Choosing between PSVITA/PSP and N3DS

[ImhotepTheSecond]

I've saved up enough to get either one, but choosing which is tough and wanted to hear you guys' opinion. I'm going to mod/hack either one for maximum utility. What's making it harder is a lot of my favourite series are split between the two. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep is only on PSP, but Dream Drop Distance is only on 3DS. Persona 3/4 on PSP/vita, but mainline SMT are on DS/3ds. I did think of getting one of those retro handhelds and will consider them, but having the real console gives me a chance to pick them apart and understand their hardware better and all that nerd stuff. So, what do you think? Besides my choice consider this a general discussion for comparing the two. I find both consoles very interesting in their own ways

 

[garbodorman]

try emulate them on your phone first. buy the one that doesn't run very well on your phone.

 

[Bakuma1997]

Man, what a dick move to have exclusive games splits in different consoles

I will say 3DS if you really want to pick only one tho, Yeah PSP Vita has better system operatives and both Vita and OG has better ports than some 3DS/DS ports, but i personally prefer 3DS's touch better and the analog feels like the OG PSP's... assuming you find one that isn't battered

Cons would be the main gimmick is just a visual effect that may hurt your eyes, huge size may make it harder to fit in your pockets rendering the portable part harder and while it had winners it had more limited software compared to the PSP Vita

 

[ImhotepTheSecond]

try emulate them on your phone first. buy the one that doesn't run very well on your phone.

Both psp and 3ds can emulate perfectly on my phone. Vita emulation is weak in general but most vita games have official pc ports

 

[LunarJemz]

I've saved up enough to get either one, but choosing which is tough and wanted to hear you guys' opinion. I'm going to mod/hack either one for maximum utility. What's making it harder is a lot of my favourite series are split between the two. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep is only on PSP, but Dream Drop Distance is only on 3DS. Persona 3/4 on PSP/vita, but mainline SMT are on DS/3ds. I did think of getting one of those retro handhelds and will consider them, but having the real console gives me a chance to pick them apart and understand their hardware better and all that nerd stuff. So, what do you think? Besides my choice consider this a general discussion for comparing the two. I find both consoles very interesting in their own ways

Hii ! As someone who currently has both, I'd say get the 3ds first because it has a bigger game Library (i think?) than the psvita, Though to be honest id say that It depends on what games you like more, I personally got the 3ds first because it had a lot more games that I liked as opposed to the psp/psvita. Now that I have my PS Vita, I'd still say that if I had to choose 1, I'd prefer the 3DS because it has my favorite games (plus u can play DS games on it) But ! I still love my psvita and I'm glad that I bought it hehe, so maybe u can do the same as me and maybe just buy the psp/psvita later after you get ur 3ds !

 

[skramz]

psp. mmmm

 

[Aziamuth]

I was never a fan of the PSP library. Except for Monster Hunter, I always thought it was subpar.

 

[Blamhammer]

3DS. The backlog of DS games makes it a system that will get years of use.
You could still get your PSP fix with a emulator on your phone.

There's also the price, I don't think they are getting any cheaper now. PsVita seems to be holding at a stable price, so you could pick one up in the future for the same as what it is now.

 

[Lod 10]

OuThe 3DS/DS is worth it because it has many exclusive games, lots of things you can play, many games you can discover, you can play practically all RPGs, it has many.

 

[thanatos]

I'd say both DS and 3DS have better native games overall than both PSP and Vita, but that's somewhat subjective. A hacked 3DS can do native GBA, DS and 3DS. It can also emulate anything else up to SNES well. Not sure about PS1. Also not sure about ScummVM

I bought a Vita thinking it would have better emulation support than the PSP, but Retroarch has worked rather poorly for me. The PSP can do anything up to PS1, with great emulators and native PS1, but no Saturn or barely any N64 games. The Vita can do basically that and quite a few ported Android versions of really cool games. It has native PS1 and PSP, but with a smudgy resolution. The touchscreen gives you a cool device to play ScummVM games. But other than that, it's mostly cool for native Vita games. And it can't do DS.

 

[AceWhatever]

I lean towards the 3DS. While Vita emulation is still in its early stages, the fact that reached a point where entire games can be played is a good sign.

3DS/DS emulation, while to my understanding is at a point where most of the library is playable, still involves some sacrifices on a game-by-game basis. Most of it revolves around having to put up with two screens at a lower resolution or having only one screen displayed at a time and the latter's feasibility varies by game. There's also stylus-heavy games to consider.

