I find phone/tablet games are just something I use to pass the odd 5 minutes whilst waiting for something. You need buttons for proper games. Little kids enjoy tablet games because they don't have to learn any controls beyond poking the screen.
The flip side is that they're not very versatile in terms of function and the games are a lot more expensive. If your only interest as a parent was to buy a portable games machine for your child, then I could see it.
IOS games are not as great as console games though(Not speaking about console ports) so kids should prefer handhelds over phone games. I will be getting the new 3DS regardless of whether I can exchange my old Estore games. MH4 and Xenogear Saga will be enough to keep me going. Supposedly Nintendo want to do a new 3D Mario game for it too. I just hope this time it has a story like the console versions and not just level by level with a few bosses.
Correct, but with significantly less function outside of games and the games themselves are more expensive at $25-$40 per title.
Nothing, but it's possible a parent might think their child needs more than that. That's why I said khaid's point makes sense if the parent is only interested in providing a games machine.
yea the ipad has an extremely large selection of learning games that younger kids can mess with (as young as 2yrs old). this debate easily mirrors the pc vs consoles debate where both sides work well. quite humorous.
Have to see how well shield does, it has a standard controller and the benchmarks destroy all over tablets currently available for GPU performance.
Tsk, tsk…Android users. ;D I'm not talking about any type of game use, educational or otherwise. You could learn to play the piano or guitar using an iPad, or create and mix your own music. That's just one tiny area of the additional functions available for kids vs. a 3DS.
That's what music lessons are for, so they can learn real instruments. Not sure why you're mentioning android.
A. Why would you think that they can't use real instruments? B. I mention Android because it's the Android users in this thread that don't seem to understand why I'm saying there's a functional difference between a tablet and a 3DS.
function [fuhngk-shuh n] noun 1. the kind of action or activity proper to a person, thing, or institution; the purpose for which something is designed or exists; role. The 3DS was designed for a single primary function: playing games. It's less expensive than a tablet, but it's less functional. The iPad was designed for multiple functions, including playing games. It's more expensive than a 3DS, but it's more functional. See...it's not so hard to understand.
A feature they should have released with the 3DS since it was online from the start, especially since PSP's had it years ago too. Always a nice feature to have though.