With the announcement of a $329 iPad mini and a slew of econo tablets from Google and Amazon; the dedicated handheld vs Tablets is now full motion.  Analysts have already stated that the days of dedicated handhelds are numbered; and it's hard to argue with that statement.  Many casuals and hardcore gamers are slowly moving to tablets and smartphones for their on the go gaming needs.  With brilliant HD screens (none of the dedicated hanhelds are "TRUE" HD screens) and powerful processors, gaming on tablets have been able to significantly replicate or even surpass those of true gaming handhelds.  Now that econo tablets are slowly coming out, will that be the nail on the coffin for dedicated handhelds or does the last two remaining dedicated handhelds still have some fight in them?  I'm curious to see what people think.  The Battle grounds:

3DS & 3DS XL ($169-$199) vs Kindle Fire 8GB wifi and Kindle Fire HD ($159-$199)

PS Vita WiFi & 3G ($249.99-$299.99) vs Google/Asus Nexus 7 ($222-229), Galaxy Tab 2 7 ($199) and of course iPad mini ($329.99)

How about if I put it this way... most 3DS software developers will profit more greatly from their games than most mobile software developers.

and yet 3rd parties are shifting focus on smartphones and tablets more and more.

Some 3rd parties should. If your games aren't selling over 50k on a dedicated gaming platform, it makes sense to cut the budget down significantly and offer it for a much cheaper price on a mobile platform.

But you won't get as many people buying $20 games on mobile platforms as you'll get buying $40 games on dedicated handhelds, so you should stop trying, Square. *Cough*... Yeah. For instance, It wouldn't make any sense at all for big games like Monster Hunter or Mario to move to mobile platforms, at least not exclusively. MonHun won't sell 2 mil at $40 on mobile platforms. Mario certainly wouldn't sell 25 mil at that price.

But for the smaller games, the farming simulators, the gem smashers, I say go nuts. Feel free to move to mobile, it'll probably be more profitable for you, and in no way is that 'bad for Nintendo' or something. Or they could have just made those eShop games, or multiplat eShop/mobile. Multiplat is pretty good.

I agree, that's why it drives me bonkers when analysts predict the doom and gloom of dedicated handheld systems in the face of gaming tablets.   Though I do admit that it has an effect on both the 3DS and Vita; especially the Vita!!!

I somewhat agree, I still see dedicated Nintendo fans(me incl) and tweens busting out with the 3DS; to kill time, waiting in line or the drive thru etc.  But I have yet to see anyone bust out a Vita.  If Sony's handheld is to survive, Playstation fans need to put their money where there mouth is and pick up the system.  That or lower the price of the Vita as I see more and more people chosing to pick up these econo-tablets than the system itself.

Yeah, there is definitely room for both mobile platforms and dedicated handhelds. Even Iwata thinks so. The Vita has a whole host of problems aside from competition. I think its target market overlaps more with the 3DS than with mobile devices, and still more with PS360 than with 3DS. It needs a broader variety of content, not just "console experiences on the go," and it needs to be more affordable.

As for 3DS, it may have been affected a little bit, but I think that the video game market is expanding quickly enough that Nintendo's target market hasn't really dwindled since the DS. It may be about the same size... but in a few years it will be larger. There is definitely room for the 3DS, and there is definitely room for the Vita, too, if Sony only knew how to capitalize on that room. If Apple can find a market for a tablet device in-between smartphones and laptops, and then find another market for another tablet device in-between smartphones and their first tablet, Sony should absolutely be able to find a market between smartphones and consoles.

Tablets - I think developers/publishers like Gameloft are showing that you can have very "serious" handheld/console-like titles on Tablets/Smartphones for low price ($6.99) - and quite a lot of them are actually pretty good. Japan might be exception off-course.

Not to mention near future when we start seeing Smartphones that convert to 7-inch tablets (and that seems closer than I thought).

Wasn't it you who wrote that funny post about the 16 year old? I still laugh.

Repeat it please!