Vita hacking to my knowledge still hasn't been finalized/perfected as it requires you to be on specific firmware for one thing. A quick check reveals that they seem to no longer require having Sony's proprietary Vita memory card if you don't have access to one, but you're still probably need a SD2Vita adapter.

3DS hacking is more or less done. There's a method for practically every firmware version and you don't need additional hardware (most of the time) to do it.

The two things a hacked Vita has over the 3DS is the ease of running its predecessor's games and (arguably) storage options. For Vita it's a simple matter of installing the homebrew that mimics the PSP's XMB and that's it. The 3DS equivalent anecdotally doesn't have full compatibility with the DS library (AFAIK. I personally wasn't able to get it to work at all) and some found it easier to just buy a compatible DS flashcart. SD2Vita works with card sizes over 100GB easily, while 3DS might run into problems when you go over 64GB (I have my games spread over 2 3DS's each with a 32GB card).

 

[Soupmancer]

The Vita has an incredible oled display if you get the right model and i think the ps store for the vita is still running, but the 3ds and ds just have such an amazing library. A lot of psp and vita games got releases on other platforms meanwhile heavy hitters like SMT 4, Persona Q, the Soul Hackers remake, Monster Hunter, Yokai watch, and any first party games are locked to the 3ds... and that's just the 3ds. The ds is still the only way to play kingdom hearts 358/2 days, golden sun dark dawn, dragon quest 9, and a handful of really really weird final fantasy spin offs (this baby has two ivalice games).

In my experience, 3ds games just feel better on original hardware. But PPSSPP works fine for PSP purposes.

 

[Blamhammer]

There is a secret, tougher, third option - you buy the Ps Vita...and a cheap faulty 3DS.
This is dependent on your repair abilities though, since threading the ribbon cables through the 3DS hinge can be a bit of a nightmare.

BUT you'll have the chance to clean out the system of all dirt build up and have a nice looking system in the end.

 

[MemeAlert]

I've saved up enough to get either one, but choosing which is tough and wanted to hear you guys' opinion. I'm going to mod/hack either one for maximum utility. What's making it harder is a lot of my favourite series are split between the two. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep is only on PSP, but Dream Drop Distance is only on 3DS. Persona 3/4 on PSP/vita, but mainline SMT are on DS/3ds. I did think of getting one of those retro handhelds and will consider them, but having the real console gives me a chance to pick them apart and understand their hardware better and all that nerd stuff. So, what do you think? Besides my choice consider this a general discussion for comparing the two. I find both consoles very interesting in their own ways

Why can't you make your own decision?

 

[momokaze]

get New 3DS XL.
if you can only get 3DS, get Vita instead.
so like
New 3DS > Vita > 3DS.
the only downside of 3DS ( new and old ) is HShop so annoying to navigate, you better use pc/mobile and transfer cia using ftp.

 

[thanatos]

There is a secret, tougher, third option - you buy the Ps Vita...and a cheap faulty 3DS.
This is dependent on your repair abilities though, since threading the ribbon cables through the 3DS hinge can be a bit of a nightmare.

BUT you'll have the chance to clean out the system of all dirt build up and have a nice looking system in the end.

Or, if you're not a tinkerer, buy an AYN Thor for almost the same amount, which then can emulate 90% of the 3DS library well and probably even a quarter of Vita games, all on a really nice OLED screen. But you can also play Gamecube and PS2, maybe even some Wii U and light switch games. It's just a question of time till Vita3k becomes unable enough.

 

[moonbits]

If you can get a Galaxy 3DS, go for it.

 

[Turbo Kid]

There's no wrong answer here.

 

[Roy U. OmOm]

Choosing between PSVITA/PSP and N3DS

I mean from technical standpoint it's a landslide for Vita.

Specs

Vita has more powerful hardware so it handles homebrews better.
It also has 544p (960x544) screen res which is more then double of 3ds' 240p (400x240) on both screens.
You can particularly see the difference it makes when using Moonlight. (It is an app which both consoles have access to, that allows to play PC games remotely on your handheld devbice via streaming)

Emulation

Both consoles can emulate any console up to 4th gen thanks to libretro project. Aside from that 3DS has native emulator of NDS and a protype emulation for PS1 and N64. On the other hand Vita has native emulator PSP and PS1 plus the prototype emulation of NDS, N64 and Dreamcast.
This gives the Vita the edge over 3DS as it can emulate same consoles 3DS can plus PSP and Dreamcast.

