Are handheld games a worthy replacement for console games?

Athrun888 wrote:

Ultimately, as far as the actual games are concerned?  Yes, I believe we're at the stage where we no longer need a home console.  As far as the presentation goes however home consoles still provide a unique and exclusive presentation for games that portables can never match because of their inherent design of being a handheld screen.

Thanks Athrun. This is what I was getting at with my initial question - if you had to choose between a 3DS or a Wii-U, the decision is harder than ever because handhelds CAN offer console-level games. It used to be that handhelds offered alternative experiences (think Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime), or the same experience but ten years later in handheld form (various Nintendo ports like Ocarina of Time, Luigi's Mansion 2...). Xenoblade Chronicles 3D whittles that gap down to less than 4 years, and with Hyrule Warriors coming to the 3DS also, that gap is down to one year. Of course, Hyrule Warriors could probably have been done on the 360 five years ago, but for Nintendo consoles in particular, the gap has become so small. There's a place for The Witcher 3 and Fallout 4, but those types of games aren't so much about the gameplay, but about the level of immersion and the emotional investment required. I agree with Athrun that them games could have been done on PS2, they just wouldn't have been as pretty or as vast.

Sony would like you to believe the Vita is PS3 quality, it's actually JUST above PS2 at best.

As for the Hyrule Warriors comparison I'm really not sold on the 3DS version. I've played a DW game on vita and frankly it was a mess. I'm very skeptical that it'll run better on a weaker machine.

Which Vita DW did you play? DW8 is brilliant. DW Next wasn't so great, but that was more down to mechanics than the ability of the Vita.

The Vita is clearly more powerful than a PS2, and yes the PS3 in turn is more capable. It's somewhere in between, much like the PSP was between PS1 and PS2, but graphically it is clearly a HD console.

I've been playing a lot more home console than handheld but if you work full time it's ideal to have the vita or 3ds to play on your lunch or any breaks you have and to do the home console when you get home to do both. It depends what makes you feel more comfortable with end of the day and what time you have to play on them. I've been slacking the handheld so going to take it with me now.

No game console or handheld is better than the other, they all have there strong side and there weaknesses. I really couldn't compare the Wii U with the 3DS, Wii with the DS, PS2 with the PSP or the vita with the PS3 that is unrealistic as they both are amazing doing different things and we lucky to even have handhelds to this day so be grateful and play with them.