I thought it would be nice to look at what really differentiates the 3DS and NGP, and not just in features, but in the approaches Sony and Nintendo have taken in developing them. And since we can't do a comparison of price and battery life, I'd rather leave it out of the topic as a whole. I've tried to leave out things where we can't do a fair comparison yet too, and I also wanted to focus on the end user and not developers in these comparisons, so it'll be things that matter to the end user in some way or not.

First off, the similarities:

- Both have been developed as dedicated gaming devices with multimedia capabilities.

- Both share many similarities with their predecessors, both in concept and feature set, seeking to refine existing designs rather than invent new ones.

- Both are taking ideas that either originate from or were previously only possible on home consoles and PC and bringing them to life in the portable space.

- Both are backwards compatible with their predessecors.

- Both employ touch input for gameplay.

- Both are designed for great viewing experiences.

- Both contain accurate motion control equipment for use with gameplay.

- Both use cartridges for physical game destribution.

- Both have cameras dual cameras for AR gameplay.

Now, the differences:

- The NGP is designed with high specs to make sure it can compete in terms of power for years to come, where the 3DS is designed to compete in the handheld market without touting its specs.

- The 3DS entices people to bring their 3DS with them with rewards for being active and meeting other people with 3DSs. The NGP does not use rewards, but touts more traditional and less unique features for bringing it along on the go like limited 3G multiplayer and GPS (and others), though it does allow you to see NGP players near you.

- The NGP is designed to be able to be online constantly, where the 3DS can only take advantage of WiFi for internet connectivity.

- The 3DS employs 3D to captivate its viewer, where the NGP uses an OLED screen to do the same.

- The NGP has dual analogue sticks to control camera and movement typically, where the 3DS relies on an analogue pad and its touchscreen for the same.

- The NGP is designed to utilize the PSN, the online infrastructure from the PS3 and PSP, where the 3DS builds on almost no existing online infrastructure.

- The NGP has added a unique control mechanism with the rear touchpad, where the 3DS utilizes no unique control mechanisms.

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I'm sure there's a bunch more, please tell me if you have any more to add and I'll see if it fits.

I'm actually kind of surprised by how much they share in concept, and the differentiating factor is the context in which their seen. Although you could argue that it's just because the similarities listed are too general, but whatever.

NGP actually adds something new when it comes to gameplay potential with the trackpad, which if used right by devs can yeiled to some new and fun gameplay possibilities

oh and not only that the dual analog as well...FPS and Action Adventure genre will benefit a lot from that

Anyway, I'm off for now, but feel free to comment.

EDIT: @ M.U.G.E.N.

I wrote about the analogue sticks already, and I decided against specifying the touch controls for each of the two. But I may add it if I can make it fit into the post.

So what's with the coin system on the 3ds? Is it like this?

?

Startling but flawed 3D technology? I'm sorry, but, to me, that comes off as more than a little biased, especially when you follow it up with the "beautiful OLED screen" for the NGP.

Also, I'm not sure if you did the same for NGP, but you left out a lot of 3DS's main features in the comparison.

Flawed?? Okey...
BTW 3DS will use the shop infrastructure from the DSi, having all those titles available when the eShop launches.

well it is something and my point was tho they focus a huge deal on power of the device, they also have tried to include ways to improve and differentiate themselves from the competition via gameplay mechanics.

oh and PS Suit! It's one of the most important new features of the device...a platform where devs can make games for mobile devices and NGP at the same time.

You missed something important.  The 3DS Developers who want to take advantage of the 3d capabilities will HAVE to exclude or LIMIT the gyroscopic and six axis motion sensing technologies so as to make sure the 3d effect works.

Developers for NGP will end up utilizing the motion sensing capabilities in a much deeper and relevant way because there will be no need to cater to a 3d effect.

That, I think, is going to be one of the game altering factors come this next portable generation.  And it's a shame since I think it's the only thing that makes me sad about the 3DS.

You forgot to mention the AR, which is the thing that I'm most excited for on the 3DS :(

It is flawed because it is not true 3D. 

http://www.nintendo3dsinfo.com/how-the-nintendo-3ds-parallax-effect-works-image/

But i agree the beautiful OLED screen was over the top and is subjective.