Gripe with today's handhelds...

[Herschie1]

Too much front end crap when you start Vita games. First you have to wait for the menu screen to pop up, then you have to select your game. I was playing FIFA today, and I had to wait for numerous load screens, the intro screen then I had to wait for the thing to get to the EA servers. Finally it got me through to the game after a few minutes. By then, I don't have much time or patience left to play anymore. 

This, of course, goes for any console game, but even more so for handhelds when you might not have a lot of time to play. Remember the Game Boy when you could just press start a couple times and you were in?

[VideoGameCritic]

Great topic.  I have also grown weary of having to sit through a dozen intro screens before I can start playing.  You know what - I couldn't care less about that junk.  It's like being forced to watch a series of commercials before a movie.

And having to deal with it with a handheld is ten time worse because you're typically trying to squeeze in a short game on the go.  I think I might actually start docking grades for excessive intro screens.

[soporj1]

[QUOTE=videogamecritic]I think I might actually start docking grades for excessive intro screens.[/QUOTE]

I might even suggest a new icon (a stopwatch? a guy sleeping?) for games with excessive intro screens or load times.

[Herschie1]

Docking grades seems OK, I just wouldn't overdo it. I know they suck, but if the game itself is really good, then I can forgive it. And I'd take more off if it's for a handheld game rather than a console game, because two minutes out of the twenty that i have to play a handheld sucks worse than two minutes out of two hours I have on a console. 

Definitely a great idea on the icons though. Some sort of placard to indicate this is swell. 

[Blueguy1]

Yet another advantage for the 3DS, which has minimal loading times and makes it great for games on the go. Except for Asphalt 3D, it's loading times are somewhat annoyingly long for a handheld.

Anyways, Sony has to harness the capabilities of the Vita and create games with shorter loading times. They have to do it asap, and not wait as long as they did with the PS3. That's going to turn off your consumers.

[Viper821]

This is why I'm going 3DS over Vita. Bottom line, I usually only have 15-20 minutes at a single time to play these systems and I damn well don't want to spend half that time waiting for the game to load. Let me spell it out for Sony because the don't seem to get it: the whole idea of portable gaming is to be a quick and easy supplement to your regular gaming consoles first NOT be a technical marvel!

[Herschie1]

Got me a stopwatch. 2 minutes and 54 seconds before I was actually into the game playing The Show on the Vita. Timed from the second I turned it on to the second I was seeing digital Wrigley Field.  Way. Too. Long.