Fight! PS Vita v 3DS v iPhone 4S

We throw the Vita into a pit with the 3DS and iPhone and see who comes out on top. FYI, the spikes at the bottom of the pit are named Games, Processing Power, Connectivity, Controls, Price and Portability.

[browngamer41]

3ds is home to alot of shovel ware rubbish? Thats news to me..

[firefoxprime]

The rules:

No buttons = Automatic Disqualification.

:P

[guitar_nerd_23]

Well said.

I was on my lunch yestday and my mate goes;

"Are you any good at Tony Hawks I can't get past this competition?" Having been a mega fan of the series through last gen I told him, "I can kick some serious arse on that game."

Then he handed me an iPhone running Tony Hawks 2.

"Err, no- I doubt I can win with those controls"

I got an average score of 66 and my best combo was like 15,000- pathetic! On screen buttons are the most hideous of gaming 'inovations'

[THC CELL]

God are people thick Steve jobs hated gaming. The psv is not a phone, if Sony wanted a phone on psv they could do.. Gaming media are just to dumb today

[MaxXAttaxX]

They compared the 3 based on what the iPhone can do.
They didn't compare them as gaming machines.

At the very end he says:
""If you're after true console gaming on the go, though, the Vita or 3DS are a better bet, with the best games far exceeding what is available on Apple's device.""

YET they gave the "wins" to the iPhone because there are new (mediocre)ones released "everyday"?
Serously?

[buddymagoo]

PS Vita Wins

FATALITY

[Ares84HU]

I could go along with a PSVita Vs. 3DS but where did the iPhone come into the equation???

The iPhone is a damn phone...that's it. It's not a gaming device. There are phone games on it, casual games that you play for a few seconds while you wait in a dentist office and got nothing to read.

As firefoxprime put it, "No buttons = Automatic Disqualification."

You need buttons to play games properly.

The Vita has two analog sticks...and I've been waiting for a handheld like this since handhelds are around. Now it's here, there is no question in my mind about the clear winner.

And did they actually compare the quality of games at all??? Because the iphone is full of shit games....ask anyone to name one good iphone game and all they will say is AngryBirds....which is...well pretty week.

[Nitrowolf2]

pricing:

This site keeps saying Iphone 3G/4G stuff.

well since they keep saying such they should use to correct pricing then.

Bare price of each of three: (In USA)
3DS: 169.99
PS Vita: 249.99 and 299.99
Iphone: 16GB (gonna stop here): $649.99 according to verizon.com (don't forget you need a plan still, even if it's not under a contract)

Iphone with a 2 year contract: $199.99
BUT
with a plan: taking the cheapest plan i could find under individual you get 450 Min of talk for $59.99 PLUS the data plan which cheapest is 2GB for $30

The monthly estimate according to Verizon for these cheapest selection is $89.99

take that and times by 24 (months of contract)+ 199 for iphone price and you get a grand total of

$2358.76

There leading argue meant here is that you can get more games for cheap.
I don't think there are that many huge Iphone titles, but they are cheap. That price above adds up eventually, but say you don't buy any games under a 2 year contract at all we will keep that 2 year total as out budget for both PS Vita and 3DS

2358 - 170 (3ds) then / by average cost of game (say $50) = roughly 43 games for the 3DS
for PS Vita and cheapest model: 42 games

So in reality the 3DS is still the cheapest, but when comparing to a two year terms of a budget of $2358 - console pricing, both PS V and 3DS are getting as equal amount of games if all games were price at $50.
Kind of surprising lol

[hellvaguy]

While not nearly as good of controls as the Vita or 3ds have included, there are some decent 3rd party controller options for touch screens.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref...

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref...

http://www.thinkgeek.com/cl...

[morganfell]

If people are as fed up as I am do something about it. Go up to the top of the page and under Read full story click on the link that says

videogames.virginmedia.com

and give that website the rating it deserves.

