Have Handhelds Peaked?

In this video, we take a look at handheld consoles and try to answer the question: have they peaked?
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the_flandrew

[@eddiew.4650]

I'd argue that Sony's greed killed off the Vita. If even Nintendo was using standard SD card storage then there wasn't an excuse onto why Sony couldn't do the same.

[@fattiger6957]

That was a big reason, but there was many more reasons Vita ended up where it did. Sony stopped supporting it with 1st party games pretty quickly. So did most western AAA publishers. That was the bigger issue than the memory cards. At the end of its life, the Vita was a system that only appealed to people who play smaller budget Japanese games and indie games.

[@user-so4ov7re3s]

The SD card debacle was Sony's fault. Not only did they make the Vita ONLY accept Sony's PSVITA SD cards and no other brands, actively having monopoly on the market, they also charged ridiculous prices for small storage sizes.

[@fattiger6957]

@@user-so4ov7re3s Sony was following the lead from the PSP that used Sony's own Memory stick Duo. The weird thing was that the PSVita card was only ever used for the Vita while the Memory Stick Duo was used for a bunch of devices like cameras.

[@Drownedinblood]

Not just greed, old Japanese company thinking they could single handedly force the market to adopt their media, also to try and control emulation.

[@Drownedinblood]

​@fattiger6957 which is a shame, vita was kinda the ideal portable for me since I had a gameboy.

[@AdamJSchwarz]

I don't think the decline is just attributable to people playing games on mobiles instead of consoles, but the fact that mobiles now provide all the digital stimulation you need while travelling without the need for games.

[@maxfieldstanton5411]

When I was in high school I got a Zune, because the screen was HUGE, which meant after several hours of meticulously encoding videos to a particular format it required I could watch movies on the bus to school. That was 2007. We will never return to such a time.

[@Pirategod23]

And if I wanna play a game I’ll download a few for an hour delete it and rinse repeat

[@HiddenAccount]

You literally just said "mobiles games didn't stop consoles, mobile games stopped consoles"

[@tassaron]

Sony has a long history of expending serious effort to combat piracy. I think that's why they screwed it up with weird disc and card formats, and discontinued it even when it was mildly successful. Plus at the time everyone thought phones would kill the traditional gaming market so Sony might have expected to sell more games on their smartphones in the future

[@EggEnjoyer]

@@HiddenAccountNo that’s not what he said. He said that because of phones, people aren’t playing mobile games at all. Instead they just browse social media and watch KZbin videos. A lot of people don’t play handhelds at the bus stop like they used too. Instead they browse the internet

[@Rihcterwilker]

I do miss when handbelds companion to the big consoles were a thing. They were a great place to find experimental games.

[@PauLtus_B]

I think the lack of experimental games from big studios can primarily be blamed on them being unwilling to release something that doesn't seem "AAA". To have your supposedly system-selling games be priced less than full price can give the idea that they're worth less attention out then then the game also has to look that cost. Looking at something like the main Pokémon games, if they changed the artstyle to something with stylized pixel art inspired by something like Octopath Traveler you'd have a game that would most likely look better, run better (and be a more manageable workload for the people working on the game) but it would somehow "feel" like a downgrade simply because there is a change from 3D to 2D assets. "Feeling expensive" does not make a good game but it's not an entirely unwarranted concern. I have seen people argue that it's ridiculous to spend full money on certain games simply because they're side scrollers for example.

[@tivvy2vs21]

Cams reviews did a great series on the ds versions of all the lego games

[@psxfoxhound]

Back then there used to be a lot of independent studios doing their own thing, but as the years went on development costs grew which made it more and more necessary to associate with big publishers to sell your own game, the cost of owning your own ip became too expensive for most smaller studios, and big publishers didn’t want to invest in things they didn’t fully own/ weren’t statistically successful (like world war 2 games in the 2000s. There’s an article out there called “Activision didn’t want modern warfare” or something like that, and if you read it it’s insane how little things have actually changed over the years). Often times big publishers like EA and Activision could just do whatever they wanted despite morals and ethics, and this has lead to the lack of innovation and creativity in the AAA gaming space right now, as well as a lack of experimental games like you’d used to see in the Ps2 generation If you were to ask me personally, I’d say there needs to be Unions and leadership accountability in the gaming industry, but that’s just my perspective. I’m sure game developers themselves have their own opinions about things, and I’m admittedly not the most knowledgeable about things. I just like to complain a lot

[@Fernando-ek8jp]

I mean, that's where the indie scene flourishes now

[@dan_loeb]

there's still interesting experimental stuff on the playdate handheld, but i don't think playdate is worth the price.

[@paradoxical998]

Personally, the biggest issue that the psp and vita had were the proprietary memory cards. The ds family used sd and micro SD cards. The psp used the Sony memory stick pro duo and the vita used vita only memory cards. These cards were more expensive and harder to find because of how few products they were used with, especially vs the SD cards its competition used.

[@zekester2097]

That's why the memory stick duo - micro SD card adapters are everywhere :^)

[@pablocasas5906]

I would say the PSP also had plenty of problems with the UMDs. I mean, those allowed it have bigger games, but they were pretty fragile and they had loading times

[@zekester2097]

@@pablocasas5906 Yeah, there was the issue with the UMD housing breaking in two, but there are replacement ones for those.

[@8bitnation419]

The PSP came out in 05. Micro SD’s weren’t a thing then. Hell even putting games on an SD Card or the Memory Stick wouldn’t have been considered due to the expense of owning a high storage SD Card and the gaming world wasn’t yet ready to go digital. UMD’s made perfect sense along with the Memory Stick since they were at the time quite popular. Being used on Sony Camera’s. With the Vita it was a different story by the time Memory Stick Micro, M2 Card or what ever it was called. It was considered a failure at that point. Sony just wasn’t trying to compete with Micro SD.

