Just keep in mind that if she buys an American 3DS for you then you won't be able to play any European games on it. All future games will need to be imported.

PS3, PSP and Vita are region free. There's 1 PS3 game that's region locked, though. It was a special case that I still don't quite understand.

Not sure how that would work but I assume you could choose U.K.  I believe you might have to have a credit card that has a matching zip code with whatever country you selected.  So you may have to have a credit card issued from the U.K. in order to purchase.  I just read that I could change my state to Alaska and not have to pay any sales tax on e shop.  While it is illegal, I might just do it....  I probably could have another 1 or 2 extra games paid for with the tax money they collected off my purchases so far.   I could just suck it up and continue to pay my state's tax.

This phenomenon is called "success".

I wouldn't buy a 3DS just for Mario games. You have to buy into Nintendo's philosophy and enjoy at least 5 to 6 of the staple franchises besides Mario that are found on Nintendos handheld like Zelda, Dragon Quest, Metroid, Shin Megami Tensei, Kid Icarus, Layton, Phoenix Wright, Monster Hunter ( :P ) and so on.

Concerning region lock: Shouldn't be too much of a problem since Iceland is no mans land anyway and you can order US games from play asia. They deliver nearly everywhere and the US games are pretty cheap.

I suggest you wait a little longer for more games to come for the west, I'm personally waiting for Paper Mario and Fire Emblem to come out before buying a 3DS

Buy a tablet that uses android and emulate games for Nintendo up to the DS. The proffessor Layton series sounds pretty good to me eventually. Play not only Ocarania of time, but also Majora's Mask and SuperMario 64 or any rom you choose. The open operating system of the android tablets make for great emulators that are improving every day. Play more ps1 games than you can with the vita and not to mention watch movies, read books and comics, surf the web, and do countless other things with it I do not know about. Certain roms can even use the wii remote and other remotes in some cases I have seen.

If you like getting things from torrents already than there is no greater value than the tablet. The controls are different, but you're a big gamer and it is easy to adapt and get skilled.

Kingdom hearts and Fire emblem are enough for me, but an advance wars would seal the deal. Though I'm still waiting for nintendo to come to its senses and release a version with a built in second analog.

You should totally get a 3DS, especially if you never got a DS. Don't know about getting an American one though. Unless you are willing to import all your 3DS games I'd wait.

I'll give it to you straight. I'm a Nintendo fan but, at some point, I just didn't give a fuck about my DS anymore. I pretty much quit buying games for it unless it was for my kid. Keep in mind that, since launch (and I bought a DS on day one), I purchased and still own SIX DS systems. I got a PSP and I never looked back.

I got a 3DS last year and it blows my mind how much Nintendo got it right. I play it when I'm home. I play it when I'm at work. I play it alone. I play it in public. Yeah, I got a Vita, too. People don't like to admit this but it's pretty awesome (with lots of PSP titles ready to be played).

I say you should get both (though I'm worried about the Vita's future) but I will honestly say that it is a joy to own the 3DS. When it comes to games, it's just awesome.

Honestly, if you like gaming on your iPod get a Vita. When little big planet comes out on it you will have a free app store with tons of games you can save and play whenever. From what I have heard the possibilities are endless.

Also there is PS Plus coming to the Vita, PSone classics, cross buy/cross play with ps3. If you have a PS3 the Vita might be the better option. Plus no region lock.

But I don't think you will go wrong if you pick a 3DS, unless you have to import games.

Edit: Since all Vita games can be bought digitally you can get discounts (with or without PS Plus) on them and nab them dirt cheap later on. Nintendo is kinda shabby on the discount side. I hope they get better though.