Its interesting to see Nintendo drop the price on the 3DS so soon. They wanted to get the consoles in households for the upcoming holiday seasons because several hot must-have games are coming out. The Vita is set to come to the states early next year at a reasonable and competitive price. The question is, should you buy now or wait?

Nintendo 3DS has had an interesting life so far. The games at launch were average at best, and then the price dropped very suddenly. People who had jumped on board early got 20 free games through the Nintendo eShop. People still grumbled about the price drop.

Speaking of the 3DS and holding off on buying it... Even if you still don’t have one you may want to wait a little longer. Nintendo has a habit of redesigning their handhelds. Look at the DS, it went through 4 revisions in 5 years. Granted it seems the DS Lite is still the most popular. Rumor is Nintendo wants to redesign the 3DS, add another analog stick and make the battery last longer. Some industry experts believe the 3DS will be a hot item this holiday season and it might be tough to find one. My suggestion is to wait until early 2012 until getting one.

As for the Vita... It looks to have a great launch lineup. But knowing Sony they will have some sot of bundle a month or two after the Vita release with a game or two with some accessories and it will cost less then buying everything separate. Who knows, if Vita sales are good, the redesign or second edition of the console might be a few years out. Even though I am excited by the Vita’s lineup I want to read reviews and see what games are available in the first 60 days before I go out and buy one.

In the end, this could be a moot point as many people in the industry believe game console in handheld form are dead. We are now in the age of iOS and Android devices where games cost $1-$3 on average and provide just as much fun. The devices are smaller and do everything the Vita/3DS can do and more.

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