[Rageanitus]

The sony h8rs love to bring up the idea that iphone/android has "real" games but most of these games are classfieid as time wasters and dont last more than 15 minutes

[Spydiggity]

so many immature people on n4g. wow

no buttons means it's not a game? who made up that idiotic rule?

not to mention that iphone/droid games cost anywhere from 0-5 dollars while most vita games cost around 40 (i believe uncharted is 50 in the us).

sure vita is the more powerful device, but it doesn't really have many good games yet. and for the cost of just ONE Vita game, you can get a dozen iphone games (or more). many of which provide more than just "a few minutes" of entertainment. and by the time 2013 rolls around, smart phones graphics will match (or surpass) vita. i think games like Infinity Blade and Rage prove that they're on the way.

EDIT: Disagrees on this site are 100% expected, so let em fly. too much SDF on here to not expect it. pretty sad.

and look at Shadowgun! and these others.

[dredgewalker]

Keep dreaming Spydiggity, I find it more idiotic that you consider the Iphone a game machine on par with the 3DS and Vita. Oh and I do have an Ipod Touch and have access to Iphones and Ipads at home and I can only say it's really a casual experience that won't satisfy my gaming needs. It only took one game on the Vita to trash the entire Iphone game library, and a lot of games aren't out for it yet which says a lot for this portable console.

[Diver]

spydiggity,

ahhahahahahahahahahahahahahah a. did you jus mention shadowgun? with all the iphones out there do you know why that game isnt the talk of the town? it isnt any good. it looks good for a phone game but there is a reason it didnt score great. it plays like crap. the game ius great for iphone sales because youll get so frustrated you throw your damn phone against the wall. you get stuck in scenery and have to crash the game. thanks for showing us you never played the game. "oh it looks good." so what? there are plenty of good looking games that are crap.

did you try to run from enemies in that game? now you see why touch pad controls alone jus blow. an youve also showed us you cant defend phone games. you did more to discredit your own comments by posting up that stuff than anyone.

[matey]

didnt read it but if there starting that shovel ware nonsence they might want to look at Vita as the 3ds has sequels

Kingdom hearts DDD/yes its a sequel that leads up to KH3 WiiU

MH4/the sequel to MH3 wii

MK7/sequel to MKWii

Luigis mansion 2/sequel to Luigis M gamecube

Then you have Hero's of ruin/the new screens on Wiiz.fr look insane go check them out the game has voice chat/co-op/dlc the lot in drop dead gorgeous graphics.

The Vita has lost 90% of all the big games that were in development to 3DS this is news from japan the major developers have moved to 3DS theres now 200 3ds games in development.

Vita isnt portable its too big and its too expensive considering the games are not even HD or 3D and 3rd party support is weak,plus the graphics on 3rd part vita games are not hitting that heros of ruin/kingdom hearts/MH3G/MH4/RE Revelations level yes they are all 3rd party 3ds games Vita will fail no matter how much N4G try to dress it up £220/£270 isnt worth it.

[Ron_Danger]

Holy fanboy!!

[Dakidog]

I hope Nintendo pays you for this lol.

You have some good lies there./s

[sonic989]

haahaaaa vita vita vita wont change my mind

[sonic989]

sorry i was just angry but seriously i like powerful hardware plus quality games if we said nintendo can provide good games but the hardware su** big time so
its all sony since they have great games and cool powerful hardware
its my opinion in the end XD

[Ser]

The PS Vita is getting a Monster Hunter title.

BET. ON. IT.

I've played / owned both the PS Vita (Own it now) and the 3DS, (Sold it for the Vita) and just from today I've had way more fun messing with my Vita.

The 3DS is a DS with 3D capabilities...thanks, but no thanks. I'll take the Vita.

[geddesmond]

Fool the 3DS and the Vita are roughly the same size. The vita is only slightly longer by about 2 centimeters. If a 2 centimeter difference determines whats a portable and what isn't then your a fool. Also the 3D on the 3DS is crap and if I said to you that the PS3 has 3D and the Wii doesn't you would ignore that fact. The graphics on the PSV are better so what do you mean they are not even HD lol.

Lol you really should step up your troll game

[sikbeta]

Iphone wins.... Flawless Victory... lol

[trancefreak]

Got my vita today. Scored all my extras from the local best buy set it up and haven't played it as my kids over ruled dad. Guess I should of bought 2

[DarkSniper]

In comparison, Dark Sniper truly feels that both Nintendo 3DS and Apple Iphone 4 falls short to the PlayStation® Vita not just in terms of games and features, but the overall package itself.

