Mixed with that and Nintendo's genious advertising making you think you need their products to live will for sure make next generation a N-Generation.

Since I think we're getting bogged down in personal preference which is not really all that important when we're talking about system popularity ...

There is a remarkable similarity between the "battle" between the PS-Vita and the 3DS as there was with the PSP and DS when you compare the two systems on paper, the main difference is something that is difficult to measure and that is a shift in expectations. While consumers, retailers, game publishers, and "journalists" bet against the Nintendo DS and for the PSP the reverse is true in this generation; and, since this momentium shift takes away benefits from the PS-Vita and shifts them to the 3DS, the net effect to the 3DS is double what the benefit was to the PSP.

Haha!! Yeah then they will pay me for making that name up! XD

What a horribly written article. He manages to point out all the things that don't matter and fails to mention most of the things that do.

No.

If anything, the Vita will have an even tougher time than the PSP did since it won't benefit from the same initial hype and strong sales. Back when the PSP first released, it got a lot of media attention and had a fairly strong first year. I don't see the Vita having a similar situation as much as I'd like it to do well.

I think PSVita is going to start off very slowly, then as time goes by and major titles are released, it's going to pick up the pace. It's all about software and appealing to the general audience.

I just love your sig! XD Except that I'm looking forward to MP9...

Damn his expression when he says "Here's Mario Party"      What was that? rofl

^^Also looking forward to MP9

I disagree Rol, for what it's worth... Sony is making a platform with much more appealing software than last gen (imho), must more mainstream series (UC, LBP), and the price is better than the PSP's was at launch. 250 vs 300 dollars iirc. They also dropped UMD and went flash. That's lesson learnt. They then added touch gyro and all, much inspired from Nintendo and Apple, lessons learnt. Their packaging is friendlier and their marketing has radically improved (store poster, proper flagships chosen for launch). All these are lessons learnt.

If games like UC help as flagships, then yes systems are sold because it increases confidence in a system to see the showcasing of said flagships. This and LBP as flagships are centerpieces to Vita's appeal, much Iike 3Dland, RE and MK are for the 3DS at the moment.

Sidestory or not, if it's AAA that's all that matters to the ordinary consumer and dedicated fan alike. Ported years later, and while they have the regular offerings on the home consoles already, it's my understanding they will stick to the portable copy rather than buy the port on the console. MH in japan shows people chose the portable version. Home console only players obviously got it on their home consoles, they don't buy portables anyways. But at least those who would buy portables, even those on the fence like you allude to, if the portable system is interesting enough, will prefer to stick to the portable copy, rather than shun the portable offering "just cause it's comin on my home console anyways". Why wait when you can have it years sooner on a crisp OLED and play in the privacy of your room (for instance if your home console is in the living room)? Imho.

Ok

It's not about being hard to understand for onsumers... It's about marketing and timing. With Move being introduced as an add-on, while the Wii was the de facto way to go for stick-based motion gaming, you are comparing apples to oranges.

@italics. Some do. Especially a portable... It'll be a big selling point for me. Do I constitute the exception of touch controls-enjoying portable gamers? I wouldn't think so. I'm quite the typical consumer actually. I buy a few hand-picked games (generally flagships), and download virtual offerings that I like.

Fair enough. The PSP had a good first year so that'll be hard to beat I think. It certainly won't surpass the 3DS. But come year 2, I see the Vita taking off thanks to more flagships and good word of mouth on a genuinely good portable. Couldn't say I had the same outlook on the PSP.