Hey guys,

I found an article about the upcoming launch of the PS Vita in Germany in the biggest daily newspaper in Germany. It is the biggest daily newspaper, but also one known for the bad quality. Anyway it reaches 12.5 million readers and is the highest print run worldwide (except of Japan).

My English is not perfect, but I will give it a try and translate it for you guys. Can't be worse than google, can it? It is basically a comparison between Vita, 3DS and iOS.

Here we go:

PS VITA: That's the way life goes!

On wednesday, the new Playstation will be released, but this time it does not want to get in your living room. No, the PS Vita wants to be in the pockets or handbags of gamers.

The PS Vita is just like the Gameboy and the smartphone a portable gaming console. In Sonys motherland the PS Vita plays in "League of flops" to put it mildly.

Is there hope for more gaming friends in Germany?

I just had the opportunity to compare the new portable entertainer with its toughest competition - the Nintendo 3DS and the iPod touch (and therfore iPhone and iPad as well). Here are my impressions:

NINTENDO 3DS

The big display of the 3DS shows cool 3D games without the need of glasses. The smaller screen below is a touchscreen, which is not as responsive as the ones of the iPod touch and the Vita, but there is a D-Pad and gaming-buttons. The biggest strength of the 3DS is the gaming library. Starting with "Super Mario" over "Professor Layton" to "Resident Evil", every gamer finds the desired gaming entertainment on the go.

Biggest Disadvantage: The console feels uncomfortable, big and heavy.
Conclusion: A great toy for gamers who like gadgets.

Size/Weight: 134 x 74 x 21 millimeter, 235 gramm

Display: 3.5 and 3 Inch, 800 x 240 and 320 x 240 pixel

Price: console: 149 Euro, games between 30 and 50 Euro

iPod Touch (and iPhone / iPad)

the slim iPod is the most elegant and best looking mobile gaming console. The controls with the touchscreen works just fine, but is not flexible enough for more complex games. That is why under all the thousands of cheap game-apps only a handful can mess with the ones on 3DS and Vita when it comes to game depth and ambition.

Anyway the simplicity of the games on the go is the biggest strength. Who wants to manage a complex economy-simulation in a train? So the iOS devices are the coolest entertainer on the go.

Size/Weight: 111 x 59 x 7 millimeter, 101 gramm

Display: 3.5 inches, 960 x 460 pixel

price: console starting with 179 Euro, game-Apps between 79 Cent and 10 Euros

PS Vita

Who tried the Vita understands quickly, why Japanese aren't buying it. The screen looks good, but does not offer more details than the one the iPod. Games are at least 40 Euro, but do not offer more complexity than iPhone-apps. The strengths like touch-enabled back of the console are either not used at all or just for unimportant mini games.

On top of that there are annoynances like the special Vita-memory cards, which are at least twice as much as the microSD-chips with the same memory. The outstanding well built casing and the great control methods (2 analog-sticks, d-pad and 6 gaming buttons) do not make up for the weaknesses.

In a word: The PS Vita is overpriced, too big, too heavy, and it offers too little good and unique games.

Size / Weight: 182 x 19 x 84 millimeter, 280 gramm

Display: 5 inches, 960 x 544 pixel

price: console 249 without, 299 Euro with 3G, games between 40 and 50 Euro

Games are at least 40 Euro, but do not offer more complexity than iPhone-apps.

wat.

I guess shitty journalism is a worldwide phenomenon.

source: http://www.bild.de/spiele/spiele-news/mobile-konsolen/so-spielt-das-leben-22700442.bild.html

"bild" is known for its love for apple. Don't know why.

Oh trashy Apple fans. You know no national boundaries.

Bild is actually very good journalism. The target audience is the "common man" and they hit the target squarely.

"Games are at least 40 Euro, but do not offer more complexity than iPhone-apps."

lol that is a terrible sentence right there.... I can't believe they even tried to do that bs argument. Sure some games might be gimped (Ridge Racer) but most of them aren't.

Well there is a difference between satisfying the target audience and good journalism.

Oh BILD you never fail to disappoint me.

So, they sucessfully aim for the lowest common dennominator? That's not good journalism. That's feeding mush to the masses.

Actually not. They just write things so that their target audience understands them.

Ever tried to write complex political situations in a couple of sentences so that every blue-collar worker would understand?