I look at it this way, hand-held gaming platforms are going to be niche (if they are not already), and therefore may not really be worth the expenditure of time and money to develop for. Why? because more people already own more phones and tablets than will own the latest handy-dandy-gimmick hand-held [3D is a gimmick as well. until they can do true 3D projection where EVERYONE can see it without aids or tricks and nobody gets a headache, its just a gimmick]. Sure, the graphics of a tablet may not be top-notch (yet), but its a tablet, so it isn't designed to be hooked up to a 55 inch TV and dazzle your seers. Additionally, phones and tablets have built-in distribution channels (as well as ways around them for other channels) where you don't have to worry about pleasing wal-mart (although apple, from what i understand, may get as bad if they continue their apple-reich mentality [sorry for the godwin]) as well as worry about physical media.

So, when it comes to it, hand-held gaming platofrms are a loosing proposition, in all ways with the exception of graphics (for now). We may literally have seen the last gasp of the hand-held gaming device, because as it stands, first party titles included, i have no interest in what they're selling and Android / iOS / Win8 devices are just going to get better and better. Hand-helds are just not far enough ahead in gaming capability anymore to warrant a purchase for a single-purpose device.

[quote name='shuma-gorath' timestamp='1340579623' post='4952468']
Comparisons...

Out of curiosity, which handheld do you find better, the Vita or the 3DS?
[/quote]
If a title exists on both systems, I'll choose the Vita. The better screen, the second analog stick, and the possibility of capacitive touch is a no-brainer. (For the life of me, I can't figure out why Nintendo didn't include a second analog stick on the XL. It looks like there's enough room.) In general, libraries on Sony's platforms are more my taste. (I've owned about an equal number of systems from both companies over the years.)

For myself, I didn't buy the 3DS for the 3D because, as I predicted, having strabismus makes it virtually impossible to benefit from it. The 3DS does seem to get better battery life, though, and it's easier to turn off the wifi.

Vita does has proper support for achievements ("trophies"), while 3DS does not.

The 3DS murders the Vita in the area of backwards compatibility. Vita can only play a subset of PSP games, and from what I hear, it doesn't have much support PS1 classics or minis. I still have my PSP-3000, so this doesn't affect me.

As media consumption devices, there's no comparison. Both have browsers and Netflix, but Vita now has YouTube and lets you play videos from the memory card, plus there's PSN movies. Netflix on the Vita's OLED is gorgeous and YouTube app is quite good. For watching movies, I use whichever system happens to be charged at the time.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the Vita supports background downloading--both of games and downloads in the browser.

I don't watch TV as much as I used to, but I haven't seen many ads for the Vita. I at least expected there to be some at launch. I know Taco Bell had a thing.

Also, for Sony's E3 press conference, the general consensus is that they should've given the Vita more of the spotlight. After the conference, the VP (I think) admitted that they were trying to shorten the show because they're usually long. The 3DS showed more, but there were a lot of sequels.

The 3DS had a slow first year and the Vita seems to be experiencing the same thing. I'm expecting things to pick up after the holidays.