While Nintendo continues to flood the audience with the same 5 exclusives that has been around since N64, PS Vita continues to push new grounds with technological achievements that were not even heard of until now. With features such as NEAR, xross game voice chat and an intuitive touch screen function, PS Vita is truly changing the way we play at a breakneck pace.

Apple is a great service when it comes to mobile phone devices. But when it comes to the gaming media itself, they cannot hold a candle to the unlimited library of PlayStation exclusives that will only be found on the Vita.

The next generation of handhelds is finally here. If Dark Sniper was a betting man, he knows who he would put his money on.

$niper

[dark-hollow]

Well, dark-hollow totally disagree with you

The Ds® had a lot of third party support,
And besides, if Nintendo® franchises are still delivering then am more than happy if Nintendo "flood" us with it.

And hardware is not everything.
Just like how gameboy color® won against the "superior" Sega game gear.

I think dark sniper should stop being close minded.

Oh, and stop using "®" and talking to yourself in third person. It's stupid.

[LX-General-Kaos]

why are you so upset with the way he talks? You should be thankful that there is some character on this site instead of the same ol stale haters we see day by day.

[dark-hollow]

Lol character? Is this is a f**king show or a gaming site?

Duurr I R captain marshmallow© and he don't like Nintendo games® because he think its for kids.

[fear88]

I just have to say that Dark Hollow is a character. You have single handily made this comment section into a show by being an ass instead of being mature and level headed with your rebuttal.

I disagree with everything DarkSniper said because it is obviously false and many of the "innovations" Sony did bring where present in other devices. But the complete package housing everything is a considerable revolution compared to what is out there on the market.

Its truest innovation is the developer freedom and flexibility it brings as a platform with a full set of gaming input (touch, camera, motion, buttons, analog sticks), raw processing power and ram, and a (proper) online infrastructure for social gaming and digital distribution.

Vita as a whole package is the true innovation and the parts it brings to make it the complete sum is not.

[gnb2003]

In all fairness, dark-hollow probably should have acted a bit more mature. However, did either of you two bother to read the original post by sniper? He takes some obviously untrue potshots at Nintendo, and all you do is bag the guy that calls him on it?

I am not condoning the way dark-hollow acted, but seriously...really...

I like the Vita, and think it is a great piece of tech, but do you really have to insult the competition to make it look better?

[LX-General-Kaos]

I am a nintendo fan and support them completely. BUT snipers post is entertaining either way you look at it. No need to be bent out of shape with a post that is obviously untrue.

To add insult to injury. There are alot of people that are actually agreeing with what sniper said. I wonder why... Its clear that the Nintendo 3DS is a dominating force regardless of the things that sniper has said.

[ndl1531]

so why not have both? im currently playing re.revelations on my 3ds but im dying to get my hands on the psvita. i have always loved handhelds and its always been nintendo for me but then i got a psp for god of war and never looked back . they both offer diffrent experiences and its always going to be both for me . so whos the winner here? well the way i see it its me being able to look past fanboy bull$hit and enjoying both sides of what these great handhelds have to offer . really f*cked up gen we have that people deprive themselves of wonderful gaming experiences such as the psvita because their fanboy goggles are strapped on soo tight that they cant see past their brand of choice . how sad and pathetic fanboys are .

[thereapersson]

Dark Sniper is the last of a type of poster on N4G that is not seen in this day and age. There used to be a ton of people like him a few years ago, but alas, this site as changed so much.

You would understand why he posts that way if you've been around as long as I have.

[LX-General-Kaos]

This is a pointless battle. I will continue to play my award winning record breaking Nintendo 3DS. But there will be great joy to be found on every hand held device. So there really is no reason to battle it out.

[gtxgamer2]

Where did you hear "award winning record breaking"? Personally opinions do not count.

[LX-General-Kaos]

So the 3DS didnt win any awards or break any sales records? Maybe im just crazy.. sorry for the trouble

[Shok]

The 3DS is the fastest selling handheld ever. That's what he's talking about.

[Muffins1223]

Almost every elementary school kid has a 3ds....you will not see a kid with a iphone 4s or psp vita oled screen 300 dollar device......

