I see people with Vita and 3DS on the train and bus.  Though smartphones and tablets are far more prominent.  In the US public transportation isn't as big unless you live in a huge city.  There is no stigma that I'm aware of though. It's just that most adults drive themselves to work so there isn't nearly as high a possible use case.   

The Vita was only able to get those games because of the install base, because it was more appealing.

IDC what games come to Vita I would still never play it in public or be seen with one period.

The smartphone replaced your dumb phone, watch, mp3 player/music player and handheld.. Its not hard to see why the cool kids don't have a need for a vita..

No offense but man if I saw someone 30 years old playing a handheld at a mall I would judge them. Do you own a Vita?

I'm not embarrassed to use one I just don't know when I would ever be able to use it. The only time I would have to play handhelds is at home and I already have my console and a backlog of games on that. Whenever I go out I'm not in a situation to play games. I rarely travel so at this point I'd rather just get an emulator on my android and play when i do travel.

I wouldn't be caught dead giving a fuck what the group of mouth breathing semi-sentients called "the public" thinks about me because of what I choose to play video games on.

Indeed, the Vita is a real gamer's handheld, sadly there just aren't too many real gamers anymore.

That said, best system in a long while for the few of us traditional gamers who are left in the world and the best handheld bar none.

Like Plasma/OLED, sadly people who want the best don't number enough to offset the sheer number of the mass market who will settle for tat.

Yeah, I never played handhelds in public and I never saw adults with handhelds. It's just embarrassing.

I use the 3DS like the Wii U GamePad in Off-TV mode and woudn't buy any multiplats on 3DS.

A real portable Nintendo handheld with Wii U hardware would be almost the same for me. I'd be less comfortable because handhelds are smaller.

Well, alright. But I don't think your average consumer's thoughts when buying a video game system is if they will look good playing it, instead of the games on the platform.

The Vita is failing for a multitude of reasons. But yes, public perception is a big one.