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[DCharlie]

My personal experience with 3DS battery life is that it's absolutely awful.

Having to get into the habit of shutting the thing down (which sort of defies the point a bit) so that it's not streetpassing like a beast.

I've had days when they've gone from morning fully charged to flashing red without a single game being played :/ Nyko at some point for the pair of them.


Vita just too soon to tell really, i was planning on monitoring it today but after the freeze drama this morning it slipped my mind. All i know is i had 1hr 15 of Monster Hunter at lunch time, two 20 minute "golf breaks" and about 2 hours of golf at night before it gave up the ghost.

 

[FireCloud]

Just like Durante said, in this kind of tests the device with the brightest screen is at an unfair disadvantage.

Lets say that Nintendo releases tomorrow a firmware that locks the screen at level 1 brightness. We can now say that the 3DS battery is much improved because now lasts longer is on max settings?

You can surely say that the 3DS would have much improved battery performance in that case. However, no one would want to play it.

No...that's dumb...that's a POWER SAVING FEATURE so by not using the 3DS' POWER SAVING FEATURE it's not a fair comparison...

How is it dumb? What ever it is, it is THE maximum screen brightness for playing games on the Vita. It's not like the person who made the video decided to gimp the 3DS by picking a better setting on the Vita.

 

[CouchMaster]

ITT: so who takes theyr portable consoles to trips anymore? nowdays handheld gaming is done at home in your confy couch

I am not innocent btw =/

Pedometer in 3DS, gotta collect those coins man.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

So people are going to ignore Vita w/ power saver vs 3DS w/o power saver. Okay...

The real question is how bright is Vita at 80% vs 3DS at full brightness? If Vita looks brighter than this comparison is even more amazing.

 

[AbsoluteZero]

My personal experience with 3DS battery life is that it's absolutely awful.

Having to get into the habit of shutting the thing down (which sort of defies the point a bit) so that it's not streetpassing like a beast.

I've had days when they've gone from morning fully charged to flashing red without a single game being played :/ Nyko at some point for the pair of them.

What brightness level are you playing at?

Knock it down to 3 and turn on Power Saver mode and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[Corto]

So people are going to ignore Vita w/ power saver vs 3DS w/o power saver. Okay...

I think that we should measure the luminescence of each screen to have a final test. We need to go deeper.

 

[Lonely1]

You can surely say that the 3DS would have much improved battery performance in that case. However, no one would want to play it.

Eh? WTf

 

[wsippel]

Won't be too much different because all the test systems are running on the game all the time, and power saver highly likely not been used yet.

But yeah it should have switch on

Power saving affects the screen, so yes, it's used in this test. Also, once again, the scene used on Vita is a best case scenario to begin with. Vita brightness is capped at 80%, 3DS brightness is at 200%.

 

[rosjos44]

Put Vita processor on 3DS and I bet it would not even last more than half an hour...

You cannot make science fiction about features that the consoles don't have.

I clearly made that statement out of anger on the 3D talk. My bad.

 

[Nemo]

HOLD ON HOLD ON

How come no one is addressing that by default the Vita has a power saving measure, capping brightness in game at 80% while the video had the 3DS brightness at MAX and didn't mention using the power saving feature (which is off by default)?!

Apocalyptic?

 

[Lonely1]

The real question is how bright is Vita at 80% vs 3DS at full brightness? If Vita looks brighter than this comparison is even more amazing.

Same Luminance on a white screen? I put my money on the 3DS lasting longer, but that's an unfair test for Vita.

 

[Synless]

What brightness level are you playing at?

Knock it down to 3 and turn on Power Saver mode and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

The problem with power saver mode on 3ds is it seems to kill detail. Look at the squares background on the top screen in the main menu when you turn it off, it basically disappears.

 

[Zoramon089]

How is it dumb? What ever it is, it is THE maximum screen brightness for playing games on the Vita. It's not like the person who made the video decided to gimp the 3DS by picking a better setting on the Vita.