[Jirachi]

catergory 1.wrong 3ds have way better games then iphone it should matter if they're digital or not the best games on iphone are nothing compared to titles like uncharted or tales of the abyss
2.ok this they got right
3.no one cares if they can connect their system to facebook... 4.I see as a tie between vita and 3ds both have pros and cons
5.price ok iphone wins here but the games are what really matters so...
6.Ok iphone wins here but sacrificing buttons to make it more portable,no thanks...

[Nitrowolf2]

see my comment above on pricing

[crazypicklemonkey]

vita walks in the room...

3ds and iphone 4s drop dead.

[browngamer41]

Haha..you walk into a room and the truth and facts die..

[SaffronCurse]

Iphone is a phone, not a gaming device.

[badz149]

iPhone is a phone capable of playing games and it's a PHONE at its core!

on the other hand, Vita and 3DS are true gaming devices!

[ConstipatedGorilla]

I have a friend who keeps trying to sell me on the idea of iphone having great games. He should know better as he grew up on Nintendo and PS like myself. I'm sooooo sick of hearing about his "awesome" games on that thing.

[Sobari]

The level of iPhone bias in this comparison is astounding.

[svoulis]

OH MY F@#KING GOD, WHAT DID I JUST READ?! I want that part of my life back...

Really.. Are you serious? How the hell did this get approved, does anyone actually read the articles they approve anymore..really....the iphone should NEVER be battled against handheld consoles, because it's a phone first and a game machine at the very last. People will use facebook and texting more than playing games on their iphone. People don't go buying a f#@king iphone saying "well I am looking for a handhled gaming device" They go looking for a phone.

Really this author has a thing for phones over gaming cleary. To even compare it to the Vita & 3DS is night and day....and there really is no reason for it. Gamers will game on what they like..

If you are going to do a head to head in any form of the sense (considering the PS Vita is literally an hour old where I am in the US (its 1AM))...DO NOT COMPARE SOFTWARE with a phone that's had apps since the first iteration of the iphone, and the 3DS which will be a year old in a month...

Why don't you compare the games that are on both handhelds instead of comparing what is out for both now..as one hasn't even got off the ground slightly yet in the US, or at least compare the launch of each handheld not where the 3DS is now, considering how long its been out.

I think the 3DS is leaps and bounds over the iphone as it's a handheld gaming device. I personally like the Vita better as far as tech goes, but enjoy my 3DS very much.

[GribbleGrunger]

lol. i'm sure if the Vita had iphone quality apps and only played with touch control, EVERYONE would want one... no?

[svoulis]

You know it...thats the only reason I have one...you know for them angry burds and sh@t

Wow who ever disagreed with you clearly...doesn't understand sarcasm.

[GribbleGrunger]

they surely don't :)

[brodychet]

Meh. Not gonna read it. All 3 are completely different. That's my comment..

[svoulis]

Indeed, I can tell you right now save your brainspace man.

That article is like comparing a tamagotchi to the Vita or 3DS...Don't do it.

[MasterCornholio]

Who buys an iPhone for gaming? Only pathetic losers who are an insult to the world of video games do.

XperiaRay

[Summons75]

but that angry birds man, its hardcore S**T! lol totally argee with you

[baodeus]

I can kinda see a comparison between PS vita and 3Ds, but IPHONE? What were you thinking, they arent even in the same market.

@masterCornholio

People that i know who play iphone games are doctors, engineer, scientists and probably even Steve Job. These people make big differences to the world and contribute to the society while you are here calling them pathetic losers?

What have you contribute to the society or to the world up until now?

You are an insult to the gaming industry as a whole, because you don't embrace gaming that aren't to your liking. You just an obedient dog barking at others, who don't play games on the same hardware of your choice, as you were told/trained to do. The more you bark, the more your insecurity become evident.

Talk about "pathetic" oye, the irony on n4g.

[klecser]

So, you're basically saying that iPhone games are for the educated and other systems are not? Do you want me to post my education and contributions to the world and then shock you that I game on a 3DS?

[gnb2003]

I am sorry, but I don't see where he says iphone games are for the eductaed and other systems are not. He said some of the people HE KNOWS that play iphone games are eductaed, but no where did he say that ONLY educated people play iphone games.

