major iterations of their handhelds and this one just felt extremely lazy to me.

Originally Posted by strawyleader997 I love my vita and I play it almost every single day(mainly just black ops multiplayer). The psn library is great with a ton of games and apps. I agree that the prices for the memory cards are twice as much as they should be, but the vita blows the 3DS out of the water.

Agreed. I don't know how anyone can even mention the 3DS as a contemporary of the Vita, when in fact the 3DS is such a weakly upgraded device, over the original DS, and is so far below the Vita in specs.

Clearly Nintendo bet the bank that 3D would take off as a new trend, and it didn't. 3D movies are not as popular as the same movie in non-3D theaters, 3D televisions aren't moving well, and 3D movies on blu-ray aren't either. 3D is a fad, a gimmick . . . and by engineering the entire 3DS around it, they really blew it bad. I've played with the 3DS on multiple occasions (both versions), and just find the 3D effect to be annoying, and the games to be lacklustre at best.

I do have two Vitas and multiple PSPs, and have really enjoyed playing with them. I've found the Vita library to be excellent, even if there haven't been a flood of games. And I have many older PSP classics on my 16gb memory stick, which look and play great on the Vita's 5" OLED screen. I think the Vita is an excellent system that just needs time to grow, that's all.

Originally Posted by Mixer236 I get this, and believe me, I'd like to be able to play UMD's on my Vita. But to be fair here, how often are you really going to go out somewhere long enough to where you would need(or even make sense, for that matter) to be able to play multiple games on multiple systems? I'm guessing probably only a few times a year. Most people will only play these for about an hour or two a day(when not at home), so the idea that you'd want to play both PSP games and Vita games isn't something that you're likely going to be able to do. In to a PSP game? Bring your PSP with you. In to a Vita game? Bring that with you instead. I'll also say this: I haven't used my PSP once since I got my Vita. Know how many times I've played a DS game on my 3DS? Only 3-4 times, and zero times this year. It's all about playing the new games with these systems, the people whining about BC probably wouldn't even utilize it as much as they think. Besides, it's only a recent fad that I think wouldn't be so terrible if it went away... Nobody cared at all when we couldn't play SNES games on our N64's, we just wanted to enjoy the new games! I know, imagine that!

The SNES and N64 aren't portable systems. Space and convenience aren't really factors with them, so I don't understand the comparison.

And I'm currently playing through Chrono Trigger DS and Pokemon White 2 on my 3DS. And I'm gonna play 999 after that. If the Vita had backwards compatibility, I'd be playing Kingdom Hearts and The Third Birthday. I'm not gonna complain about something lacking a feature I don't use.

The Vita library literally has three games I give a shit about, so I wouldn't want to lug one around without backwards compatibility. Perhaps I'll get one in a few years, when a revision comes out and there's more than a couple of games I want for it. (In fact, this reminds me of what happened with the PS3. I didn't get one until they revised the hardware and it had more good games than Metal Gear Solid 4.)

I'll have to agree that Vita is a very strong disappointment. Which is a shame too considering how much promise it actually had,hopefully it will rebound. (awaits to be attacked by vita owners) :(

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Originally Posted by JasonTerminator The SNES and N64 aren't portable systems. Space and convenience aren't really factors with them, so I don't understand the comparison. And I'm currently playing through Chrono Trigger DS and Pokemon White 2 on my 3DS. And I'm gonna play 999 after that. If the Vita had backwards compatibility, I'd be playing Kingdom Hearts and The Third Birthday. I'm not gonna complain about something lacking a feature I don't use. The Vita library literally has three games I give a shit about, so I wouldn't want to lug one around without backwards compatibility. Perhaps I'll get one in a few years, when a revision comes out and there's more than a couple of games I want for it. (In fact, this reminds me of what happened with the PS3. I didn't get one until they revised the hardware and it had more good games than Metal Gear Solid 4.)

Wait, you never carried around your 64 in your backpack like all of us cool kids?

But seriously, I think you missed the point of what I'm saying in that no one really cared much about BC at all until this generation. This gen is the first one in which all consoles(I know, I know: "But Game Boys & DS' always featured it!", while that may be true, I don't think anyone really cared all that much) had it at one point, so it's become something that a lot of people think they "need to have" just because we think it should be the norm. I mean, we got by for years without it just fine.

If you picked up a Vita, grabbed the "3 games you give a shit about", gave a couple of other ones a chance, and within a month you'd forget all about your PSP. It's silly to say you won't buy it because of BC, it'll never come to the Vita. If they had put that in there, they would have basically had to put PSP guts inside the Vita, making it even larger and likely driving up the cost $50-100.

I'm also not surprised to find out that you were one of the "PS3 has no games" people.

