orcishgamer: So you're continually a generation behind then?
SweatyGremlins: There's an advantage to that, I got a PSP to keep me busy while I pay for the Vita, since the PSP is at the end of its commercial life all the games are cheap as biscuits.
That advantage is still available, you can still buy older gen games and a few new games so you can play with a lot of friends and know what the hell everyone is talking about.
I have scooped up quite a few cheap PS2 games, sure, but I love playing Halo 4 when everyone is actually playing it. I suppose there's less multiplayer in handheld land, but the community aspect actually does matter a bit, even for single player games.
doady: The Wii Remote is a $40 controller, not a $170-$200 portable gaming system. Making a controller of a gaming system obsolete is one thing, but making the entire gaming system itself obsolete and forcing people to buy a bulky attachment for a device that is supposed to be portable is another thing. A 3DS with 2 built-in circle pads will NEVER happen.
SirPrimalform: I don't see how
Wiimote + Motion Plus addon -> Wiimote with Motion Plus built in, is any different from
3DS + Circle Pad Pro addon -> 3DSPro with second circle pad built in.
Just as the addon was not the cost of a whole new controller, the circle pad pro is not the cost of a console. In fact far from it.
All that said, I don't like the circle pad pro and would be annoyed if a 3DSPro was released and games started requiring the second circle pad, but I don't see how you can rule it out so easily.
The 3DS has been a clusterfuck for "portable" anyway, short battery life, games like Kid Icarus that require some fucked up stand, etc.
There's nothing wrong with the attachment, but I would factor it into the total cost of me buying the system. I'd rather have it in the 3DS itself (have you seen the size of those things? I'm not sure I buy the idea that there's no room in the machine for it). The real problem with the 3DS is the game quality. People can talk about how grand the new "fuck this I've played this Mario game like 20 times" game is, but I really couldn't give a flying fuck about most of Nintendo's tired ass franchises these days. Pokemon I love (a 3DS only Pokemon game would guarantee the 3DS' success, odd that they haven't tried to force Game Freak to do it), Metroid I sorta love, Zelda.. fuck Zelda, yeah, gimme some third party titles. Oh that's right, Nintendo hates 3rd party developers. They also hate the concept of online, or they must as their implementation is so fucking stupid.
Dammit, I swear to Odin, Nintendo could fix online and quit being fuckwads to 3rd party devs and they'd pretty much seal the success of their hardware and brand. They look to be heading Sega's way instead.
Fesin: Being left-handed, a second circle pad is crucial for me, so I won't buy one until they incorporate it into the design, since many games have you using the circle pad and the touch-screen simultaniously, and using a pen with the right hand is just too fucking hard.
And I'm sure this version will come sooner or later. There are always thousands of versions of Nintendo handhelds.
SirPrimalform: So do you normally switch the functions of the analogue sticks on a gamepad?
EDIT: e.g. walk with right, aim with left?
That would be awful unless you could switch the buttons as well. Games are designed with the function of the right analog stick being less important for a reason, essentially because you have to punch a button from time to time.