I know what you are thinking. Why the heck are we talking about the Vita on a Nintendo site. The comments GameStop UK makes are pointed at the 3DS as well. Check out these statements below.

For any product to really succeed in today’s market–whether it is a phone, tablet, or handheld console–it has to be easy to use, have a UI that doesn’t make you want to smack your head against a brick wall, and have an ecosystem full of content that’s reasonably priced.

 

And that’s the Vita’s biggest problem. It’s not competing with just specialized gaming devices like the 3DS; it’s competing with every single Android, iOS, or Windows Phone device on the market.

 

doesn’t have a library of Apps to expand its functionality; and–most importantly of all–the games are far too expensive

 

Mobiles have changed how we consume portable games and how much we think we should be paying for them. The new standard is 69p ($0.99), with £4.99 seemingly expensive. And while it would be remiss of me to compare the likes of Angry Birds to something like Uncharted: Golden Abyss (£40), Angry Birds is a great game.

 

For those of you who know me really well will understand how upset I get about this conversation. It angers me to the  point of hulkness when people try to compare handheld systems to phones. In this era we have a need to carry phones around with us at all times. Be it to actually calling someone, texting, to find directions, check email, and so on. For me I do not always need to carry my 3DS around with me. In fact I have been carrying a phone with me, everyday, for about 7 years. It has been something I needed to do. I have never had the need to carry my handheld device with me every step of the way. Why…because they have two different purposes and handhelds are game devices, phones are not. When I am going on a long trip or will have a long wait period somewhere, I will bring my handheld device. When I am moving, on the go and accomplishing tasks..my phone will be with me. I will admit having games on the phone is a nice way to waste 10 min while I wait for my food at Chuck E. Cheese. (i go there for my nephews..do not judge) Heck, smartphones are great for not paying attention in class as well. I tried brining my DS to class onetime. Could not hide it very well. If I had a count of how many hours I played smart phone games compared to handhelds games. I know my handheld playing time will trump the phone by 100 hours or more. Stop comparing the two!

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