Vita vs 3DS. Which console do you think will end up with the most sales?

[Rocketman]

It seems like both consoles are doing reasonably well right now with relatively strong sales on both sides. Both seem to have a pretty decent game library now and I wouldn't be surprised if either of them ended up selling more copies than the other. Which do you think will end up selling more copies at the end of their life cycle?

Personally, I think it will go to the 3DS. Nintendo has always been the strongest player in the casual market, and I see their games as being the most kid friendly and appealing. They also have the most recognizable brands among casual gamers and dare I say, their games are probably more popular with women as well.

 

[Stuck_X_Button]

The 3DS. It will always go to the 3DS when it comes to handhelds. While innovating sometimes backfire on Nintendo when it comes to the home console, Nintendo are like the Wu-Tang Clan when it comes to handhelds: Ain't Nothing to F*** With.

 

[Rocketman]

I think Nintendo is really worthy of praise with how they can manage to keep the same series going for so many iterations. Even if we look at the flagship franchises of other consoles like Gears, Halo, Final Fantasy, and Metal Gear, they usually need to switch up the characters to keep things fresh. Nintendo uses Link, Mario, and Samus and they're the protagonists every time. Makes me wonder what makes them so magical.

 

[lucas5987]

The vita is a far superior machine technically, but it really does lack a large variety in the game department. 3DS has many many "blockbuster" titles, while the vita has only a handful. I hope that this will change soon, but it doesn't seem like it will.

 

[SpaceTiger]

Those characters popped up in a time when Nintendo brought the industry out of the grave. Those three characters' initial series came out in that window between 1985 and 1987 when the industry recovered, you also have Donkey Kong who slipped in with Mario before the crash happened. So there's a bit of mystique with them being saviors for that period.

You also have Nintendo's Seal of Approval which they didn't throw around all willy nilly and which all three of those (four if we're counting DK) got on their titles. Non-Nintendo titles like Mega Man and Castlevania also got that seal and have the same longevity although Castlevania had to change the cast up and develop an actual chronology--as did Mega Man. Adding a bit more to their magic.

Finally, like Sega's Sonic those three games can cater to all ages. Even though Mario is marketed for family and kids, there's some deceptively difficult platforming and puzzle solving in those games that cater to all skill levels. Metroid is runs the scale of being able to be a Saturday morning to series to having a really bleak storyline. It's all in the story delivery with Metroid. Then you have Link which could also have that same range as Metroid, but is often kept as whimsical high fantasy. If you sat, you could easily make Legend of Zelda a consistently bleak series if you kept throwing Majora's Mask in the mix.

In short, those three Nintendo series are just flexible enough to stand time and leave themselves open to game changing mechanics and studio designs (if Retro got their hands on Mario or LoZ, oh god). I've always said Sony could've done the same with Crash and Tomba if they kept them being consistent by now. Nintendo has series that you could put on TV for kids, teens, or write for a more mature audience if they needed/wanted to and advertise during their cartoons and will impressive magazine reviewers.

Tomba and Crash (especially Crash who had Sonic attitude) could've at Saturday morning cartoons, been promoted to kids heavily, had the funky, awesome platforming of Tomba, and had that all audience appeal of Mario, Zelda, and Metroid. Hell, Tomba could've been the actual mascot for PS if they just pulled the trigger on it.

Sorry for the long explanation.

 

[jstep7262]

I have to go with the consensus on this one the 3DS FTW. I absolutely love mine. Love the fact that I can play such classic game franchises. The Vita may be a much higher tech system, but as Lucas said, the big problem with the Vita, like the PSP, was lack of amazing, kick butt games.

 

[courageoflions]

I think that in the long run, the nintendo 3Ds is less "gimmick-y" and will continue to sell through the years. The Vita seems to thrive on hype and one day it will be all out. I'm sure there are some loyal buyers, but nintendo has an edge in that they're demographically universal.