[@pablocasas5906]

@@8bitnation419 the UMDs made sense from a sort of branding standpoint, I think Sony wanted to repeat the success they had by using CDs on the PSOne and DVD in the PS2, back in 2004 optical media was superior in terms of data storage. But the PSP kind of showed why optical media was a bad option for a handheld device, Discman aside, I already mentioned how fragile they where to the point they had to encased in an outer shell, they weren't produced in mass compared to CDs and DVDs so the cost of manufacturing weren't as low, the PSP itself had more moving parts to spin the UMDs which in turn gave it less battery life compared to the DS I'll give the PSP some credit for being one of the first mass market multimedia portable devices with the ability to watch movies (though they had to be bought in UMDs) and it was pretty easy to hack (though I don't think Sony was happy with it), all before the release of the IPhone

[@nosidezero]

Vita and 3DS was definitely the peak of traditional handhelds for me. The controls were near perfect, nice game variety (even for Vita), and it was great having dedicated social features to interact with other players having the same experiences as you. I feel that sense of community will lost in handhelds moving forward, since they're now turning into alternative ways to play your existing console/PC games.

[@bretton_woods]

Handhelds were the most "social" when you had to physically be standing near/opposite someone, I remember trading and battling Pokémon over the link cable on Game Boy. That was cool! Seems we have gradually regressed over time. Now as you say, handhelds are more like a portable home console/PC.

[@BigmanDogs]

I think it peaked during ds and psp. Because this was before mobile games took over.

[@adriandotexe]

I don't know what you're talking about losing that sense of community. Have you seen the online support and community for the steam deck?

[@BigmanDogs]

@@adriandotexe as they said, the steam deck provides no uniquely portsble experiences and unique communities for those type of games.

[@HollowRick]

Psp and DS for me

[@PressKevinToContinue]

The Nintendo DS will probably always be my favorite console. I liked how games on the DS were very different from console games because of the dual screens and touch functionality. This allowed for games that were impossible to achieve on a TV and created many more gameplay possibilities. Nowadays everything seems too standardized and stale.

[@daniaaal]

Imagine Nintendo DS now with not only OLED, but better battery life, better graphics and RAM. I miss dual-screen gaming.

[@ZodiacEntertainment2]

"The World Ends With You" is a great illustration of what you're talking about. The game has been ported to the Switch and to mobile phones, but it needed massive gameplay changes for that transition to work. The original DS version of the game is innovative and takes full advantage of literally of all of the DS' features in a way that didn't feel gimmicky or forced. The level of experimentation is mind-blowing and they managed to implement the clock, the calendar, the touch screen, and even the microphone into at least one game mechanic each all while having a slick art style and an awesome soundtrack.

[@yoman8027]

The DS was great and innovative, but nowadays, it now has become the bane of game preservation, since many of its games cannot be properly ported to modern systems.

[@DamBaker95]

The GBA and DS generations. Nothing more comfortable then sneaking away in a quiet corner of your house to play strategy games or pokémon.

[@user-so4ov7re3s]

I remember hating Mario's voice for a while. I was playing New Super Mario Bros. Late at night, and I heard one of my parents coming, so I immediately close the DS...... I learned that when you do that, you would hear "Bye-bye!" from Mario.

[@alvallac2171]

*than (comparative)

[@georgeneverland896]

For me, the best-handled console still remains the GBA SP. Such a sleek and small device capable to run every genre (Tekken too). When I was 13 I used to play mostly old games on my potato PC from newspapers and I just loved them (Morrowind and Age of Empires 2 for example) but the feel of having an adventure like Pokemon Emerald in my pocket was just incredible. Now I'm 31 and I have money and a PC power enough to run everything by still I enjoy the most the freedom to go back from work and just play some games on my couch. Simple, primitive, fun.

[@ThomastheDankEngine8900]

GBA is the best handheld

[@jaredf6205]

I’m the same age and could never get into the GBA, I tried so many games and was never not disappointed or bored with it. I only ever used portables because I had nothing else to do.

[@nissutobor9078]

I hear ya... I'm a huge GBA fan. I even have a modded SP and GBA with IPS screens. But I gotta say, the DS is the better option. DSL does everything the GBA did, came with a backlit screen, and has twice the game library. Coupled with an r4 card (which are dirt cheap these days), and you've got just about everything you could ever want with a handheld.

[@UmarRCz]

Actually Gameboys kept us in the dark all them days,(no disrespect for the good games made by many developers) if sony was in charge of the handheld market they would have created a powerful 3d system; and all that time instead of gb/gbc/gba era we would have AAA on the go with a sony handheld

[@Nick-ht5yi]

@@nissutobor9078 id go a step further and say that a modded 3DS does all that and more.

[@alexcarolan8825]

For me, being born in '93 and started out during the gameboy era, i felt at my most disconnected from the world (in a good way) when playing my gameboy and up to the PSP. But now, you're forced to be online and connected 24/7 which i think altered the stated of gaming in a way for me. I can't disconnect and switch off from the world in the middle of nowhere through gaming anymore i find personally..

[@9a3eedi]

Have you tried a Nintendo switch

[@alexcarolan8825]

@@9a3eedi I would love to tbh, especially for Zelda but I feel like I wouldn't play that much. Got used to my pc plus the nostalgia isn't the same I guess. But yes. I would love one and I am happy Nintendo are continuing with portable consoles

[@arfanik9827]

@@alexcarolan8825 I think you would like the Switch tbh, it provides a lot that a pc can't. Gotta wait somewhere or stuck in public transport hell, just pull out the good old switch and play a game for a little while. Even at home, I find myself enjoying playing handheld or playing the first party lineup even though I could technically emulate them all on my pc. Although now that it is in it's last stretch, i would maybe wait and see what Nintendo offers next since it's probably gonna get announced in the next couple of months.

