Hardware comparisons can be tricky, but the PS Vita and the iPad 3 will both use ARM-based CPUs. The PS Vita has a quad-core CPU, and the iPad 3 may have a quad -core or it may have a dual core chip. The iPad 3 graphics will certainly be enhanced over the iPad 2, if for no other reason than to deal with the 2048 x 1536 screen resolution of the iPad 3 and keep screen graphics from slowing down. The PS Vita will probably have the advantage when it comes to pushing polygons and textures on the screen, but the iPad 3 will have a much higher screen resolution on a much larger screen.
The PS Vita's dual analog joysticks and various buttons give it a distinct edge in game controls over the iPad 3. Designers have found work-arounds on the iPad, but nothing yet compares to a good controller. However, there are already Bluetooth controllers that look pretty much like console controllers that will work with iPads; they are expensive, though, generally $60 or $70. You can use a Bluetooth keyboard with an iPad, though, which is a familiar option to an FPS player used to a PC.
The iPad 3 will be able to output video to an HDTV, either through a cable or through AirPlay (with an Apple TV). The PS Vita has no video output option. Both devices are portable, and neither one fits into a pocket; you'll probably want to have a case of some sort for either one. Battery life for the iPad 3 will probably be around 12 hours, while the PS Vita will be looking for an outlet after about 3 hours or so of gaming.
As far as utility goes, the PS Vita is a great game console. Other functions, like web browsing and media playback, are available but certainly not optimal. If you want to browse the web, you probably want to use something else. The iPad is a great web browser and media consumption device, as well as offering a huge number of apps with an incredible array of functions.
......
Looking at the two devices from a publisher's perspective provides some insights into the possible futures of the devices. Looking at the PS Vita, what sort of installed base is likely in a year? Estimates will vary depending on whom you're asking, but considering that the Nintendo 3DS has managed to sell 5 million units in less than one year - which Nintendo has proudly said beats out the DS record by four weeks - given the PS Vita's slow beginning in Japan, hitting 5 million units in one year would seem to be an optimistic goal, but possibly achievable.
What about the iPad 3's sales outlook? Currently Apple is selling the iPad 2 at the rate of about 5 million per month (having sold over 15 million in the last quarter of 2011), and it seems likely that a new iPad 3 with better features at the same price point would sell at least that well. Even if you assume that Apple is unable to increase iPad 3 sales at all for the next year, that would still be an installed base of 60 million units in a year's time, or 12 times the number of PS Vitas likely in the marketplace.
Let's assume that development costs for a game for the two devices are similar. How much revenue per unit sold of a game can a publisher expect? For a PS Vita title, assuming it's sold at $40 retail (some will be more, some less) a publisher might clear as much as $15 per unit, maybe up to $20. For an iPad title, assuming a retail price of $6.99 (and some are more, some less), the publisher gets about $5. So the PS Vita title returns 4 times as much revenue, but there are 12 times as many iPad 3s to sell to. OK, only 70% of iPad 3 buyers play games, so that leaves a market of 42 million... a little less than 9 times as much as the PS Vita. Remember, though, our numbers for the PS Vita were quite rosy; 5 million units is an aggressive sales prediction. The number could well be 4 million or 3 million, or even 2 million. The iPad 3, on the other hand, is likely to sell even more than the previous model iPad; we do have a track record to base sales predictions on.
One more factor to consider if you're a publisher: An iPad 3 title can be easily ported to the iPad 2, and almost as easily to the iPhone. That suddenly gives you an addressable market well over 250 million devices just today; when you add in another year of sales, it's going to be closing in on 400 million devices. And porting an iPad title to Android devices isn't all that difficult; far easier than trying to bring a PS Vita title to the Nintendo 3DS, for instance.
...
Smaller developers are also likely to focus on iOS development rather than PS Vita development, just because of the ease publishing on iOS. Sony tries to work well with developers, but there's still a lot of money to spend on development systems and a lot of time spent working with Sony's publishing process. With iOS, Apple's benign neglect means you don't have much help, but you also have very little process in your way. The bottom line is we're unlikely to see a rush of independent developers heading to the PS Vita.
Sony is looking for the PS Vita to have a long lifespan; they'd love to see it last 5 years or more. Consider this, though: The iPad 3 is approaching the power of the PS Vita, and at least in screen resolution is exceeding it. In another year or so, we'll see a successor to the iPad (if history is any indication), and it will probably be significantly more powerful than the iPad 3. That device may well be more powerful than a PS Vita, and if it's not, the one a year after that certainly will be. The pace of advancement in mobile phones and tablets, new models each year with roughly 3x to 5x performance jumps, is leaving the 5-year console cycle looking glacially slow. With sales an order of magnitude greater for iPads, the PS Vita will have a very difficult time keeping pace in attracting development efforts.
The pricing gap between the PS Vita and the iPad 3 is not as great as it might seem. Once you've added on a memory card, the PS Vita is probably around $300. With games at $30 to $50, if you buy just a few you're closing in on the iPad's price point. There are plenty of free or inexpensive games for the iPad, and even the high-end games are usually between $5 and $10.
) and the point about iPads eventually eclipsing Vita's hardware power is a pretty irrelevant one.
