Gadgetory

what's up prize five fans i'm brian tong and this is an epic gaming rivalry between sony and nintendo who are writing yet another chapter in their storied history it's a prize 5 punch out between the sony PS vita and the Nintendo 3ds our judges for this fight our senior editor Scott the bottom line Stein editor Jeff the Backstreet Boy Bakalar and yours truly Brian the honey badger Tom now we'll take all three judges blind scores and average them out to the nearest tenth each round the final price wise score will be an average of all rounds using the same decimal system it's a six round throwdown showdown first is design the PS Vita is flat-out the sexiest gaming handheld that shows off its gorgeous 5 inches of OLED goodness and it's smooth curved edges fit comfortably in your hands now we know it's not the most pocket friendly but you won't even care because you'll be entranced by its amazing screen now the Nintendo 3ds keeps a similar form factor from its DS lineage but it's not nearly as eye-catching the 3ds protects its two screens with a clamshell design that's thicker than the Vita but it doesn't feel assault with a hinge that you can hear clicking into place it's 3.5 inch top screen is new and the three inch bottom screen is still touch but overall the design feels like more of the same the PS Vita takes this round with a 4.7 and the Nintendo 3ds gets a 3.3 next round is controls user interface people have been asking Sony for dual analog stick controls and the PS Vita delivers the best physical controls on a handheld its analog sticks might feel a little cramped to the d-pad and face buttons but we're not complaining it also brings a full touchscreen UI that's responsive and intuitive Jeff calls it the best on board gaming OS ever made is gyroscope can be used with some games the front side touch screen also brings a hybrid gaming experience and its back touch screen add unique gameplay elements that we've never seen before fans of the Nintendo DS will know exactly how to use the 3d so there's no major learning curve here the operating system is pretty straightforward but it has a dated look and feel there's nothing wrong but there's nothing spectacular about it now we're all part of the touchscreen generation but the that we're still using a stylus at times feels pretty silly now the 3ds brings an analog stick which is nice but Nintendo is almost admitting it's mistake by now offering a second analog stick add-on the PS Vita takes another round with a 4.3 and the 3ds gets a 3.7 so after 2 rounds the Vita leads by a full point round 3 is feature Nintendo's main feature is its glasses-free 3d and it's pretty sweet we've seen nothing like it before but then sometimes the image breaks up if you're moving too much and a good amount of people start getting dizzy or uncomfortable playing for long periods now when a warning says take a 10 minute break for every 30 minutes of gameplay yeah it's probably not a feature you want to use all the time it also takes some fun low res 3d pictures and video but how long does that novelty last there's an SD card slot to store your photos and downloads Wi-Fi and a web browser plus Netflix but are you going to watch on a screen this small now the PS Vita brings a more versatile device even if you're handcuffed by having to purchase their proprietary media card format it's a 5 inch screen that invites you to consume more media and having the ability to purchase current games TV shows and movies directly through its store and the addition of Netflix and a legitimate music player makes it more than just a gaming device now I'm personally not a fan of web browsing on the Vita but the bigger screen makes it more appealing plus there's a Wi-Fi and 3G model if you sign up for a plan and it has built-in GPS to interact with maps now 3d is the killer feature for you then the 3ds makes sense but the PS Vita brings an entire ecosystem of goodies the Vita takes its 3rd round in a row with a 4.7 and the 3ds gets a 3.3 next round is game library the PS Vita launched with 26 titles and they're already a handful of must-haves like uncharted golden abyss that brings the promise of a console experience to a handheld plus awesome platformers like Rayman Origins or the galactic shooter Super Stardust then you add a library of PSP games ready to download from the store to beef up its initial launch with more big names coming to 2012 now the lack of a UMD trade-in program hurts here in the US but we weren't expecting it to happen the 3ds has about a one-year head start and finally starting to see original games we're talking about like Super Mario 3d Land which might be the only game really worth playing in 3d and then 3d reboots for The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time the eShop has some original titles and DSi titles but they feel dated as well one bonus though is that at least you can play your older DS cartridges the PS Vita takes yet another round for its fourth arrow with a 4.3 and the 3ds gets a 3.7 so after averaging four rounds we're still where we left off the PS Vita leads by a full point round 5 is performance the Vita brings us the best looking games on the best looking screen that we've ever seen on the portable consoles now the promise to bring near ps3 light graphics holds true with its quad-core processor and snappy menus that we just can't get enough of now on the flipside battery life isn't going to be great and our crew managed to squeeze out anything from three hours to 5 hours of battery juice but it could be better now Nintendo has always been known for a stellar battery life but that's not the case with the 3ds it's 3 to 5 hour battery life for gaming is the lowest of any recent Nintendo handheld and it's really a disappointment plus its graphics are better than previous generations but when you stack it up to what the Vita can do it's no contest the PS Vita continues to dominate with a perfect 5 and the 3ds gets a 3.7 Nintendo needs a miracle and the final round that decides it all is valued the PS Vita starts at 249 for the Wi-Fi only model and games cost an average of 40 bucks now the hidden cost is the required proprietary memory stick that's not included but starts at $20 for a four gig stick that's not cheap for four gigs so if you want a bigger card it adds up fast before you buy your first game the Nintendo 3ds is $169 and games cost around 30 bucks now there's no hidden costs here and we like it but to put it into perspective it's still more expensive than a week Sony's memory cost hurts it here and the Nintendo 3ds finally takes around with a four and the PS Vita gets a three point seven so let's average out all six rounds and in a prizefight where Sony dominated from the start with five straight rounds there was no way Nintendo had enough to come back and the yes Vita takes this battle 4.5 23.6 and is your prize by winter the PS Vita has impressed us all but the bigger question for both platforms is if consumers are still willing to spend their money and time on a dedicated gaming device with the rise of the smartphone and 99-cent games i'm bryan song thanks for watching we'll catch you guys next time for another price bye