And again, did you see the comment he was replying to? The guy says only pathetic losers play iphone games. THAT your ok with?!?!?

By the way, I don't own an iphone, and attacking Cornholio was completely unnecessary and vulgar. But if what you are upset about is his personal attack, I would say you should have the same problem with Cornholio's post.

[klecser]

I never said I agreed with Cornholio. I may have just misread baodeus. Because it sounded to me like he implied that only educated people would appreciate iphone games.

People should play whatever the heck they enjoy. I just want to point out that doctors/engineers/scientists play 3DS and Vita too.

[baodeus]

@klecser

I want to emphasizes that playing games are for FUN. It is not bounded to certain hardware, certain developers, etc...If people enjoy it, it doesn't matter. Playing certain game on Iphone can also be fun and I too do enjoy some of them.

Corholio here implies that you can only have fun with a certain handheld (of his choice). Then he went on to say that people who playing on Iphone for examples are "pathetic loser" and are insulting to the gaming industry, again because they don't play games on a hardware of his choice. He isn't a real gamer because he doesn't appreciate/embrace all gaming in general. He doesn't understand the purpose of games and what they are for.

I don't intend to say everyone who play on iphone are smart or productive etc...at least i don't generalize here like Corholio; given that though, the amount of people that do play on iphone sure outnumbered handheld gaming that i'm certain; I don't think i need to post any figures to support this claim am I right?

And seriously, i want to see what he has done for the society to make such claim about people who play on iphone are "pathetic loser". I don't think he did anything productive beside barking.

[PixL]

Virgin Media, a company which sells phones, reviews a gaming device and says a phone is better. Sure unbiased, sure.

[plmkoh]

Phones can advance as much as it can over a dedicated handheld, but how can anyone begin to think it's a worthy platform.

For instance I tried playing Dead Space on my Galaxy S2 (perhaps the most balanced Smart phone on the market) yet after 5-10minutes of playing you lose 10% of battery life (do the maths, that's a little over 1hr of juice), not to mention the phone gets hot enough to actually restart the device.

Really, I don't know whether this phone craze is due to a new culture of lower standards, being too cheap to spend where you need to spend or simply because favouring convenience and being lazy teaches you be ignorant of a better way to game.

[Soldierone]

The craze is do to how accessible the market is. They can release anything and millions of people will AT LEAST see it, let alone buy it.

i mean do you think everyone that bought Dead Space played the entire thing like a gamer? I didn't and i have the Xperia Play....

[clrlite]

I've been tired of this for months, so.....

anyone who compares a Vita or a 3DS to a phone loses credibility automatically.

I don't fall for biased articles.

People with brains look at the facts.

[Soldierone]

You lost me when you attempted to compare GAMING devices to a phone with a touchscreen.....

[wenaldy]

My HTC Sensation XE pawns iPhone 4s!!!! PSV 4 life!!!

[a_squirrel]

?

[AllroundGamer]

they should add "vs Transformer Prime" so it would be complete :D

[xflo360]

Price winner = iphone
Logic = epic fail

I have just moved from an iphone to a samsung galaxy note and the note destroys the iphone.

The iphone is the worst value for money as it costs about £120 to make yet they sell it for £450+ and in phone terms the iphone 4s is old tech!

[AllroundGamer]

nice, i will get my Galaxy Note today, bought the newest Galaxy Tab 7.7 last week, but it's too big to carry around, so the Note will be perfect for me :) still the gaming sux without hw buttons :(

[xflo360]

Ive downloaded emulators for games like pokemon and sonic and these play fine on the note.

[Bimkoblerutso]

Perhaps the one positive aspect to glean from this whole handheld "debate" is that it seems to have united the 3DS and Vita crowd together under a common banner.

Fight on, gamers.

[klecser]

I'd like that, but that is still the greatest barrier in this community.

[bahabeast]

iphone wins for being a phone which is why it shouldnt be in the fight, vita wins being a gaming handheld, 3ds wins for the kids i guess.

[Mykky]

Hardware: VITA
Games: 3DS
Sales: iPhone

For me the games is what counts the most. As Vita has just released I can see it trading places with 3DS if it gets the support it needs.

