When comparing Shield Tablet K1 vs PlayStation Vita, the Slant community recommends PlayStation Vita for most people. In the question“What are the best portable game consoles?” PlayStation Vita is ranked 2nd while Shield Tablet K1 is ranked 17th.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Good deal
$200 for one of the best Android gaming tablets out there makes for a cheap option for a device with a high end GPU.
Pro Powerful portable graphics
Graphics close to last-gen consoles using the Tegra K1 GPU. There are ports of current AA games such as Borderlands 2 as well as Portal. These are high quality games that run well on the device due to the powerful GPU.
Pro HDMI output
Has a mini-HDMI port so you can connect it to your TV or monitor. This allows one to play games on a larger screen while powering them with the tablet, much like a console.
Pro Two sticks
Pro Succeeds as a niche indie game device
There are few dedicated handheld gaming systems out there with the 3DS being the main competition to the Vita. What is nice that neither has much overlap on their content making for a good device to own even if you own a 3DS due to the library consisting of many great indie games not to be found on a Nintendo handheld.
Pro Best screen resolution
Pro Like a portable PS3
Cons
Con No physical controls built in
Need to get a controller or use touchscreen controls. While the old model used to come with a stylus that has been removed on the new device. There is also a game controller made by Nvidia that works specifically with this tablet but it is an extra cost since it does not come with it.
Con Game selection
A few Shield exclusives, but mostly mobile games, which mainly work with touch controls rather than a gamepad.
Con Not great battery life
Maybe 3 hours of gaming battery life, or about 10 hours of web browsing. For what is a gaming centric device the screen time while gaming is quite low.
Con Console is Dead
Sony is not trying to improve PS Vita.
Con Rear touchpad has too many accidental clicks
While not all the games for the Vita use the rear touchpad, those that do have issue with imprecise input and random touches. This can complicate games that rely on the virtual button presses as a tap may be altogether missed or accidentally done when not wanted, thus messing up ones play session.
Con Lack of AAA games
Sony, since the release of the Vita has published or produced very few AA games for the Vita, with most newer releases coming from third parties and mainly indie developers. For what is supposed to be a premium handheld Sony's announcement of no AA games to come is very concerning as to what the lifespan of this device will be,