Fresh of NASA’s landing of Curiosity on Mars, we’re “curious” to know what our own Todd Vote and Josh Boykin have to say in regards to this week’s topics.  See what we did there….hmm?  Yeah, OK, probably not the greatest segue, but I digress.  Let’s get right to it with this week’s Buy or Sell.

1. At this juncture, you’d consider the PS Vita a bust.

Todd Vote: Sell – Nothing wrong with being #2 in the handheld market is there?  I suppose it would all come down to one’s criteria on what would earn the title of being a ‘bust’.  If you look at how much the 3DS outsells the PS Vita, I suppose you would have to consider it a bust.  The fact that the 3DS is trouncing the Vita would be enough for most, but I like to look at the overall picture.  The Vita could still be salvaged much the same way Nintendo did with the 3DS, so I won’t call it a bust just yet.

Josh Boykin: Buy – Seriously, how can you release a handheld with so much power and so few worthwhile games?  Sony had experience with the PSP and decided to focus on multi-region marketing tactics with the Vita; they know what PS3 games are successful and they also saw the failure of the 3DS launch because it was too expensive and had few games worth buying.  No excuses for Sony messing up that badly after all of those examples sitting right in front of them.

2. You often hear analysts predict that Nintendo will soon become a software-only company.  You’re in agreement with that.

Todd Vote: Sell – Never, ever, ever, ever, count Nintendo out.  People did that with the Wii and look at what happened.  Was the Wii no the number one console of this generation; inferior hardware be damned?  While the Wii U hasn’t garnered the same buzz that the Wii did before it, it doesn’t mean the system is going to fail.  Keep in mind that we still do not know for sure what Microsoft and Sony have up their respective sleeves.  Nintendo for all we know, could end up looking like geniuses again.

Josh Boykin: Sell – Sure, I may think that the Wii U isn’t going to be the massive game-changer that many fans attest it will be, but to forget the power of the 3DS and Nintendo’s hold on the handheld market would be dangerous.  Sure, there are plenty of ways to get cheaper gaming experiences on tablets and smartphones, but for a parent who wants something to keep their kids occupied easily, there’s nothing that takes care of that issue, inexpensively, as the 3DS [and DSi] right now.  I think we’ll continue to see the 3DS help Nintendo stay out of the bargain bin, but they’re going to have to do some real innovation to make the next handheld a hit.

3. Someone 3rd party will step up next year and take on the MLB license, now that 2K Sports is out and Sony has a 1st party franchise in MLB the Show.

Todd Vote: Buy – Too much money to be made just to let it sit on the shelf, isn’t there?  I’m sure someone will come along and scoop it up.  Who that will be remains to be seen.  Maybe EA?

Josh Boykin: Sell – Why would they?  Do we really need another baseball game?  It’s hard enough to come in and compete against the best baseball game o the market and I just don’t see another publisher that could profit from creating their own.

4. You’ve been thoroughly disappointed with games for Kinect.

Todd Vote: Buy – While there are a couple of things on Kinect that have made me curious, they have mostly been more for the type of fun I could enjoy with a nephew than anything that interested me specifically.  Kinect had, and still has a lot of potential, but it should probably start trying to realize that potential soon.

Josh Boykin: Sell – To say I’ve been disappointed with games for the Kinect is quite true, but “thoroughly disappointed” comes to the level of the Virtual Boy or that crappy mic that came with “Hey You Pikachu”…sheer disappointment to levels previously thought to be unreachable.  But I’ve had some really fun Kinect experiences with Dance Central and the Kinect Sports series, which have given me a lot of fun times with friends and I really was actually taken aback at how well the voice commands worked out for Mass Effect 3.  There’s potential in Kinect for sure, it just needs a bit more support.

5. If it was up to you, you’d bring back the Power Glove in a fully functional form. [Cause it’s awesome looking.]

Todd Vote: Sell – Dude, why?  What is wrong with a controller and just a controller to play games?  It has worked well for the past 30 years, why would you think you have to keep reinventing the wheel when the only thing that really needs to be improved on are the games that power the engine?

Josh Boykin: Buy – I shouldn’t have to explain this.  But imagine a wrist-top-tablet-functional display with physical buttons and IR pointer support to interact with the console.  There’s pretty much nothing you can do to NOT make that spectacular.  Well unless you give it to NIntendo….then they’ll make you friend code each glove, place access codes on it so you can only play with other people who you went to 2nd grade with and of course if you’ve sent a handwritten request to Nintendo HQ asking for permission to play games with that person…

6. In your opinion, someone needs to start working on a new Killer Instinct game already.

Todd Vote: Buy – Dear God, someone please make this game! I’m begging you.  What do you want from us?  Start a Kickstarter fund; whatever it takes, but for the love of games, just make it happen!  Now is the time, with the mini revival of 2D fighting games such as Mortal Kombat, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and numerous others that are enjoying success, to get the KI franchise revived.  Why it hasn’t yet, after all this time is a crime.

Josh Boykin: Sell – I know Killer Instinct holds a special place in the hearts of many fighting game fanatics but to me, reviving Killer Instinct is as important as bringing back Clay Fighter.  There are great new fighting titles coming out like Injustice that are attempting to do something new with story and concept on the large-budget scale, while Skullgirls and other indie titles are pushing the genre on the small-budget scale.  Sure, a new Killer Instinct might be alright, but get me a new Earthbound or a Final Fantasy that doesn’t suck instead…those are a little higher on my priorities list right now.