1
Being a gamer sure has its pros. It gives you the ability to prioritize what you want to buy a console, a PC or a handheld. Unfortunately for me, I wanted them all and ended up spending a lot of money on all my gaming devices.
Today our focus will be solely on handhelds. Besides the big players such as Nintendo(3DS) and Sony(Vita), I certainly believe that the iPad is a worthy handheld for gaming purposes. Here we will take a close look at what’s inside these handhelds and hopefully it will help you make a decision on which one will most fulfill your gaming needs on the go.
The Battery Life:
The Battery life plays a very important role in maximizing the enjoyment levels of gaming on the go. The more the battery time obviously leads to larger amounts of fun time. Let’s look at the battery times:
- Nintendo 3DS - 3 hours
- iPad - almost 10 hours
- PS Vita - 4-5 hours
The Screens:
All three provide completely different screen sizes and resolutions although they all sport LCD displays. This leads to completely different experiences across the three options.
- Nintendo 3DS
- 3.5 inches with stereoscopic 3D.
- Touch sensitive lower screen at just above 3 inches
- IPAD
- 9.7 inches Retina Display
- PS Vita
- 5 inch 16:9 aspect ratio (Touch input as well)
The Weight:
Although weight might not seem like a big deciding factor, it does affect the decision of many a gamer. When you have to carry your handheld around or keep it in a bag like I do, then the weight factor starts to play a role.
- Nintendo 3DS - 8.1 Ounces
- IPAD - 23.04 Ounces
- PS Vita - 9.2 Ounces
The processors, RAM, CPU all play an important role in giving you that desired final output and at the same time determines the life of a handheld. Although the iPad has been upgrading on yearly basis, the Vita and 3DS are handhelds that have a life of around 5 years. Let’s see what they’re equipped for on the inside.
- Nintendo 3DS
- 1GHz dual-core ARM CPU
- 128MB RAM
- IPAD
- A6X chip with ARM Cores
- Processing claimed by Apple to be double of A5X chips which ran at 1GHZ
- PS Vita
- ARM Cortex-A9 chip
- 2GHz quad-core
- 512 MB RAM
Options other than gaming:
So, what happens when you are not gaming? You can actually do a whole lot more with the handhelds now as compared to an old school Game Boy or Game Gear. Some unique features that can be used are:
- Nintendo 3DS
- 3D Camera for 3D pictures (overall low resolution)
- iPad
- Applications to perform thousand of other activities
- PS Vita
- Great for Media watching with 16:9 ratio
- Use of Sony Media Cards
The Games:
The most important aspect when purchasing a handheld for gaming is obviously the game support. There are many games available on all three handhelds. Also, Nintendo allows you to accept cartridges of the Nintendo DS, which had a large library of games.
Although the Vita does not have the option of playing the UMD used for PSP, most games are available on their store. Moreover, now with the availability of PS1 titles on the Vita, the most beloved franchises are now available.
The iPad does not suffer from the issue of backwards compatibility. Let’s see some of the best games available on each platform:
- Nintendo 3DS
- New Super Mario Bros 2, Professor Layton, Super Mario 3D Land, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Kid Icarus, Mario Kart 7
- iPad
- Angry Birds Series, World of Goo, Cut the Rope, Jetpack Joyride, Infinity Blade, Real Racing 2, Jet Car Stunts
- PS Vita
- Little Big Planet Vita, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, ACIII: Liberation, MGS: HD Collection, Sound Shapes, Mortal Kombat, Zero Escape.
The Prices:
Although it’s very difficult to put a stamp on the exact prices here in Pakistan, due to different retailers and wholesalers and online sellers I will be mentioning prices at around an average rate below:
- Nintendo 3DS
- Rs. 19,500/- for the 3DS
- Game prices start from Rs.3,500/-
- iPad
- 16GB starting from Rs.44,000/-
- Lots of free versions available for games. Game prices as low as 10 cents (around 9.5 Rs)
- PS Vita
- Rs. 25,000 for the Wifi Vita
- Game prices start from Rs.4000/-
So what does one buy? If you want hardcore gaming, the Vita and 3DS are the best options. What to buy between these two is up to the type of games you like. If you want more out of your handheld, go for the iPad which with its numerous applications allows a wide variety of experiences.
It goes without saying that if your not on a budget, an iPad along with a choice from the Vita and 3DS is the best option.