[Mattlevin]

This article makes no sense. I understand comparing Vita, and the 3DS but the iPhone is a mobile and shouldn't be classed as anything more. The PS vita hasn't even been out long enough to deserve a decent comparision in terms of the games, as both iPhone and 3DS have gained a large collection of games due to having a lot more time in the market.

Frankly to add further bias Android wasn't given a comparision which is equally a big competitor for apples app store. Featuring near enough the same amount of games and enough difference between them to make for a good comparision.

This would have been a better article is it only compared PSVita and 3DS even if it was a quite generic one that we will see clones of as the month progresses. I don't believe any phone will be classed as a gaming devices until they learn nobody wants to game longer than 10 minutes on a buttonless clunky mobile.

[Emilio_Estevez]

Shocking! A phone company recommends the phone, what a surprise.

[mamotte]

I dont get why everyone is so in kind of a rage with an invisible war. If you like the Vita, buy the Vita. If you like the 3DS, buy the 3DS. If you see someone playing in a Vita and you dont have a Vita, let it be. If you see someone playing in a 3DS and you dont have a 3DS, let it be.

First of all, both companies win as long as their products sell. Win money, that's it. If a company "loses" it wont dissappear from earth, so fans wont have to be sad about it. And we dont receive a penny from'em if we're on the winning side of the force.

Just play whatever you you want.

Oh, and If you see someone making a call in an iPhone and you dont have an iPhone... let it be.

[Skateboard]

I got the Vita ^^

[Moncole]

3DS and Vita > ipods and ipads

[Ch1d0r1]

lol iphone S

Might as well include a gaming laptop for god sakes.

[Psychotica]

Love my IPhone, but the controls always suck for playing games.

[Trekster_Gamer]

the PSV is too darned expensive!!
The IPHONE sucks butt as far as gaming goes...

3DS best price, best gaming lineup for now.

[a_squirrel]

You mean the iPhone is too darned expensive.

[gamingisnotacrime]

Having the vita and 3ds while not considering the iphone

Both systems are top notch. Vita hits close to home consoles, 3ds is just fun with great games for everyone.

No need to choose one over the other. Each has its share of great games, and I gaming variety is king

[Lulz_Boat]

IS THAT TRUE???
IS THIS ARTICLE REALLY TRUE??
LOOL

[VR-4nic]

Any serious gamer would want some real buttons on a handheld. The iPhone 4 may be a sweet phone but at the end of the day it's still just that, a freakin PHONE with no buttons! The winner should be the VITA hands down!

[Rattlehead20]

The iPhone should be disqualified as it has no buttons.

For me, I don't care what wins between the 3DS and PSV..They are great in their own ways.

I have and love my 3DS and I'm om my way right now to get a Vita which I'd love equally.

Best of both worlds for me :)

[Neko_Mega]

One problem with IPhone 4S, it can't do games like PS Vita can. Cheap games? Does this person know of the minis games for the PS Vita?

Their pretty much the samething you can get on the IPhone (Most of them are the samething).

Cheaper to buy a IPhone then PS Vita? Is this person that dumb? So paying monthly is better then one payment?

[Ulf]

" the iPhone 4S is easily the victor here - unless you're after true console gaming experiences."

Ah hahahaha. Read another way... the iPhone 4S is easily the victor... if you're after garbage. The irony.

"If you get your iPhone on contract the initial cost will seem quite low and the low-price games always seem like a bargain."

LoL. $200 + 24 * $70/month (~$1900), plus garbage for games, is the best option?

"Overall Winner: iPhone 4S"

Not if you're looking for a device which plays *fun* games.

[bubwright]

after all day on the vita. 100% the vita wins!

[Jag-T1000]

Hopefully the iphone follows the same fate as its creater!

[Kamikaze135]

Why is the iPhone in this battle? It's a phone first, multimedia device second, gaming device third. 3DS and Vita are primarily gaming devices.

[SnakeCQC]

none of the above its a console or pc for me!

[lifesanrpg]

What a ridiculous article. The iPhone 4S has better games than the Vita? bahahahahahah!

Have fun with Angry Birds, I'll be playing Uncharted, MLB 12 The Show, and Gravity Rush.

