I love gaming on my handheld systems. Call me crazy, but in the same way some people just need a controller or a mouse to play, I love having my buttons inches away from a screen. Must be why the Wii U is the first console I've gotten in quite a while...

Anyway, i began following E3 news this year with a lot of hope. It was the 3DS's 4th and the Vita's 3rd E3, but there could still be big news. Imagine what big announcements Nintendo or Sony had waiting for their respecitve handhelds?

What we actually got was:

3DS: More info about already known games like Pokemon X/Y and a Smash Bros trailer

Vita: PS2 HD ports and functionality with an admittedly great console.

Rivetting

Don't get me wrong, what was shown was good. Between Pokemon and Zelda, my handheld quota for the last few months of the year is filled. And PS2 ports aren't exactly going to hurt the Vita. But Compared to other years, there were no big announcements from either company. There was no Kid Icarus: Uprising style reveal like in 2010, no surprisingly low price point like the one for the Vita in 2011, not even a localization announcement like in 2012 for Fire Emblem: Awakening.

In the end, I'm not really upset. On the console and PC side of things, I'm going to have a lot to play this next year, and have incentive to get another job to afford all this new stuff. On the other hand... some of the biggest handheld news this year was that Jigglypuff was a fairy.

Jigglypuff can kill a Garchomp now




All Hail Jigglypuff!

You forgot the "Ten Years of Chillingo" feature on Google Play.

What kind of handheld gamer are you?!

Handhelds were not the focus at E3 this year. Rather, the 3DS was not Nintendo's focus at E3, because it has been their focus for the past 5 months.

We'll probably get another Nintendo Direct focused on 3DS stuff before the end of the year. Hell, we'll probably get two. I expect one pretty soon.

Don't forget Ace Attorney 5 in your end-of-year plans!

One who tends to focus on dedicated hardware I guess.

Nobody does this. It's all about engineering scales and all that newfangled digital finger bossing.

Yeah.... really wish there was more new announcements but the rest of the year is already packed for me at least for the Vita. From now until the end of 2013 I plan on getting:

• Jak Collection
• Muramasa Rebirth
• Dragon's Crown
• Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD
• Batman Arkham Origins Blackgate
• Killzone Mercenary
• Tearaway
• Ys: FOiC

Also I forgot to mention that as a handheld fan this E3 was very entertaining because I spent the boring parts immersed in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and trying out the Project X Zone demo while my friend burned through Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

The hype train for Pokémon doesn't stop, and I don't even have any hype to spare for Link Between Worlds, which is a problem that Nintendo needs to address as soon as possible because I want to be all the way hyped for that game.

I have got to agree. There is a steady flow of indie titles, but no big hitters for the Vita. I am really disappointing, this was a great opportunity for Sony to showcase some of that, but they failed miserably

Hmm, yeah, it was lackluster. But Nintendo seems to enjoy Nintendo Directs more when it comes to their handhelds. At any rate, the 3DS has a healthy line-up for the remainder of 2013, plus a few nods early 2014 (at least I hope Bravely Default releases by then). It was good to see some gameplay of 3DS Smash though. The cel-shaded style is an interesting choice.