You can't keep using the word "relative". Knocking the brightness down to 80% is a software feature Sony put in place to save battery. How is it fair to not use the same feature on the 3DS? If not knocking it's brightness to 80% then at least using the Power Saver feature

 

[pr0cs]

Are people still debating which one has a better battery life? Really? They are both shit. Smh, how did we get from 15 Hours to 3 is beyond me.

exactly.
which is why both products are stillborne in my mind, anything less than 5-6 hours is fucking pointless to own.

 

[PunchyBoy]

So people are going to ignore Vita w/ power saver vs 3DS w/o power saver. Okay...

People ignore that power saver on 3DS give 1 more hour.

 

[PdotMichael]

brightness at 200%! What an engenieering wonder

 

[rosjos44]

The real question is how bright is Vita at 80% vs 3DS at full brightness? If Vita looks brighter than this comparison is even more amazing.

It was stated earlier that the 3DS screens are brighter.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Wouldn't a better test be without 3D, since one of the systems can't do that (and of course is a noticable power drain?)

Why? Both systems were played the way they were meant to be played.

 

[Durante]

Power saving affects the screen, so yes, it's used in this test. Also, once again, the scene used on Vita is a best case scenario to begin with. Vita brightness is capped at 80%, 3DS brightness is at 200%.

Oh please. 200%? Right. Also, the scene isn't a "best case" scenario. It's in one of the / the single most demanding game(s), and it's not that dark, just slightly darker than average.

I commented on the problems with the testing methodology earlier, but those are no reason to swing wildly in the other direction.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Same Luminance on a white screen? I put my money on the 3DS, but that's an unfair test for Vita.

I just want to see max brightness in MH3 and "max/80%" brightness on MH3 on Vita. Just take pics of the OS if need be. From the youtube vids and our fellow gaffer, it seems really bright even at 80%. I'm sure OLED helps a lot there.

 

[Regulus Tera]

They are both shit. Then again, most smartphone batteries nowadays are also shit.

 

[Corto]

Power saving affects the screen, so yes, it's used in this test. Also, once again, the scene used on Vita is a best case scenario to begin with. Vita brightness is capped at 80%, 3DS brightness is at 200%.

Hey! 200% is 2.5x greater than 80%! 3DS can burn your retinas confirmed.

 

[Callibretto]

HOLD ON HOLD ON

How come no one is addressing that by default the Vita has a power saving measure, capping brightness in game at 80% while the video had the 3DS brightness at MAX and didn't mention using the power saving feature (which is off by default)?!

Power saving feature is on game to game basis. Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom caps the brightness at 80%, but Lords of Apocalypse stays 100% brightness, no idea if Uncharted cap it's brightness or not.

 

[Fox_Mulder]

I think that we should measure the luminescence of each screen to have a final test. We need to go deeper.

 

[Lonely1]

I just want to see max brightness in MH3 and "max/80%" brightness on MH3 on Vita. Just take pics of the OS if need be. From the youtube vids and our fellow gaffer, it seems really bright even at 80%. I'm sure OLED helps a lot there.

Well, you can't see Luminance on a youtube video, only contrast. An area in which Vita's OLED is much better than the 3DS LCD screens. And how bright is plenty? Depends entirely on the ambient lighting. In a dark room at night? Level 1 brightness is plenty, and some times even hurt the eyes... out in the desert at midday? No screen is bright enough.
That's the way our eyes work.

 

[wsippel]

brightness at 200%! What an engenieering wonder

Comes with the territory. Only half the light the screens emit reaches you due to the barrier, so you need to double the brightness to get the same perceived result.

 

[DangerousDave]

Ok, I have more data:

Here we have some 3DS battery test (you'll probably need google translate)

German Site

The tests are with Street Fighter. The MvsCapcom test that twentytwo22 did was:

3G on, Wifi on, bright max, playing offline and online, headphones 50%, and it was 4:29

In order to get similar results in 3DS (4:36) you have to play without 3D, with 40% bright, without Wifi, headphone 50%.