 

[Oakster]

Definitely the 3DS, Nintendo always wins in the handheld market, no one else can compete with them, if they ever start to have a slump in sales they just release a new Pokémon/Zelda/Animal Crossing and they get right back on top.
They just have too many hit franchises that they can count on to sell consoles.

 

[SpaceTiger]

Sometimes I believe that Sony should've considered a handheld much earlier and that by now it would've caught on by the time of Vita. I'd say right when they saw that the PSX was a huge success--in the middle of its run or towards the end. I believe by that time the Monster Rancher series was still on PlayStation only so that could've been their Pokemon which would've really moved the proto-PSP/PS Vita when needed, Crash would've had a regular home if they didn't want to risk too much on a full on console Crash, and so on.

 

[lindbergh]

In the realm of handheld gaming consoles, Nintendo is untouchable... As of now... The 3Ds, though considerably a much weaker device as compared to the Vital is still the better console because of the number of great games available for it. The vita just can't keep up.

 

[Tomba]

Plus the 3DS has a lineage in handheld consoles. Nintendo is a tried and true name in that area of gaming. They know what to do and how to provide it to players even with weaker hardware. It really doesn't bode well for a rival handheld when they're more powerful and can't outshine one that it outclasses technologically. Then again, you could say that for home consoles as well.

Sometimes I believe that Sony should've considered a handheld much earlier and that by now it would've caught on by the time of Vita. I'd say right when they saw that the PSX was a huge success--in the middle of its run or towards the end. I believe by that time the Monster Rancher series was still on PlayStation only so that could've been their Pokemon which would've really moved the proto-PSP/PS Vita when needed, Crash would've had a regular home if they didn't want to risk too much on a full on console Crash, and so on.

I'd say you're correct. If Sony picked an earlier time to launch into the handheld market who knows, maybe by now Vita would be a threat to Nintendo's grasp on handhelds and have a bigger presence in portable gaming overall.

 

[Oakster]

Plus the 3DS has a lineage in handheld consoles. Nintendo is a tried and true name in that area of gaming. They know what to do and how to provide it to players even with weaker hardware. It really doesn't bode well for a rival handheld when they're more powerful and can't outshine one that it outclasses technologically. Then again, you could say that for home consoles as well.

I think in the handheld market the hardware power isn't as important as in the home consoles, it's more about what you can do with what you have, and Nintendo are masters at that.

 

[The Unlosing Ranger]

There's no way that any non-Nintendo handheld will outsell a Nintendo handheld at this point, as much as I love my Vita over the 3DS.

 

[SpaceTiger]

Oh, no doubt. Nintendo beasts over everything when it comes to handhelds.

 

[Derri]

While I'd love to say PS Vita, I think the hand held market really does go to Nintendo.

 

[sidd230]

The Vita is much better in my humbe opinion. It packs much more muscle and has more mature titles. Vita for me.

 

[The Unlosing Ranger]

The Vita is much better in my humbe opinion. It packs much more muscle and has more mature titles. Vita for me.

I totally agree, plus I love indie games and that indie support on the Vita is great while 3DS is really lacking. But realistically, when talking about sales, 3DS has already won.

I feel that Capcom could be blamed for this for releasing all those Monster Hunter games on 3DS, heheh. I mean, seriously, how could Vita compete in sales against the 3DS when the 3DS has Pokémon and Monster Hunter AND all the Nintendo exclusives?

 

[mauricioq]

Probably the 3DS. They sell really well just with the Pokemon exclusive, let alone the other games. Actually, I was thinking about buying one just to play Pokemon too! haha

 

[Ghost_of_Crash]

Concrete bet goes to the 3DS.

 

[Gamer_Fries]

The 3DS by far because while I think the Vita is kind of cool there are more games that I can enjoy playing then the two that I know of on Vita. Nintendo while not my favorite company is basically where I buy my handheld items from because they have great games and pretty nice designs.