Nintendo 3DS
The Nintendo 3DS and 3DS XL have replaced the Nintendo DS and DSi as the big name portable game systems with two screens. It features a 3D screen you can use without glasses that works surprisingly well, more power than the DS and DSi, and an analog thumbstick for better control. It launched with a $250 price tag, but Nintendo cut that price down to $169, making it a much more reasonable purchase. The 3DS can play games like Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, and Super Mario 3D Land, plus it can play any DS or DSi game, so there's already a huge library of great games.
Buy or Wait: Buy. The Nintendo 3DS is a now well-established system with a compelling last-generation library and many great 3DS titles now available both at retail and over the Nintendo 3DS eShop. It's not as powerful or pretty as the Sony PlayStation Vita discussed below, but it's also not nearly as expensive.
Sony PlayStation Vita
The $249 (Wi-Fi only) Sony PlayStation Vita is the most powerful gaming handheld currently available, offering graphical performance far better than the 3DS, with games like Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Persona 4 Golden looking stunning on the handheld's 5-inch OLED touch screen. It also features dual analog thumb sticks for shooters and other action games, and a $299 3G version lets you stay connected anywhere with an AT&T data plan. The only caveat is the storage; the PlayStation Vita uses an expensive, proprietary memory card format, so be prepared to spend an extra $60 for a 16GB card.
Buy or Wait: Buy. Thanks to recent releases like Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation and Persona 4, the Vita has a handful of compelling titles along with a huge library of downloadable PlayStation Portable games (which, unfortunately, must be purchased over the PSN Store because the Vita can't load UMDs, the physical format of PSP games). A recent update added PSN Plus to the Vita, letting users access a pool of rotating games every month on the system for a $8 monthly subscription. If you get a large enough memory card, you can access titles like Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Gravity Rush, Jet Set Radio, and Final Fantasy Tactics with the subscription.
Tablets and Phones
You don't have to get a dedicated game console if you want to play games on the go. If you have a smartphone or tablet, there are already thousands of games available in the Apple App Store and the Android Play app store. Many of these games are deep and lengthy, but the majority are casual, like Angry Birds and Bejeweled. Depending on how much you want to game, you might not find the satisfying and varied experience that you get with dedicated game consoles and gaming handhelds. The mobile game field has exploded in the past couple of years, but for overall quality of experience (and the ability to play with physical controls on a screen much larger than your mobile device), a game console or PC is a much richer experience.
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