[@yacmoth770]

The video is very high quality with quick smooth and detailed transitions and topic change feeling smooth. Subscribed, can't wait to see more

[@psychomoth06]

I was VERY late to the game (no pun intended) but I loved my 3DS XL when I got one used in 2020. Made me realize how much I was missing. The good news is there’s still a thriving mod/home brew community for the 3DS that has kept the platform popular even after the E-shop closed. (Despite Nintendo being dicks and putting out a recent firmware update to try to thwart modding).

[@karuiGaming]

The firmware update was funny cuz modders just needed a bit of time to circumvent it again 😂

[@doomdoomerson6524]

​@@karuiGaming...all we did was change some scripting in Luma. No problemo!!

[@pacomatic9833]

Sadly, my N2DSXL screen broke (because of my incompetent brother, having some kleptomania and throwing it as he was afraid of my anger). Hopefully though we can get it repaired; I really want to try Kid Icarus: Uprising, and play some more Monster Hunter 4 G/Ultimate!

[@millyawns]

Until phones have dedicated controls like the Xperia Play, handhelds will always be around. Personally hoping for a Xperia Play follow up optimized for emulation and cloud gaming. It just makes sense.

[@Danku]

There was a prototype for a second gen Xperia play, but sadly it never went into production. That being said, the closest to this right now is getting a controller for your phone like the backbone

[@millyawns]

@@Danku External controllers miss the entire point.

[@ogto]

"Designed to pander to nostalgia, like my channel" The Flandrew has become self-aware, i repeat, the Flandrew has become self-aware

[@cokepickle]

this is actually a great thesis in conjunction with all your analysis videos on different companies developing different versions of one game title. I feel like I'd prefer that marketing scheme over games that get ported to every console and play worse than their initial releases

[@Vulpas]

I agree, it ends up with us having more unique experiences too.

[@Nifterific]

2D platformer Splinter Cell and isometric Tony Hawk were actually dope games, it was cool seeing “ports” that were actually entirely different games.

[@BenRK90]

The Steam Deck wasn't the first hybrid-like handheld PC, not by a long shot. It's been a niche market since before the Switch. Though before the Switch, they were more like mini laptops with a controller built into the keyboard. However, the Steam Deck has been the first successful one, hitting a good price, having good performance for the price. And now we are seeing more companies try to make their own for better and worse. Kind of entering a golden age for PC handhelds.

[@afterglow-podcast]

I wouldn't say they have peaked, but they have expanded. Now our handhelds double as our primary console, a trend starting with Switch and continuing with the Steam Deck. I'd also argue the reason why is that parity between console and handheld has closed rapidly.

[@gavinjones]

I loved that sony phone which was reminiscent of the psp bcz of its built in controller. Shame they never made anything similar again

[@WH250398]

I still have it. Awesome phone!

[@xxdarklink93xx]

The Xperia play, I went trought 3 ribbon cables. Now they cost as much as the phone itself and it's languishing in a drawer

[@WH250398]

@@xxdarklink93xx Didn't know that was an issue. I'm guessing the one between the sliding mechanism?

[@xxdarklink93xx]

@@WH250398 correct!

[@Anna_Rae]

I really enjoy my steam deck and my switch oled. They’re really really fun. But I do admit I miss something about smaller handhelds like the 3DS, being much easier to take with you

[@FlameWheel64]

This was very interesting. I didn't know about most of those early handhelds & I was suprised by how ahead of their time they were. Great work as always, thanks for all the fantastic videos.

[@stargate1990]

i still use my vita as an emulator................when sony announces a new Playstation handheld i experienced the fastest hype bubble burst i have ever experienced lol, i first got excited that Sony decided to get into the handheld market again and then i found out it was just a glorified streaming device! was let down.

[@Sliced_cheese98]

Sammmeeee. Psvita 2000 aqua with retroarch and adrenaline

[@kam767]

With the Deck and the Ally, this is the GOLDEN AGE of handheld gaming!

[@kennylauderdale_en]

With the Neo Geo Pocket Color yes. That thing has an 80 hour battery life on 2AAs. My switch last 3 hours.

[@GeoNeilUK]

The Neo Geo Pocket Color came out just in time for Nintendo to release the Came Boy Advance. Same thing happened with the Wonderswan (which ran on one AA battery) original Wonderswan came out just in time for Nintendo to release the Game Boy Color. Wonderswan Color gets rushed and Osborne'd the original Wonderswan.

[@MrBenMcLean]

The Steam Deck is so good. But it could be even better if it had a glasses free stereoscopic 3D display.

[@TheT3rr0rMask]

Deck proved the worth of open source handhelds. We had the GP2X and Zodiac but they were too early for the market. Nowadays people want something more open and wanna consume their content on whatever they want, and w/the power to run AAA stuff on a handheld the Deck came at the perfect time.

[@korosensei3932]

i really hope people go for things like the Steam Deck or Rog ALLY, time to shift the market to a more open style.

[@acmiguens]

I don't think we'll get a new handheld only system. But I think the "Switch 2" will also have a Lite variant. I still have my DSi and my 3DS and I'm still playing them. From playing weird games like Brothers in Arms DS to games I didn't get when they came out such as Hey Pikmin.

[@Aoskar95]

I still use my PSP regularly as a emulation device. Probably the best PS1 emulator and can emulate anything lower than 16-bits great and 16-bits decently

[@Vulpas]

It can do 16-bit perfectly for some systems, and 32-bit decently in the case of GBA. I'm actually surprised and disappointed in Vita's emulation scene, it's not much better than PSP's despite being a much stronger device. I suppose it's due to its low popularity.

