PSVita
I think the lineups for both platforms are pretty anemic, but the main problem for Vita is where it will stand once PS4 development ramps up.
Already we see that (other than Wipeout and HSG) the heavy hitters like Uncharted, LBP, Resistance and Killzone are being relegated to B-tier teams that didn't develop the series originally. Whereas I get the sense that Nintendo is more egalitarian with regard to its A-tier development teams working between handhelds and consoles.
I worry that after the Vita glow has faded and the games become the center of attention rather than the hardware, we'll all be scratching our heads. Did anyone really yearn for a portable Resistance or Killzone game? Sony Bend are super talented - despite how jaw-dropping Uncharted looks, wouldn't you rather have them working on an original Vita IP?
And when PS4 steals all the attention and resources, will third parties be there to fill the gaps with new experiences, or will they follow Sony's lead and use Vita as a dumping ground for unoriginal, not so exciting spin-offs?
Maybe there's something wrong with me, but I'm just not excited about the Bioshock spinoff for Vita at all, nor will I be excited about the inevitable Mass Effect, CoD, MGS, and Silent Hill spin-offs. Part of me is looking forward to Wipeout and HSG just because I know they're in the hands of the people in charge of their respective series, the people who intimately understand the "spark" that makes those games work.
Hopefully that magic $249 price point will give developers the confidence to make Vita a home for their original IPs.
3DS
As for Nintendo, they face an entirely different problem. It's not that 3DS is treated like a second-class citizen by its own daddy, but rather that Nintendo's philosophy of "recycling" its mascots grows increasingly stale the older you get. There will always be a new generation of kids for whom the next Mario Kart, Mario platformer, Paper Mario, Smash Bros, Zelda, etc. will be their first entry in the series. Because of this, Nintendo will never stop making these games. It's like Disney - every generation, you'll have people who haven't been exposed to the character, so you can't abandon Mickey Mouse just because he seems milked to death to the previous generation.
But this younger generation is effectively locked out of the 3DS because of its prohibitive price. Is it really fair that I could buy into the Mario universe for $130 when I bought my DS in 2004, but that my younger cousins have to spend $250 to be introduced to that universe? So the "recycling for the next generation of gamers" strategy won't work the same, as we've seen with Nintendogs' disappointing performance. It's truly odd that Nintendo is using barely enhanced N64 ports as a way to fill in software droughts when the only audience receptive to 3DS right now (hardcore gamers) have already been exposed to the original titles. A Link to the Past remake or a cel-shaded Yoshi's Island would demand much more attention since a much smaller segment of the population have played them.
For me personally, I became a gamer in the Gamecube generation, so that generation represented my "fresh" experiences with games like F-Zero, Metroid, Paper Mario, and Smash Bros. So when the Wii came along, new iterations became less exciting. And when the 3DS came along, they became downright dull. So it's an individual matter. If you started gaming when Wii came out, a new Smash Bros. might seem like a megaton, but I just shrug my shoulders indifferently.
