The shoulder buttons are flimsy and I expect them to snap off with one bad fall

lol. I'm frightened to even press the 3DS shoulder buttons after having the same crappy clicky buttons crap out on me with my DSi.

NEVER insult those amazing Vita analog sticks in my presence. I will be forced to thrash you.

I was like that too at first, but after basically having my way with them in MegamanZero and still working I can safely say the 3DS's shoulder buttons are a million times more reliable than the DSi's.

amazing? those things feel as good as my grandmas bunyons, not that i have felt them, of course (the bunyons, not the analog sticks)

Exactly. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I think those sticks just flat out suck. I thought it was a stupid idea in the first place to have sticks on a handheld but I thought at the very least they would feel really good since Sony didn't really have to compromise anything. Wrong. I can't imagine playing through a game with those things. The Circle Pad while it seems like a much stronger compromise is very smooth and intuitive to use. While the Vita does have 2 of them (an that IS quite nice), its only a matter of time before a 3DS redesign which will almost surely have a second Circle Pad. Honestly, all I can see the Vita have going for it is the screen which is pretty nice. Idk how many people will be shelling out 250 dollars for a nice screen though...

True, it is opinion. I'm not too fond of the circle pad, but love the tilting Vita analog sticks. Different strokes.

And Vita has a rear touch pad, gyro controls, monstrous power under the hood, and an absolutely enormous 5" OLED screen. It also has what I consider to be the best launch lineup in my 34 years of gaming history. So it has a lot going for it. Now whether or not those key things interest you, is still up for debate.

Ah, its the tilting you like. Well I guess that makes sense. Anyway, all the control schemes are nice but it remains to be seen how well they will be used and how widespread they will be. Power wise, yes it is nice and more advanced than 3DS...but for whatever reason I just haven't been blown away by anything I've seen so far. The screen is again very nice. Its very clear and has a very nice resolution. The games line-up is (and I know this isn't popular opinion) severely lacking for me. Little deviants is literally the only launch title I have interest in. I guess what it comes down to is why would someone buy a Vita when you can just get a PS3? Portability appears to be the only real advantage Vita has over its console cousin. At least some people can still enjoy the Vita though!

You can play MHFU on a Vita. You can't play MHFU on a PS3. Therefore, your point is moot.

I'd much rather play a portable system, even at home, than a console. So my PS3 collects a lot of dust, as do the other consoles outside of my 16-bit rig. I'm ready for Kid Icarus: Uprising as my 3DS has hardly been touched since I got my Vita before Christmas.

I totally know what you mean there. I've been playing almost nothing but handheld games the last year or so (mostly 3DS). My poor Wii is only usually turned on for Skyward Sword. My 360 and PS3....well I barely every touch them anyway so no difference there I always switch though. Chances are I'll turn back to consoles primarily for a while when Wii U launches.

Yeah Wii U should inject a bit of "console enthusiasm" into me later this year.

I'm anticipating buying a Wii U and then not touching it for six months. Nintendo has absolutely no idea how to launch a console.

As for the Vita, I have no intentions to use it for a portable gaming console. That's what my iPad is for. I will be using it for gaming in bed though, which is awesome and relaxing, and I look forward to it replacing my 3DS there.

@Raptor

I wanna know how your 3DS got run over and still works x_x

I treat mine like a baby, ever more carefully than my DSi. Also, imo, the DSi's shoulder buttons are much better than the 3DS'. I feel like my 3DS' shoulder buttons are about to break or something... I also prefer the DSi's d-pad, too.

When I get a Vita, I'll be taking care of it just as I do my other systems. It's scary to hear how people treat their consoles D:

Makes me want to call CPS on them.

About the only time I haul the 3DS or Vita out and about is when it's going to be a lot of sitting. My mother has had quite a few surgeries in past months, so I spend a lot of time playing them in the hospital waiting area. And of course jetting off to E3.

My experience with the demo unit for the Vita was just "Meh." I dunno. Maybe it was because I'm not into Uncharted.

When I played the 3DS for the first time, I was so excited and I couldn't wait to get one! When I played with the Vita, I just wanted to play my 3DS...

Since I don't have a PS3, I can only guess that my money would be better spent buying one as opposed to getting a PSVita. Either that or get more 3DS/Wii/GCN/DS games.

Don't get me wrong, comparing the 3DS and PSVita is like comparing a tomboy to a beautiful woman. However, I will most likely have more in common with the tomboy, so it is more likely I will hang out with her, right?

It's like choosing a laptop over a desktop.

I really didn't like the feel of the Vita face buttons/analogs myself, but unlike other people here who say the same thing, I hate pretty much everything about the 3DS' design so

_{/me holds out for a good Vita redesign, hopefully with larger face buttons D:}

I always keep it in my inside coat pocket, but on this day I had it in my back pocket and as I was getting into the back seat it slid out and hit the road right next to the back tire... we felt something just set off and I relised it was missing! Nooooooooo!!!
We stopped straight away and there just where the back tire had passed over was my 3DS and aside from some battle scars, chips and scrapes on corners from when it dropped and light cracks and the top shiney cover thing it still worked perfectly...
this is just like when the gamecube bounced down a flight of stairs hitting every one and came out without a scratch.

^ this is why you get a vita :3 and the ability to change the controls to using both analog sticks makes the MHFU way better. no more claw method

http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/12/2793065/sony-vita-os-smartp...

So sony is exploring putting the Vita OS on other products, This kinda shoo's in the Bubbles for the PS4 and im not sure why they didn't redesign xmb like microsoft does with the xbox os.

Bad news is that this means that sucky OS will be put on phones faltering sony's mobile market farther.