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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