[TGS '11, Vita] New Vita Details, Japan Release Date

See, this is why the handheld gaming industry is going down the tube. They're trying to turn these things into what are essentially smart phones, but they only end up more expensive with worse battery life and less software.

The reason the DS and Advance gameboy lined sold so well was due to the fact that they were truly game-dedicated, portable handheld gaming machines. Take for instance the DSi. It had upwards of 10 hours in battery life, it fit easily in your pocket, the controls were smooth, it was a cinch to program for which made it heavenly for developers and provided more games for the consumer.

Now examine the current state of handhelds- 1/3 the battery life, gimmicks up the arse, a pitiful selection of games compared to what was previously offered, and too much bulk to ever being capable of fitting in your pocket. It's just a fail, up and down.

3DS needs to get better battery life, forget the extra circle pad and move on, drop the price another $50, and focus on steller 1st and third party software. If it does that, it'll do great. But, who knows when and if that will happen.

Likewise, the vita needs to get better battery life, get even a measly 8gb of on-board memory (which would NOT be that big of a deal), and stop focusing on all these "extra features" and more on pumping out some stellar titles. In a way, in its in the same boat as 3DS, except it costs $70 more, which currently gives it a huge disadvantage.

These manufacturers just don't get it: cheap, long-lastly, small, with great games. That's what a truly great handheld should be.

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