 

[Wazzim]

So people are going to ignore Vita w/ power saver vs 3DS w/o power saver. Okay...

Come on man, 20% isn't going to deplete a hour+ of battery life extra. This is the result and deal with it.

 

[Durante]

Same Luminance on a white screen? I put my money on the 3DS lasting longer, but that's an unfair test for Vita.

What we need to do is run 50 games for 1 hour each, calculate the average luminance of that, and run that on both screens - each adjusted so that they achieve roughly the same total light ouput. Do the same thing for processing and memory traffic and create a simulator for that for both platforms.

That would be the scientific way to go about it. Since we won't get that, I think this test together with the reports in the launch thread at least show that Vita's battery life is at least as good as the launch PSP's, which is pretty impressive considering the difference in hardware and the larger, much higher resolution screen.

 

[EloquentM]

Are you guys really arguing the difference between an hour in battery life when they both have shitty battery life? Either way you look at it 2-4 hrs of battery life is laughable so what justification is there in arguing between which on is better?

 

[FireCloud]

Why? Both systems were played the way they were meant to be played.

Thank you ShinUltramanJ! This is the point I was trying to make but wasn't concise enough I guess.

Btw....post 300. Wohoo!

 

[The Hermit]

3ds vs Vita battery:

 

[Somnid]

Are you guys really arguing the difference between an hour in battery life when they both have shitty battery life? Either way you look at it 2-4 hrs of battery life is laughable so what justification is there in arguing between which on is better?

2-4 hours is well over the general average playtime for a day I'd imagine.

 

[Wazzim]

Ok, I have more data:

Here we have some 3DS battery test (you'll probably need google translate)

German Site

The tests are with Street Fighter. The MvsCapcom test that twentytwo22 did was:

3G on, Wifi on, bright max, playing offline and online, headphones 50%, and it was 4:29

In order to get similar results in 3DS (4:36) you have to play without 3D, with 40% bright, without Wifi, headphone 50%.

B-b-but power saving!

 

[Callibretto]

Ok, I have more data:

Here we have some 3DS battery test (you'll probably need google translate)

German Site

The tests are with Street Fighter. The MvsCapcom test that twentytwo22 did was:

3G on, Wifi on, bright max, playing offline and online, headphones 50%, and it was 4:29

In order to get similar results in 3DS (4:36) you have to play without 3D, with 40% bright, without Wifi, headphone 50%.

if the result using that setting is just about the same with Vita, then it's not very flattering for 3DS since the 3DS is not as powerful as Vita, Vita also output to higher resolution than 3DS.

 

[Fox_Mulder]

Ok, I have more data:

Here we have some 3DS battery test (you'll probably need google translate)

German Site

The tests are with Street Fighter. The MvsCapcom test that twentytwo22 did was:

3G on, Wifi on, bright max, playing offline and online, headphones 50%, and it was 4:29

In order to get similar results in 3DS (4:36) you have to play without 3D, with 40% bright, without Wifi, headphone 50%.

7 minutes more? We a winner

 

[le.phat]

hold on hold on

Since 3DS had 3D on, and since its stereoscopic 3D, essentially rendering two screens of everything, shouldn't we multiply the batterylife results by two also ?

 

[iamaustrian]

if the result using that setting is just about the same with Vita, then it's not very flattering for 3DS since the 3DS is not as powerful as Vita, Vita also output to higher resolution than 3DS.

dude, 3DS has two screens with one 3D enabled. vita's oled tech screen safes tons of power as well

 

[braves01]

2-4 hours is well over the general average playtime for a day I'd imagine.

But it's not enough to cover a flight across the U.S. That's bench mark I always use and they both fail. 3DS v. Vita is pointless when both are below what should be acceptable.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

Mind is now in full of fuck mode ><

 

[DangerousDave]

7 minutes more? We a winner

But 40% of bright (instead of 80% of Vita), without 3D and without Wifi.

twentytwo22 should retry the test in Vita, but now without Wifi and with 40% bright to get that exact comparision that 3DS people want.