Homebrews

In 2021 a compatibility layer between android and the Vita has been developed (a feat yet to be achived on 3DS). Which allowed for some staggering ports to be made, such as: Max Payne, GTA III, Sonicmania, Bully, Streets of Rage 4 and many more. As for now there are more then 500 homebrew games for Vita in case you will get bored of it's game library or the emulators.
I must say that the Vita has probably most active console cvommunity I have ever seen. It's mostly thanks to two factors:

1. Sony has abandoned the Vita very early into the console's lifecycle. Leaving the community to it's devices.
2. Sony never bothers to ban anyone, unlike nintendo which stages an active witch hunts agasisnt entire homebrew community.

Throughout last 10 years I don't think I have seen a single case of a PSN user being banned by Sony after hacking Vita.

Reverse-emulation

Thanks to citra, you can emulate almost all 3ds games in much better resolution then the home-console can. And they work in full speed on both mid-range mobile phones and PCs.
On the other hand, Vita emulator, Vita3k, in it's current state, is worse even then the Switch emulation. (despite the fact that nintendo has just shut down all major Switch emulators).
Because of that you cannot play major part of Vita's games unless you do it on the console itself.

Verdict?

Now if you conveniently choose to ignore everything I have just wrote, then it comes down to just one factor:

• Do you prefer western indie games, japanese ecchi games and some PS2/PS3 ports mixed in to the Vita
• Or do you strictly prefer nintendo exculsives and only nintendo exclusives for the 3DS

Everyone on this forum is a grownass man, aside from teenage lads who harvest the repo. And I cannot imagine grown up man replaying Kirby Triple Deluxe for the Nth time; or playing trough 100 different mario spin-offs. It's no secret that nintendo's target audience were always kids below age of 12. As nintendo detests making games with any mature tone unlike Sony.
I made conscious choice to buy Vita over 3DS. And after years of extensive usage, I would still make the same exact choice again.

If you still have any reserves about what games can you even play on Vita then I made a small list based on genre, for anyone for anyone interested.
Personally my favourite are Ninja Gaiden games (they run perfect with overclock).

 

[moonbits]

Everyone on this forum is a grownass man, aside from teenage lads who harvest the repo. And I cannot imagine grown up man replaying Kirby Triple Deluxe

that game is great, don't be such a snob

 

[Roy U. OmOm]

I'd prefer the 3DS because it has my favorite games (plus u can play DS games on it)

tbf, there is an NDS emulator on the Vita. It's not perfect, can't play all games just yet. But it can play most of them albeit below 20 fps with occassional sprite flickering here and there. But they are very much playable, I can attest to that much since I finished Castlevania Order of Ecclesia, Pokmon Black 2 and Ace Attorney saga on the Vita.
But it can't render 3D textures just yet.
It is still being actively developed, so hopefully there will be major improvements in the future.

I was never a fan of the PSP library. Except for Monster Hunter, I always thought it was subpar.

Same can be said for 3ds. Besides MH 3U, 4U and XX, I don't see anything else that could sell me on the console.

I bought a Vita thinking it would have better emulation support than the PSP, but Retroarch has worked rather poorly for me.

There is a much better emulator on Vita then Retroarch. It's called Emu4Vita+. It is also based on libretro api, so it has same cores as RA does.

• Spoiler: Emu4Vita has:

  • better performance
  • much better Ui, which is easier to navigate trough
  • easier and faster set-up, and tekes up less storage
  • still active development with new features coming out every month or so
  • allows for sound de-sync when speeding up the game, which allows retain the sound's quality

  [*]

Why can't you make your own decision?

This is a forum for humans to share information, not bots who stockpile all the data from web. To make an educated decision you need opinion of the others who may be more knowledged then you in the given topic.

that game is great, don't be such a snob

So you did ignore everything else I wrote? Cool. Predictable I guess.

 

[ThunderBoy]

PSP always in my team

 

[moonbits]

So you did ignore everything else I wrote? Cool. Predictable I guess.

your points of it's technical capabilities and homebrew scene is irrelevant to "And I cannot imagine grown up man replaying Kirby Triple Deluxe"

nothing wrong with someone enjoying kirby, or mario or animal crossing.