[@Aoskar95]

@@Vulpas depends on model 2000 and 3000 has more RAM to use and SNES emulation is in my experience somewhat hit and miss

[@Sliced_cheese98]

​@Vulpas disagree I use mine everyday for pokemon games and I have no problems and psp games run with no problems. N64 had tons of problems on psp.

[@Aoskar95]

@@Sliced_cheese98 as I said, my issue is largely with SNES emulation and audio in particular

[@Sliced_cheese98]

@Aoskar95 weird I see videos on some people saying that they can't emulate anything well other than psp but I think they set up retroarch wrong. I watched this guys video I'll be posting in the comments to correctly install it.

[@TheBrotherGrim]

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned it, but I think the DS came out around a month before the PSP. Enjoyed the video, I do love some handheld goodness.

[@IkeSan]

Sony really made great devices. PSP and PSVITA are great technologic pieces that most people disrespect. The psp was the first "smart device" without being a phone even with features before the IPhone.

[@STICKOMEDIA]

They are truly awesome

[@fattiger6957]

People often forget how remarkable it was for the PSP to have multimedia capabilities. It was a great mp3 player and it was amazing to have a portable video player.

[@andreacusumano3100]

@@fattiger6957i still have a nice collection of umd video. They still have a decent video quality

[@Gloryboyquan]

​@@andreacusumano3100I have modded vita and still play psp libary it's that good!!

[@Vulpas]

Vita really needed L2/R2 and L3/R3. Plus of course, actual support.

[@zodiacmephistotv6121]

I got my steam deck in january this year, and im using it daily since them, my switch is taking dust because im never using it since i ported most of my games to the steam deck, the emulation is crazy on this thing and Valve did a crazy good job

[@GraveUypo]

yeah i like mine way better than my switch, which i unearthed after two years in a drawer because of the new zelda.

[@JingIeFett]

Same, the moment I got my Steam Deck last year my Switch started collecting dust. It's better in pretty much every way except battery. Way more comfortable to hold too. The only reason I've been using my Switch lately has been for Tears of the Kingdom, Metroid Prime Remastered, and before that Metroid Dread. I want to get them working on Deck so I can have everything in one place but I haven't had the time to do a deep dive into Switch emulation.

[@PauLtus_B]

I have to say I am incredibly happy with the hybrid experience. Being able to bring a console along with me and play anywhere is very valuable to me, but when I'm at home with a TV I'd of course want to use that screen.

[@rumotu]

At home I was holding my switch in dock and it seemed too big to be portable for me. Then I got my hands on lite and it was perfect portable. So I played games there I wanted to play portably and never take out switch from dock since it has cloud backups of savefiles. Then I got OLED model for tears of the kingdom.... And boy oh boy, I don't want to keep my switch in the dock anymore. It's literally a game changer who knew OLED screen and better stand+ sound could do suck magic. I really don't know what to do with my lite now. It's together with all the others handhelds that I chargeup from time to time

[@Vulpas]

As long as Nintendo keeps releasing handheld specific variants of their systems like Switch Lite then I'm fine however they decide to proceed. They're cheaper and more compact, which is what's more important than being able to chain myself to a TV.

[@PauLtus_B]

@@rumotu I find the regular switch just fine to play with during travel or just anywhere as long as I can just sit. The regular switch is also the only one I own.

[@PauLtus_B]

@@Vulpas I'd miss playing games on the big screen.

[@PauLtus_B]

@@torchlight3173 I get that. I am using my specific box to transport my switch and that definitely still does not fit in my pocket. It's good for travel but you can't exactly get it out in a second.

[@TiroDvD]

I think the biggest downside is the loss of the "hand held game genre". That is games that could only be designed with a hand held in mind, played in short bursts. Easiest example would be pure arcade style games. Arcade games still exist on "smart" devices, but they are bloated with free to play money extracting systems. A pure arcade game of score and skill are very very rare these days.

[@AlistairGreyblood]

I really think the Vita was an outstanding handheld for its time, It was however, horribly marketed in the United States. It was marketed as "Play your PS3/4 Remotely while others use the TV" instead of as a game console of its own right with its own games and library of brilliant and experimental games. I love my vita and have been thinking about hacking mine just to get it fully unlocked and get a few psp games I wish got ported/ supported on the vita over to it like Kingom Hearts Birth by Sleep

[@BorderFreak]

I can highly recommend hack/modding your vita (especially because you don't have to rely on their fancy just for the vita memory cards and can use micro sd for memory) just if you do preferably use a written guide if thats not your kind of learning I'd suggest a written guide with whatever the most recent video about it you can find (the reason is video guides either leave stuff out or become outdated fairly quickly)

[@s4shrish]

I mean, the biggest issue for A LOT of people was the PRICE, and the insanely overpriced memory cards. People saw them and were like "Nah"! And it was clear as day, as it was at minimum double the price of what MicroSD cards were being sold at. It was stupid of Sony to go all ambitious and make it so expensive that they had to charge exorbitant prices for the memory card. A little weaker specced machine might have been a better proposition. ESPECIALLY the OLED screen. A cheaper, bulkier LCD variant from the start that was 200 USD would have made the difference alongside using MicroSD cards. They didn't realise that marketing is often a snowball effect. If one person says, "I can recommend this to my friends", a LOT more people will do that and the cards SPECIFICALLY killed it for a lot of people. It was clearly just profit margin, no value. Making something people will hesitate to recommend is not what you want.

