Consider It Curbed

Sony's NGP looks like a technical powerhouse. Two micro-analog sticks, a touch screen, a touch pad, and a host of other features put the device in a different realm from the 3DS. Which is nice, because mimicking Nintendo won't do them any favors. If anything, they're caught in a place where they have to imitate Apple in certain respects, fight Nintendo in others, and separate themselves entirely in yet others. Apple's the current trend-setter and Nintendo has its history, its fans, and its dedicated gaming controls to back it up. Sony's the party that has to validate their continued existence, what with being in third place and all.

But I find myself sort of underwhelmed by the current handheld market as a whole. This may be because neither the 3DS nor the NGP currently have any games that I'm eagerly anticipating. There are plenty of iOS games worth playing, but because most of them serve as distractions rather than full experiences, there isn't a huge wind-up to get the blood going. A good iPhone game is a surprise, not an expectation. I'm sure there are iOS games I'm going to love playing this year, but they'll sneak up on me. I don't think there'll be an iOS game that I'll be looking forward to until I play it. Also, I'm beginning to get the feeling that the iOS gaming trend might waver a little once the market becomes increasingly crowded with attempts to create the next Angry Birds than trying to do something new with the system.

This household's already got the 3DS on lock, so I've thankfully been put in charge of buying the NGP instead of adding another 3DS to the stable. But handhelds costing as much as they do -- there's simply no way the NGP will be cheaper than a 3DS -- I'm increasingly skeptical that either new system can justify its price tag, at least initially. Hopefully, my skepticism about pricing and longevity will eventually fall under the weight of great software and consistent hardware. The three-horse race will hopefully let the consumer win at some point. But right now, I'd hate to be the man forced to place their bets on a single horse.