Means that he will have someone to compete.

I did. Problem, officer?

i can see the poll just fine...

i went with both will falter. the problem with the 3DS imo isn't the $250 price tag ... it's the $40 price tag on games that aren't distinctively better experiences then what smartphones/tablets are offering for a $5 price tag on a much more useful device. small, bite sized pick-up and play experiences...apps are killing in this area.

vita may be somewhat better off since sony is still going for the "console" experience but history has shown that the market as a whole isn't looking for that in a mobile device.

on the whole, i'm still placing my bets on apple/android. the video game industry is a-changin'.

Handheld gaming is gonna see a significant dip overall, I agree. I still think 3DS and Vita will be successful endeavors though. But it's doubtful that either handheld will reach the level of success of the NDS.

Still, looking forward to seeing the 3DS sales explosion in the coming weeks.

It's $40 suggested retail price for games, but if you're going to put a shovelware on it, you may as well charge $40 for your $5 games. The problem is the games. If anyone is to blame, blame the ones overcharging (a lot of 3rd parties).

For me this can only be an opportunity for Sony and the Vita. The price cut pretty much says it all - the 3DS isn't quite the hit Nintendo (and well, nearly everyone) expected and this seems like a very drastic measure to try and up demand before the holidays (the writing was on the wall with numerous 3DS games cancelled anyway... just not to this extent). To not even keep the original price over one holiday season to me feels very... desperate.

But the reality is, thus far the 3DS just hasn't been a device that people want... what we don't know is whether it's the $249 price tag, lack of software, smart phones eating up the market, people not caring about 3D, ignorance to this being the 'next gen handheld' or something else. To me the device has a GameCube vibe about it at the moment, in that people just don't care about it or want it - in which case this price cut won't do a lot. But it's too early for me to really back that up with any meaningful data - will have to wait and see holiday software / hardware sales.

As for Vita, seeing your competition struggle can typically only be a good thing. It could be yelling out a contraction of the handheld games market, but I don't think that's really where the Vita is aiming at in it's first year or two and shouldn't really concern Sony. It does show the importance of quality software at launch though.

I think it's probably worth remembering the DS wasn't a huge hit at launch and it too the DSlite remodel + quality software to really accelerate that system.

you're not listening, i'm not talking  about shovelware in any way.  dead space, fifa, madden, tiger woods golf, ect.  these games are all on smartphones right now and i promise you, they aren't significantly different from the ds/psp couterpart except in 1 way - a huuuge price difference.

i mean really ... steel diver, pilot wings, nintendogs, brain age, animal crossing, pokemon, star fox, mario kart.  which of these nintendo games couldn't be done on an smartphone or tablet??

...if you've spent any amount of time playing games on IOS/android then you would know the answer; none.

No. The $5 games on iOS aren't going to be comparable to the full fledge gaming device.

Both "doomed"

3DS has N64/GameCube like games which means N64/GameCube sales.

Vita has PS3 like games which means PS3 sales.

I think I'm being pessimistic, but that's my opinion right now.

Depends. If they launch it in the holidays with a solid launch lineup (which is actually fairly good) then it can capitalize and maybe steal sales for the 3DS. If they wait to launch it in January then i'm pretty sure the Vita is going to struggle.