[@mattwo7]

0:34 I mean both the Game Gear and Sega Nomad had TV cord accessories too, which made sense for the US release of the Game Gear because the Master System kind of petered out over here before its time but the Nomad was a portable Genesis/Mega Drive and I don't think there's a single region with both where having a TV cable for the Nomad was actually needed. And don't even get me started on the... _Virtual Boy_

[@justjoeblow420]

For me the Deck and Switch have been a logical follow up to the older style of handhelds in a lot of ways, more power and less battery life in a lot of situations. The Deck's battery life can be highly variable between games depending on how hard the hardware is being pushed by that particular title and I know the Switch's battery life also can vary depending on what it's running. While both are larger than a traditional handheld the big thing is the increase in power both brought, no longer is a handheld playing second fiddle game library wise to a home system. I do miss the raw portability of more traditional handhelds but at the same time for me it's felt like a good trade off.

[@jamesroy791]

The switch battery on the oled got better

[@nocilol3000]

Handheld battery life started to become variable when the complexity of both hardware and software increased. On older handhelds like the DS and Game Boy line you had simple architectures and processors running at set speeds, and thus, had set power draw. Expectations for portable software have increased, and a greater variety of games are now expected to coexist on the same platform.

[@NateRD90]

Valve was not the first into the handheld gaming PC market. For Windows based systems, that would be GamePad Digital with the GPD Win 1. It wouldn't be until Dell showed off the Alienware UFO Concept prototype (which was for shareholders only), the GPD Win 3, AYA NEO, and ONEXPLAYER to release before Valve decided to get into the game one year later (with the Steam Deck being roughly on par with the power of those three devices). Even then, there were attempts before, with Linux based systems such as the Pandora and DragonBox Pyra, but those could only run extremely simple games. And that is not including the Smach-Z and PGS, both of which were scams. But handheld gaming PCs proper began with the release of the GPD Win 1, even though that was a potato PC.

[@lucio-ohs8828]

The steam deck is the first to be really affordable though. Most handheld PC’s cost $1000+ and windows was also a pretty bad experience with just a controller

[@signalzero77]

I just hope that someday Nintendo releases another dual screen device. I love the 3DS and the Vita but I'm also really loving the Switch and Steam Deck

[@EzaneeGires]

Basically see my handheld pc as a companion to my main rig

[@jeffbrownstain]

I still have my custom psp 1000. It runs some sketchy outdated cfw with a buncha custom plugins, the internet doesn't work, and i took it apart and removed the umd tray which cut out like an ounce of weight. Still has my favorite crisis core xmb theme on it too.

[@demontamerbf18]

I hope handheld consoles being fused with home ones doesn't mean less games being released, personally playing on a phone could never replace playing using a dpad, buttons, a joystick or a keyboard and mouse.

[@Detective_L]

Both console and portable gaming has peaked. It’s sad to see how the industry is these days. Online only, day one patches, micro transactions, loot boxes. Gaming has gone down hill for a long time

[@alvallac2171]

*downhill

[@TonyJenn]

Kinda a broad statement there... mainstream gaming may have those issues, but there's still plenty of unique, quality experiences out there

[@rgm4646]

The turbo express played tg16 cards, and the games looked good. It was truly an amazing system back then. I used to drool on the glass over that device in toy stores.

[@junaidazam12]

That meta reference to your channel you made near the end , hit a little harder than I thought it would :(

[@jack.h99]

As much as I adore the steam deck and like the switch, I yearn for the return of dedicated handhelds that can fit snugly in your pocket. The deck can run basically anything I could ever want but its too unwieldy to store anywhere besides in its case. Same goes for the switch.

[@jarianwarren69]

The switch is long and you can’t put it in your pocket either lol they have literally the same problem….

[@jack.h99]

@@jarianwarren69 Did you read my comment? I said the switch has the same problem.

[@Big-Chungus21]

Handhelds reached their current peak with the PSP when it comes to design. We realised the most ordinary and sensible design was also the most comfortable for playing games that didnt want to have to deal with being built around specific gimmicks. Experimental handheld form factors have and will continue to be created despite that, like the DS, DSi, 3DS as well as less mainstream consoles like the Playdate.

[@regolith8173]

My favourite handheld is hard to pick as I grew up with handheld gaming. The GBC has a special place in my heart, because it was my first gaming experience, but I also have sooo many good memories about the DS during my highschool years. We played guitar heros during our school trips and mario kart etc etc. :) However, I also really like the PS Vita, it has some really good games and a lot of ports as well.

[@dundee6402]

Nintendo in the late 90s and early 2000s is such a fascinating beast. One hand they were making the big jump towards 3D with their home consoles with some revolutionary titles, and the other hand they were still selling 8-bit games for their handheld systems.

[@davidlane1248]

There's also a niche, but cool means to bridge the gap between handheld and console gaming further Between stuff like the surface tablets, ipads and switch, I've discovered i VERY much like gaming on a larger portable display, but in a comfy chair in front of a table/desk and holding a real controller- tabletop gaming! It's easily become my favorite way to experience most games because it lets me have the flexibility and battery power of portable gaming, but with a larger screen and more comfy controller

[@dolfinyeti561]

10:00 aw man I forgot about the old KZbin app. Good times!

[@supervivo7069]

I remember the DS Lite being huge growing up. It seemed like every kid, even teenager, had one. My friends and I would use Pictochat so much. The 3DS, although not as big, was still decently popular. Streetpass was a great way to connect with other players. There were so many fun games built into the system, many of them addictive. I, sadly, stopped playing mine around 2016. However, I recently got a New 3DS XL and the thing works great for emulation.

[@TDMicrodork]

I always love how GPD always gets left out of discussions. They where a good 6 years before valve but hey. Also the handheld is still getting some experimentation. Gpd max basically being a laptop that's a handheld, the mini for smaller use, most of the others seem to be coping nintedo or valve

[@5persondude]

It’s true that they were some of the earliest in the portable PC scene (not counting that one from 2007; forgot it’s name but LGR has a good video on it), their devices were also insanely expensive, very underpowered, and ran on Windows 10, bringing all of the usual Windows-related problems on top of its own. Doesn’t help that GPD is also a Chinese company so they have to bow down to the CCP

[@polocatfan]

GPD stopped being relevant after they spread tons of false info about the steam deck out of jealously lmao.