[silvacrest]

the iphone has no place in this comparison

the typical game quality + the controls have lead me to this conclusion

[Koloss]

iPhone isn't gaming system. Besides, both iPhone and Android games are nowhere near the quality of full-fledged games...

[Rageanitus]

This is my perspective..... smartphones at the core are really just phones and getting information from the internet...

Sorry to say this but the games on these devices are an afterthought... I agree they are time wasters but really the games on the devices last no more than 10>15 minutes at a time... Hell Ive played man games for 20 minutes on my android and honestly I never turned back to keep playing the same game over and over again why cuz there is not much depth in the game.

[NBT91]

They are like the little flash games you get on the internet, fun time wasters but little more.
The iPhone itself is an incredible device generally speaking though.

IMO one should have an iPhone (Or a smartphone of some sort), and then either a 3DS or Vita if they like games enough to have a device that is dedicated to them. And in that regard, both systems have their good and bad points so just choose the one that you prefer.

[kewlkat007]

You know, the 3DS doe shave games, touch screen, stylus, 3D, and the price is right. The only thing Sony has going is the graphics, but at the end of the day "content and Games" is king for survival. Iphone..not in comparison...

[NeoTribe]

This is like the 9th iphone vs vita article ive seen this month. WTF is going on? ITS A PHONE. Its like a consumer report comparing a toaster to a fridge. I think iphone users are butthurt that mobile gaming is able to go beyond angry birds. Only iphone fanboys would write an article so out of touch with the products there comparing.

[TBONEJF]

Are they brain dead? Iphone isn't a protable gaming device like PSVita or the DS. This is just nonsense. It should be 3DS VS. PSVita. iPhone doesn't count!

[schlanz]

I'm all for cellphone gaming but comparing them to gaming handhelds is overreaching a bit.

[Dannycr]

Reasons why an iPhone will never hold a candle to ANY handheld that has ever existed:

1- Buttons.
2- Pokemon (the biggest and most popular handheld game in history.
3- Mario Games: Kart, Party, 3D Land, Tennis, etc.
4- Metal Gear Solid: be it the HD for Vita or MGS3D for 3DS.
5- Gran Turismo: another huge selling game and we all know it will find it's way to the Vita.
6- Ocarina Of Time: dubbed the best game in history (debatable).
7- Uncharted: the new heavy hitter in town.
8- The fact that, ever since the Apple Apps started, their games are nowhere near the quality of even a decent game on any of the real handheld consoles.

[tubers]

Lots of tunnel vision here.

The iphone is a likely competition for a lot of people who consider some form of gaming where they already have such phone.

Also depends on your lifestyle and gaming habit.

Can be of no new device cost for millions of people.

[Scuzzlebutt]

So as long as you pick categories the iPhone wins and weight them as equal to more important things, then the iPhone wins? WTF wants to play games on a phone? Really? Angry Birds and a million other casual games does not a game console make.

[tmoss726]

I think they're all solid devices, but iPhone is good for quick spurts where the other 2 are for playing games for longer segments at a time. Honestly, the only game I've played for more then an hour at a time on my iPhone was Infinity Blade. But overall, you can't really call an iPhone a gaming device. It's easier and MUCH cheaper to develop for, but I think if you want overall better and more cinematic games, the 3DS and Vita are what you're looking for.

[s45gr32]

Obviously iphone wins especially now that it has onlive. For those that don't know onlive offers console gaming experiences on a mobile device in this case iphone like L.A. noire, batman arkham city and next year skyrim. With onlive enable on the iphone you can use the onlive gamepad. Plus you can continue playing say onlive games on your laptop or gaming PC at no extra cost. So onlive+app store= victory for iphone gamers end of story.

[cliffyboy21]

i wouldnt include iphone in this discussion, its not a gaming device to me, your only limited to what games you can play lack of no buttons and i dont like all digital touch phones

[llMurcielagoll]

Gaming Handheld VS Gaming Handheld VS A FLIPPIN PHONE

Little Analgoue sticks VS 3D screen VS A FREAKIN PHONE

1x iPhone 4S 64GB = PS Vita + 3DS + A game each AT LEAST