Nvidia Shield vs. PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS; Which Handheld Is Best?

At $349 the Nvidia Shield is a pricey option but has a lot in terms of sheer power because of the Tegra 4 processor and its powerful graphics. It boasts games like Skyrim, Dishnored and Left 4 Dead that can rival the console and PC.Is it the best handheld currently in the market?

[Moonman]

I absolutely love my 3DS. Can't stress it enough. :)

[hellvaguy]

No dual analog controls, no ty.

[Snookies12]

Is the Shield really being called a handheld? I dunno, it's just so dang big. It's a tablet with a controller attached.

Out of the 3DS and Vita though, I like my Vita better hardware-wise. I also just find myself using the Vita more than my 3DS. Although it's for a lot of different reasons. I mainly only game on my 3DS, whereas my time spent with Vita is split up between Youtube, internet, music, etc.

I do have to say, I love the music player on the 3DS. It's much better than the Vita's. The fact that you can add effects and mess with the audio as it plays is just a lot of fun.

[Yodagamer]

Easy PSV and 3ds in the end of the day the shield plays mobile games that are often copies of games already on PSV and 3ds. The stream idea is good but is only limited to certain GPUs which a somewhat big weakness.

[sashimi]

Can i play the shield...underground in the subway? on the bus without internet access? Can i play it anywhere i want? if not its not really a handheld now is it. More like a glorified WiiU tablet controller.

[hellvaguy]

Yes you can play without internet access obviously. Shield has full access to the android game market. Such an odd misunderstood rumor.

You can stream games thru wifi to your tv or pc, its just an optional feature, not a requirement.

[RAFFwaff]

3ds is amazing. my vita is a fancy paperweight. also, some british tabloids are claiming that the 3ds is the greatest gaming console ever, and while opinion is always subjective, no one in their right mind would say that about the vita. sony are gonna attempt to drag the vita along with the ps4, but nintendo are unstoppable in the handheld market and the only serious competition to the rise of tablets, smartphnes,etc.

[DarkHeroZX]

Lol sales=\= quality. Vita is a wayyy better handheld than the 3ds. If the 3ds didn't cut that price the majority of 3ds users would be singing a different tone.

[AdvanceWarsSgt]

LOL I'd be singing a different tune because I'd have games to play on my 3DS?

3DLand and MK7 did more for the 3DS turnaround than the price cut anyway, so that theory is moot.

Plus, I'll be getting a Vita to compliment my 3DS because I like both handhelds equally. Too bad you're too much of a fanboy to do the same.

[DarkHeroZX]

Once the 3ds dropped its price I got one. Didn't care about games if the price wasn't right. After Sony unveiled the vita and it's specs I knew the 3ds was a huge rip off and after waiting long enough it paid off.

[RAFFwaff]

the vita is superior only specswise sony fanboy. its obvious sony is flogging a dead horse with the vita and attempting to shoehorn it into consumers thoughts when buying a ps4. quality software wise, the 3ds destroys the vita and that is a fact.

[g-nome]

Vita is amazing...use it quite a lot more than the 3ds. Liked revelations and Mario on 3ds ... Not much else.

[Soldierone]

Vita. It has actual games, has more games coming, and will be fully functional with the PS4.

3DS has games for fans of those games, so if you are a fan you will enjoy that the most. Tech wise, Vita is the best though. No that doesn't mean its the absolute best.

Nvidia on the other hand is a "handheld" that doesn't even fit in your pocket, plays Android knockoffs, and will probably be "out dated" within a year or two. The only real cool thing is the PC streaming to it, but even that will be lacking compared to Vita. Even the screen placement is terrible on it.

[RTheRebel]

3DS No CONTEST =)

[DC1980]

Believe in the SHIELD

[lodossrage]

someone watches too much wrestling around here lol

[mcgrottys]

well shield has the most power with the tegra 4 but the vita isn't much weaker and is coming out with some nice exclusives and the 3DS already has a lot of really good games.

[robinkago]

cpu wise i agree the a15 cores of the shield is more powerful..but gpu wise i still think the sgx543+ has still the upper hand..

[beakeroo1]

The writer suggests that the Shield is pricey at $349 but can play games like Skyrim etc. This is of course BS because in order to play those games you need to be running a GTX670 which will of course set you back another $450 for the GPU alone never mind the rest of the PC cost. I am very interested in the Shield but I am not interested in upgrading my GPU at this time and so the Shield would not be any real use for me as I have zero interest in Android gaming.

3DS is a wonderful console - if you are a fan of Nintendo games. It's a shame that Nintendo did not see fit to include a second analogue stick in the XL revision.

PS Vita is an awesome piece of tech and of course has some great Sony exclusives as well as being the better handheld for the multiplatform titles due to it being a much more powerful device with a much better screen and dual analogue controls.

[tubers]

You only need a GTX 650 desktop.

115-140 bucks.

That's far from 450.

Still niche tho.. likely smaller sales than PSV.

[beakeroo1]

Oh really? I could have sworn it was a 670, my bad.

[tubers]

NP!

Doesn't change there's a small market for this though..

But who knows.. Kids are actually being raised on Android/iOS devices..

they might prefer this thing over a VITA.

[jamesensor]

Vita is fine, but you can't put anything but its native games. 3ds follows the same path. They're so tight locked that multiplatform with these devices isn't legally achievable.. Then this came along and like beakeroo1 said " you need to be running a GTX670 which will of course set you back another $450 for the GPU alone never mind the rest of the PC cost" to play pc games through it or either simply to play basic android games. No thanks. I have a laptop and instead, so just I buy a jxd or something to play android on it (or better, play my old favorites through emulators).

[beakeroo1]

I bought a new white 3DS XL Mario Kart 7 bundle to compliment my Soul Sacrifice Vita today. I have no plans on getting a Shield. I prefer my Vita and it will be my main handheld but there's no getting away from the Nintendo first party game quality.

[linkenski]

I really do like my 3DS, and i have enjoyed some of the good games that have come out over the last half year, but i don't think The Vita is losing like ppl thought one year ago. It's getting more and more support and i might even consider buying it at some point, though to me handheld gaming shouldn't be about playing big-screen blockbuster games on the go, and that's where i think, at least, sony's approach to the Vita is less appealing to me. I liked the DS and now the 3DS because i can enjoy quirky, simple and sometimes innovative games and gameplay ideas such as Super Mario 3D Land and Ace Attorney games. They are games that don't feel like they would belong on a tv screen, they're more compact and i just like it better that way.
I think what would be more interesting than anything else was if the Vita started getting more games like that Virtue's Last Reward thing, or something in the gist of Catherine or something like Mass Effect with more focus on RPG and micromanagement or something like that.

[schlanz]

Coming from a huge PS3 and Sony fan, Nintendo still dominates handhelds and although things were a bit bleak for the 3DS initially it's started to hit its stride and judging by how phenomenal the DS library became I'd put my money on the 3DS being the decisive winner this time around, gameswise.

The Vita is still a mighty impressive piece of hardware and I hope things turn around for it in a positive way.