[@GraveUypo]

they get left out because they were expensive, hard to obtain and really not that good. their effort doesn't even compares to the package valve offers.

[@David-ki2xt]

​@@polocatfanOut of curiosity, what did they do?

[@TDMicrodork]

@@GraveUypo Fair but it's kind of like not talking about the entire second generation of game consoles and skipping to the NES. Also, I think what they are doing now is what people like Ausus, Dell, etc. will copy and improve to make them seem different enough from the Steam Deck, Aya line, One X Players, etc. I could get a steam deck or I can get something more pocketable or more like a laptop. 10 years we will all be thinking what the original Steam Deck didn't have Occulink.

[@matiasmorales7979]

Excelent video as always, but it would be interesting if you talked about cloud gaming and how is possible to play those exact actual games in a 8 year mobile device with a controller attached

[@Vulpas]

Cloud gaming is also for home consoles and PC as it's more of a service than a a handheld or home console thing, not entirely within the scope of the video. I guess he could've mentioned it though.

[@alvallac2171]

*Excellent *how it's possible *attached.

[@mattwo7]

5:13 Yea but its launch library was pretty garbage so one third of that triforce was actually missing for a while. I really have to wonder how differently things would have gone for the Megaman exe subfranchise if MMBN was a launch title outside of Japan, being one of the few launch games that was a killer app.

[@Vulpas]

GB: Alleyway Baseball Super Mario Land Tennis Tetris GBA: Army Men Advance ChuChu Rocket! Dodge Ball Advance F-Zero: Maximum Velocity Fire Pro Wrestling Fortress High Heat Baseball 2002 Iridion 3D Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure Rayman Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 Super Mario Advance Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 Top Gear GT Championship Tweety and the Magic Jewel GB only really had two good games, Mario and Tetris. Of course, Tetris was pack-in game whereas GBA had none, and Mario is a killer app, so that's two big advantages over GBA. But having 3x as many games, all better than Alleyway, Baseball, and Tennis is a pretty good way to make up for that. Several were ports and duds themselves, though F-Zero is a standout title. I'd say it's a pretty close call and neither was a garbage launch. Also, based on a cursory glance, MMBN was not a launch title in Japan either. Maybe you meant launch window?

[@mattwo7]

@@Vulpas "Also, based on a cursory glance, MMBN was not a launch title in Japan" I don't know where you got that info but it's wrong. And let's look at some of the games you listed. Dodge Ball Advance Fire Pro Wrestling Fortress High Heat Baseball 2002 Iridion 3D Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 Top Gear GT Championship These aren't high profile games and no one was buying a GBA just for Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2, Tweety and the Magic Jewel or Army Men Advance. You also forgot Castlevania: Circle of the Moon and the hidden gem, Pinobee: Wings of Adventure. If you're going to act like a know-it-all, at least get your facts straight.

[@wockomtosh]

I miss handhelds, and particularly the clamshell design Nintendo was using, but I don't expect to ever get back to that now.

[@Dinosaursof]

I’ve played a few games on the switch and switch lite but after going back to the DS lite and new 3ds I like then way more. The clam shell devices are both smaller than the iPhone 14 and don’t require a case to protect their buttons

[@asc3nded397]

I hope that hurried consoles are here to stay for the future honestly. I absolutely love my switch and the ability to play awesome console games like Tears of the Kingdom, Mario Odyssey, and Metroid Dread on road trips is amazing.

[@_bhp]

Really miss the excitement of seeing that green light on the 3DS when you got a new streetpass.

[@badandy1197]

My Psp got me through college! Nowadays I use it as an emmulation machine.

[@nomodz4real]

11:35 I feel personally attacked as my phone switch and retroid pocket 2 plus are always nearby on my desk

[@TheDorianTube]

They're going to peak when they come up with a battery that doesn't die after you play 1h40m of a 13 yrs old triple A game

[@Rihcterwilker]

Triple A 2013 games like ps3 level games i suppose. Thats a given that they will feed on battery resources.

[@TheDorianTube]

@@Rihcterwilker Yep, so handhelds will peak when they're able to comfortably manage those. Nothing crazy either. Be able to run GTAV for 4h (double what they can now), and they're good already.

[@alvallac2171]

*AAA

[@Moxzot]

Imo I think its just starting atleast on the pc front, the chips are getting stronger and stronger by the year and the outlook is looking good.

[@alvallac2171]

*IMO, I *it's (contraction of "it is" or it has") its = possessive *starting, at least Two words, not one. Think of it like this: a few, a little, a bunch, a _whole_ bunch, a lot, and a _whole_ lot. *PC front. The

[@AL74L]

@@alvallac2171 🤓

[@TheDimondpick]

I miss small handhelds, ive poured so many hours into pokemon on the game boy micro and it was so easy to carry around in the pocket, I really want a pocketable device to play dedicated handheld style games on, a handheld stardew valley port to somthing the size of a phone with good controls would be amazing, steam deck and switch are cool, but are just too big for me to want to carry around

[@Seamed]

6:45 althought I'm not sure about the PSP street model, PSP models 1000, 2000 and 3000 didn't have bluetooth, it was the PSP go that introduced the feature

[@alvallac2171]

*Although

[@DudeStrange]

I'm watching this vid on The Ally, inspired me to dig up my old GBA I've been given back in 2008. dear God, the time really has flew by

[@JaggedJack1]

What on earth is the purple headset mask on that girl in the lower left corner at 0:18 seconds into the video?

[@justinthejust1732]

Another great video, Good Job!