Originally Posted by JasonTerminator The SNES and N64 aren't portable systems. Space and convenience aren't really factors with them, so I don't understand the comparison. And I'm currently playing through Chrono Trigger DS and Pokemon White 2 on my 3DS. And I'm gonna play 999 after that. If the Vita had backwards compatibility, I'd be playing Kingdom Hearts and The Third Birthday. I'm not gonna complain about something lacking a feature I don't use. The Vita library literally has three games I give a shit about, so I wouldn't want to lug one around without backwards compatibility. Perhaps I'll get one in a few years, when a revision comes out and there's more than a couple of games I want for it. (In fact, this reminds me of what happened with the PS3. I didn't get one until they revised the hardware and it had more good games than Metal Gear Solid 4.)

The PS3 120GB Slim was first released when.. Summer of 2008? And you're going to say the only good game at that time was MGS4?

mmmmmmkay.

I sometimes get pissed because my current PC isn't backwards compatible and it doesn't play Howard the Duck in the original 5.25" floppy disc format that my Commodore 64 did.

And I tried jamming NES Carts into my SNES and that didn't go over well either.

What really bothers me is my Blu-ray player won't read VHS cassettes. I know I know... different mediums... but then again so aren't ing UMD and Vita cartridges.

Did you forget that DS and 3DS cartridges are on the same goddamn media?

Originally Posted by GBAstar The PS3 120GB Slim was first released when.. Summer of 2008? And you're going to say the only good game at that time was MGS4? mmmmmmkay. I sometimes get pissed because my current PC isn't backwards compatible and it doesn't play Howard the Duck in the original 5.25" floppy disc format that my Commodore 64 did. And I tried jamming NES Carts into my SNES and that didn't go over well either. What really bothers me is my Blu-ray player won't read VHS cassettes. I know I know... different mediums... but then again so aren't ing UMD and Vita cartridges. Did you forget that DS and 3DS cartridges are on the same goddamn media?

I believe that was Summer '09, which only serves to make his comment even more off-base.

Other than that, *high-five*

Originally Posted by Mixer236 Wait, you never carried around your 64 in your backpack like all of us cool kids?

lol... You just brought back some high school memories, hauling it around to go play some Mario Kart, Golden Eye, Snowboard Kids and Smash Bros!

I love my Vita. I wanted one since it was announced but didn't have the money for it until a few weeks ago during black friday. I play it all the time. I am a PS+ member, so to get games like Uncharted included in that cost is unbelievable. It's the best handheld experience I ever had. Plus games I really enjoy like Black Ops Declassified and Mortal Kombat play and look great on the Vita. Cross-buy games like PS All Stars and Marvel Pinball are a great value. I own Marvel Pinball on Xbox 360, PS3, and iOS as well and it plays best on the Vita, IMO. I think the Vita will continue to grow, and when more people experience the quality of these games on the go, more people will show interest, and more developers will show interest. It's just taking some time. Rome wasn't built in a day, folks.

Hopefully all this will change, it seemed like a bigger user base was made this past Black Friday. I think making systems especially portables more cost effective, if a company truly believes in there product they should take a hit to at least gain some market share. I know this isn't good business but everybody isn't going to throw away money at something, especially when it doesn't have a good track record.

I think this is why the GBA had such a wide user base, it was affordable and very easy to lug around. I know as a parent I'm very cautious when I let my 5 year old mess around with the Vita, I would kick myself for days if she broke it!

Originally Posted by skiizim lol... You just brought back some high school memories, hauling it around to go play some Mario Kart, Golden Eye, Snowboard Kids and Smash Bros!

There was some truth to what I said... My friends and I did this all the time growing up with our various systems(between the four of us, we had all of the main consoles). I even had one of those special carrying cases for my Gamecube later on... I really did take that with me everywhere.

Originally Posted by matrix9280 And the games don't come with manuals either.

Physically no.

They install to the vita with the game, however. You can access it at any point by tapping the red book of the game page.

Originally Posted by whoknows To me the 3DS is pretty much just a more power DS with some minor added things (like a friends list). The 3D adds absolutely nothing and usually turns out to be more annoying and distracting than anything else if I have it on.

Every console is a more power iteration of it's predecessor, so I don't see the problem.

Originally Posted by GameNChick I'll have to agree that Vita is a very strong disappointment. Which is a shame too considering how much promise it actually had,hopefully it will rebound. (awaits to be attacked by vita owners) :(

Well I am saying this from a stand point of skipping the psp generation for the most part, but I don't understand this view point. As many others have said, the Vita has a huuuuuge library of games available because of its psp store. In all honesty this was a great idea for Sony to do that, as it does in fact add backwards compatibility without the unnecessary parts and added cost.

I will say tho, at first my Vita did collect dust for a little bit after launch waiting for titles to come out. I almost had the entire launch library before anything really pulled me in. Now I have some great games to play!

