I already own a 3DS but won't get Monster Hunter 4 because it started on a Sony console. Wait. That's not the reason. I won't be getting it because it's not going to be localized for the west. Another reason could be that, my only venture into Monster Hunter was Freedom Unite, which while decent, remains an incomplete experience. I'll have to eventually finish Freedom Unite before I ever even consider Monster Hunter 4.
The reason has already been mentioned though. Most people don't want to buy a console just for a few games. I own every game for the Wii that I'll ever want to own, but I don't want to waste my money on the console itself. I either play them on a friend's console, or am just waiting for the Wii U since it has bc. I used to own a 360 for a short period of time. Owned both PS360 and both consoles were practically identical at the time with a few other games, but never played the Gears games until recently. I want to buy another 360 for the Gears titles eventually, but would rather not spend $200 to play them. It'll be better to wait and see if the 720 has bc.
With both the Wii and the 360, purchasing either console will cost me more money than the games themselves have already cost me(or will, I don't yet have Gears 3.) With 3DS and Vita, I own both portables because they already have exclusives I'm interested in, and will get more exclusives between them than the consoles will, like pretty much every portable prior to this gen has done.