[@maxmorgan3370]

The Steam Deck has become my favorite gaming device I've ever owned, a lot of that is due to the fact I can play games from pretty much all of these orevious handheld libraries, as well as console libraries. This thing is like a dream.

[@magallanthepenguin9132]

how do handhelds work? i have an rtx 4070ti PC...but most of the time im outside with no wifi so i use mobile data for gaming on my mid range phone. i really want to get a small gaming device that is more efficient chipset that improves in heat and as well as performance when i turn on more graphical settings. if the handheld can't connect to the internet outside and i have multiple monitors and a ultra wide screen why handheld? Also the razer edge 5g... Well...I don't live in Fvcking united stated :/

[@riverpb5250]

i've been discussing with a friend before how handheld games drastically changed because of mobile phones. see, back then, handheld games were different. you basically have four categories: 1. flagships/AAA (gameplay and/or story-driven games like metroid 2, pokemon, peace walker, crisis core, new super mario bros, ace attorney, uncharted, etc. specifically made for handhelds) 2. mobile versions of console games (rayman, splinter cell, prince of persia, the force unleashed psp. need for speed, etc. essentially "lite" versions of console games with lots of java games.) 3. ports (straight ports like super mario world, warrior within, etc.) 4. casual games (chess. puzzle games. etc.) at the time, phones exactly weren't "smartphones" and they weren't exactly entertainment devices. people still saw them as communication device. at the time, you get a phone as a phone, a digital camera, an mp3 player, maybe a portable dvd player, and a handheld game device -- people bought distinct devices with specific purposes. when smartphones hit, they basically killed the need to buy separate devices. this changed the way many industries operate. with mobile gaming, this pretty much killed the "flagship" category. this is why there are no more "handheld exclusive" major game like peace walker, chains of olympus, crisis core, etc. this, of course, means that there are now very few people willing to buy dedicated handhelds as for the switch, as you've mentioned, is a hybrid anyway AND it's less of a "handheld console" and more of a "nintendo console".

[@ukyoize]

I think we will see some variant if 3ds throwback in the future

[@reimuthemiko5871]

What's your take on cloud gaming? I think it's a new 4th pillar of modern handhelds. It's also a solution of the dream to play console-level titles on handhelds while not being horrible in terms of portability and power

[@mattwo7]

4:39 Weird, that's the first I've heard of GB Light

[@ihavenoideas5844]

It was only released in Japan, so maybe that's why

[@mattwo7]

@@ihavenoideas5844 Still think I would've heard of it at some point. I was nine years old in 1996 when I got my Game Boy and Pokemon, I've been around long enough to know most things about the Game Boy hardware.

[@Asian_Kid]

Handhelds hold a special place in my heart.

[@hpeter1994]

Welp, i had never saw a nintendo handheld in person. But i was the cool kid on the block with Worms World Party on my N-gage. Handheld gaming wasn't really a thing in Hungary sadly.

[@SotoBaggins]

I've been a fan of handhelds since the beginning with my first ever game system being the Sega Gamegear. A lot has changed but I think the Steam deck and similar devices will carry handheld gaming into the future just fine --even if they are technically hybrid devices. Being able to play ps4/xone level graphics in the palm of your hands is truly revolutionary. Although I still love breaking out one of my GBAs for the nostalgia and they are still a lot of fun.

[@felonyx5123]

Switch and Steam Deck are great for handheld gaming in bed, in the car, at a hotel, but they aren't as great at being true portables you can just stuff in your pocket and play wherever. I only want to bring them if I have somewhere safe to store them, or if I have a whole bag to carry them in. Only phones do that now, but phones don't have buttons unless you bring a controller and then that has the same problem. And a lot of phone games require internet at all times, which you can't always guarantee on the go. I still bring a 3DS with me for that reason, or even a regular old DS. Even after 15 years the old battery on that lasts longer than the 3DS battery did when it was new.

[@BigGoronSword]

The only way I could see handhelds making a comeback is if: -There's a huge jump in technology where downloading/streaming and playing in mobile mode wouldn't be sufficient. Where the tech can only be supported as a dedicated home console. Think Ready Player One. Where haptic feedback VR games become the home console, and the Nintendo Switch will be the handheld line (for people who can't afford the realistic VR Console, or if future VR consoles have you plug your brain into the game like The Matrix, then for people who are afraid of that experience)

[@Jhrickgamer]

Yes. On the 3ds

[@Sir_Saul]

I see emulators getting better, improving over time along with the new powerful PC handheld emulating games at higher res. And FPS. The only console definitively better played on the original hardware is the 3DS.

[@ADreamingTraveler]

Steam Deck basically showed me what the peak of handhelds could be. Before that my favorite handhelds ever were the Vita and Switch. I'm hoping that Nintendo's next console is at least half of what the Steam Deck is and I'd be happy

[@MrREAPERsz]

Exactly. The only thing that will change is the power of a device, the size or the OS.

[@XVa-uj8m]

Strix Point 40 CU being able to go low like the Steamdeck will do great PS3 and XBox One emulation, possibly PS4, with a great battery life. Sipping like mad. On the PC side you will get worse battery life but quite good RTing as well as VR gaming too. Might want to carry a bigger battery.

[@Dragoon710]

@@MrREAPERsz Nintendo makes pretty unique consoles

[@MrREAPERsz]

@@Dragoon710 I know. The Wii is my favorite console along with the N64.

[@TheSynthPunk]

Retro Handhelds becoming more popular is honestly wonderful news for any enthusiast. Sony's backwards compatibility is spotty, Nintendo has all but axed the Virtual Console, so having a dedicated device with most of your archived game library is extremely convenient. Something like AYN Odin, that can admirably tackle platforms up to Gamecube and be docked like the Switch and the Steam Deck, are practically a dream for anyone without a huge budget and/or living space to afford having various original hardware. They also appeal to the tinkerers out there that want to load the device up with custom frontends, OS and firmware, as most of these handhelds are easily moddable or come as a blank slate.