Ragnarok: odyssey, p4g (if I decide to open it. Have the collectors), gravity rush, uncharted: golden abyss, MK9 (the added challenge tower is fun), touch my katamari, VLR: zero escape!

We still have tons of time for the vita to pick up steam.

Besides, if we go by this logic of first year of release, the wii u is also a disappointment. Hah, $350 for a gimmicky tablet and technology from 7 years ago with laughable memory space? All ports from other consoles for full msrp, and with only 4 exclusives?

Just sayin.

Originally Posted by Mixer236 But seriously, I think you missed the point of what I'm saying in that no one really cared much about BC at all until this generation. This gen is the first one in which all consoles(I know, I know: "But Game Boys & DS' always featured it!", while that may be true, I don't think anyone really cared all that much) had it at one point, so it's become something that a lot of people think they "need to have" just because we think it should be the norm. I mean, we got by for years without it just fine. I'm also not surprised to find out that you were one of the "PS3 has no games" people.

You seem to be missing the point that backward's compatibility was ALWAYS a thing with portable consoles until the PSP. The PSP is the exception to the rule here. Am I complaining about how my PS3 doesn't play PS2 games? Or how my 360 doesn't play every Xbox game I have? This is a portable system. The rules are different.

I should have clarified that the PS3 didn't have any games that I was interested in until I got my Slim, not that there weren't any good games on the PS3 until then.

Originally Posted by GBAstar Did you forget that DS and 3DS cartridges are on the same goddamn media

The DS and GBA were on different media, yet the DS was backwards compatible.

Originally Posted by JasonTerminator You seem to be missing the point that backward's compatibility was ALWAYS a thing with portable consoles until the PSP. The PSP is the exception to the rule here. Am I complaining about how my PS3 doesn't play PS2 games? Or how my 360 doesn't play every Xbox game I have? This is a portable system. The rules are different. I should have clarified that the PS3 didn't have any games that I was interested in until I got my Slim, not that there weren't any good games on the PS3 until then. The DS and GBA were on different media, yet the DS was backwards compatible.

Um, I said as much in my post? I get it, BC is always a nice added bonus. As mentioned above, Vita does have quasi-backwards compatibility. You can even play a nice amount of PS1 games on there! I just still don't think it's such a big deal if you already have the previous system... But agree to disagree, I suppose.


As for the DS - 3DS discussion going on here, 3DS is definitely better than any iteration of the DS. I think where most people are coming from is the difference from DS - 3DS when compared to PSP - Vita. When you compare a Vita to a PSP it's literally like night and day, there's no comparison whatsoever. But when you compare a DS to a 3DS, the margin between the upgrade is much smaller.

The only disappointment is sony's inability to properly market it. The system itself oozes quality craftsmanship as soon as you play it for awhile..and there are quality games, especially considering its been out less than a year.

Originally Posted by antlp89 The reason people say the Vita "has no games" is because most of the good titles are rehashes of PS3 titles. Rehashes that are much more enjoyable on the PS3 (Dualshock controller, HDTV, surround sound, etc).

That's totally it for me.

The only reason I ever got into portable gaming at all (GBA and DS primarily) was because they offered something different than the consoles--notably it was really the only place to get 2D games--at least before XBLA and PSN really took off.

Now that portables are mostly 3D games, and there are a decent amount of 2D downloadable games on consoles, I have no need for portables.

I've never been a hardcore enough gamer to have any desire to game on the go--it's just something I do at home. And I'd much rather game on my big HDTV, with a regular controller, surround sound etc. than on a tiny portable if the types of games I'm playing are more or less the same.

When killing time out and about I'd generally rather just read--be it on my Kindle, or newspapers/Kindle app on my iPad, iPhone etc. The rare instances I get an itch to game when out and about or traveling, stuff like Angry Birds or Bejewled is enough to scratch my itch.

holy shit PimpLimp and whoknows are dumbasses

Thank ing god Sony didn't dumb shit up the VITA by including PSP backwards compatibility. UMD discs and disc drives suck plain and simple. I still have an old 2000 and when I hear the grinding noise it makes me cringe. Not buying a VITA because of PSP compatibility is anyone's choice but seems like a silly notion, sounds like you are too attached to the system and not the games you are playing. Just finish what you have and move on. Granted Sony could have included some sort of conversion program but I think they made the right move.

The reason you love the 3DS BC is my complaint about the system. Granted BC is a nice option but I much would have preferred a more powerful handheld without the 3D and BC in a form factor similar to DS Lite with better screens and a slimmer profile. The 3DS looks and feels like a Tonka toy next to a VITA (Ferrari) when used side by side.

It's obvious that Nintendo is going for that little kid market but I'm glad their is an alternative. The 3DS has some decent stuff but after RE: Revelations and 3D Land the library doesn't feel too robust to me. Sony created a big screened, slim profile, quick monster handheld and I'm a proud owner.

Memory pricing sucks but PS+ made up for that error.