 

[rosjos44]

dude, 3DS has two screens with one 3D enabled. vita's oled tech screen safes tons of power as well

Also the fact that the battery in the Vita is bigger than the 3DS's

 

[PdotMichael]

dude, 3DS has two screens with one 3D enabled. vita's oled tech screen safes tons of power as well

:reggie:

and?

 

[LiquidMetal14]

But 40% of bright (instead of 80% of Vita), without 3D and without Wifi.

twentytwo22 should retry the test in Vita, but now without Wifi and with 40% bright to get that exact comparision that 3DS people want.

That;s the one too then. Let's get comparative brightness and no wifi.

Also the fact that the battery in the Vita is bigger than the 3DS's

And the HW is far more inferior so what's the point?

 

[Wazzim]

hold on hold on

Since 3DS had 3D on, and since its stereoscopic 3D, essentially rendering two screens of everything, shouldn't we multiply the batterylife results by two also ?

OMG, 5 hour battery life confirmed! Let's send Iwata and Checkthebox-man a cake as congratulations!

 

[Callibretto]

dude, 3DS has two screens with one 3D enabled. vita's oled tech screen safes tons of power as well

the post I'm responding to already said that we need to test 3DS without 3D on to get comparable result. and I respond if we ignore 3D, then 3DS should be above Vita and not merely comparable

 

[rosjos44]

But 40% of bright (instead of 80% of Vita), without 3D and without Wifi.

twentytwo22 should retry the test in Vita, but now without Wifi and with 40% bright to get that exact comparision that 3DS people want.

I'm curious the difference in brightness? Its been known / stated that the 3DS's screens are brighter but by how much? I wonder if max brightness on VITA is like 70% on 3DS.

 

[Durante]

hold on hold on

Since 3DS had 3D on, and since its stereoscopic 3D, essentially rendering two screens of everything, shouldn't we multiply the batterylife results by two also ?

Of course we should. But since Vita has about 10x as much processing power, and the screen area is around 1.2 times larger than the total of 3DS, we should in all fairness multiply its results by twelve. However, since the battery capacity is 1.8 times larger we need to divide by that. Also, the magic Nintendo factor is missing, which accounts for at least 3.14%. Summing all that up we get a normalized battery life of... 26.3 hours.

 

[tzare]

And as a consumer and gamer, I don't care about WHY this and WHY that, I just want to know how long I can play a game at various settings, information I hope will eventually come my way.
I don't care about how the 3d does this for battery life and the resolution does that...how long can I play each system? I don't need excuses. Ok, Vita lasts longer but both are abysmal (and I expect will get worse as my system ages). Thank you. I am informed.

And the excuses are the worst kind - The kind that the producers of the products were well aware of. If 3d halves battery life, I'm sure Nintendo is aware. If the Vita's power is a power hog, then Sony is well aware of that as well. Both of these companies could have confronted the issue with a better battery rather than asking their customers to change settings and, worse, turn off functionality.

cool. It happens i am a consumer and a gamer too, and i usually buy systems for what they offer me, so i enjoy playing MK7 in 3D and will enjoy VIta when i own it when i see games like uncharted on its OLED display. I am also aware that battery life hasn't been adressed at all, not only for gaming purposes, so while it is something that bothers me, i find that Vita is ok, plus it charges faster if i am not mistaken, and 3DS is a bit too short and lasts quite a bit to charge. I usually play in places where there's a plug near so not a real issue afterall. I think sony has done a decent job (not outstandingby any means) and nintendo has failed a bit there. And if it happens that you waht 10hour life on the go gaming, stick to simple games or buy extra batteries. If those systems had had bigger batteries, their size would be bigger to and people would complain about that to.

 

[rosjos44]

That;s the one too then. Let's get comparative brightness and no wifi.



And the HW is far more inferior so what's the point?

Well, if the 3DS has the same battery then I'm sure it would make a difference in battery life.