User blog comment:Nixerix/Handheld VS Console/@comment-11533729-20120401084819

I can't really debate on this regarding specifically Harvest Moon games since I've played so few titles (and all of which were on handhelds, actually), but I can compare just handhelds to consoles games in general.

First of all, I do agree that there's more to do on console games. I mean, I don't know anything about game programming, technicalities and stuff, but given the sizes of the consoles in comparison, I can imagine that they can hold more data, content and details than handhelds, which is why handheld games always seem more lacking in some ways or another. That's the price you pay when you port things to smaller, more portable devices, I suppose. Though I have to say that PSP games stay amazingly vivid and detailed, but they are much heavier than the Nintendo handhelds, and more fragile. They also have ridiculously long loading screens, but I digress (I have the oldest PSP though, not sure about the newer ones).

As for motion controls, I'd say I love and hate them; I think it's a neat concept, makes games more interactive, but I think the only times when motion controls are used effectively in a game is when they're added to do something you cannot do with regular controls. Truthfully, the only times they've really been successful is in simple and less intricate games like Cooking Mama, Dance Central, etc. Action-simulation games, which isn't 'real gaming', but it's still fun and interesting. If you're using the Kinect to replace walking in an RPG, or the stylus to push a few buttons on the lower DS screen, then it's just unnecessary and stupid, and you know the game developers only did it for the sake of incorporating something that's new and hip.

And for your handheld cons, I think you got them all, so I won't add to that. I guess there's no real comparison; stationary consoles do give better experiences in general, but you can't take 'em with you, and vice versa, handhelds are conveniently portable but a bit lacking in details and content because of its smaller capacity.

I realize this is not a Harvest Moon-centered reply at all, and I apologize for that, but that's my two cents on handhelds vs. consoles.