[@justinwilliams1127]

I thought I wanted a console experience on the go, but now I miss handheld-styled games. The DS was such a revolution, but now they don't make games like that anymore.

[@MaaveMaave]

Old handheld games have a nice combination of hi-vis graphics made for small screens and short gameplay segments that I don't see in hybrid consoles. Mobile games have taken over that style of game.

[@RyanHaney55]

I had a couple of those Tiger LCD games. I only really played them in the car on the way to a relative's house. It wasn't until I got a Game Boy that handheld games became really important to me. The GBA did connect to TV through the Gamecube before the Switch. When Sony introduced the psp, they pissed me off with their line about taking handheld gaming out of the ghetto. My favorite handheld is the 3DS. I have about 50 games on SD Cards from the eShop and physical copies.

[@Sliced_cheese98]

My best dedicated handheld imo for 1st party games is gonna have to be 2ds XL and then for retro games and psp ps vita.

[@jjayala]

My switch is my favorite thing ever but after my experience with an anbernic win 600 i will stick to cloud gaming via my phone and controller then get anything other than a switch at this time.

[@CLOYO]

6:45 The only PSP to have Bluetooth was the PSP Go though.

[@esmooth919]

9:51 I remember witnessing mobile gaming taking off on smartphones like that of the iPhone, but I think I can speak for a great deal of gamers when I say that we really didn't like the idea of trying to play video games exclusively on a touch screen. I know I don't particularly enjoy playing Sonic the Hedgehog on my phone, that's for sure. And as a lifelong gamer, I will never not appreciate consoles like the Nintendo switch, as well as the DS's and the Game Boys before it. Hell, I even had a game gear, but it was not very hard for 9-year-old me to notice all of the flaws, compared to my future Game Boy Color.

[@someoneelse1534]

So glad he gave some screen time to the Merlin.

[@CoffeePotato]

Holy shit, Armored Core Formula Front got shown, even on accident, that's insane.

[@imagineeelego]

6:45, Bluetooth on the psp was on the psp go, not on the launch model

[@kotlolish]

There is a difference between "Handheld" , "Portable" and "Pocketable" Portable devices is for every device you can take along.. that said.. the gamecube was a PORTABLE device.. despite needing a TV. Then we got handheld devices. These are devices you can hold in your hands to use.. but a handheld device is PORTABLE, but not POCKETABLE. The switch and steamdeck are Handhelds but not POCKETABLE. Pocketable is the gameboy pocket, advance, DS, 3DS, PSP/Vita (barely) and all smart phones. They fit in your pocket!

[@bjarkisteinnpetursson9736]

I think the handheld PlayStation remote play console is a very exciting idea and I could see myself playing something like it a lot in about 20 years when the internet is fast enough.

[@aldo6532]

Personally I think the 3DS (maybe even DS [Lite]) was the peak. If not for power, it's design was awesome. The touch input and dual screen setup made some of the most interesting and memorable games I've ever played - a feeling I've never had from the traditional gamepad which is what every console has now. Sure the Joy-Cons are unique but not in any cool-feeling way. The Wiimotes thump them out of the water for how small they are as motion controls 3DS wins for me. The 3D was (at least the New variant) used in interesting ways, the dual screens made so many ideas possible (parallel universes f.ex.), Download Play was incredible, Miiverse was i think my favourite gaming social network ever, the Mii interplay between there and the 3DS and the U was epic and I just loved that thing Now every console is played on one screen, with the exact same button layout but different IPs and games. That's it.

[@NMTCG]

the peak was with the PC Express GT which was the only handheld who was able to play the current generation release as the home console.... PSP or VITA were a bit underpowered comparing to home consoles. but still they are the best :)

[@MrDover99]

With Nintendo's Online virtual consoles hitting the switch, I can play some of the old games on the go like I used to in the 90s. The only issue is the switch is still fairly large. It doesn't quite fit in our pockets. Maybe one day we'll see a switch pocket version? :p

[@Dairunt1]

That is my hope for a last model before shelving the Switch. You could fit a Switch lite in your pocket if it has a DS-like clamshell design. If they release something like the Retroid Pocket Flip it would be great.

[@natetheaverage5270]

@@Dairunt1 Well, you can fit a Switch in your pocket, or at least I can fit one in mine, but it makes sitting down really awkward.

[@GeoNeilUK]

@@natetheaverage5270 "Well, you can fit a Switch in your pocket, or at least I can fit one in mine, but it makes sitting down really awkward." Even so, you must have really big pockets.

[@patg108]

@@GeoNeilUK cargo pants/shorts are the answer, its what we did in the old days with the Game gear or Lynx

[@cuong091087]

@11:33 totally agree, the dedicated handheld market has been taken over by mobile gaming, everything going forward must be hybrid and play the same game with PC/consoles. So I can understand why Sony made the Project Q a streaming device to share the PS5's game library. Maybe they didn't figure out how to make their handheld play full PS5 games yet.

[@misterx2598]

My favorite handheld is a Sony xz1c combined with Dualshock4 )) . It lets me play all retro console games up to PS2 and GameCube generation while using my phone normally when needed.

[@azuretempest1579]

It'll peak once we get dual touchscreen, like DS but both screens are touchscreens and it has a High-fidelity Digital to Analog Converter and decent Amp

[@SamsonSilvo]

I think dedicated handhelds as we knew them definitely have peaked. There's really no point to them anymore when mobile gaming, the Switch, high-end PC derived handhelds like the Steam Deck and cheap emulation handhelds that can play pretty much everything up to the PSP exist for the casual, general, hardcore and nostalgia markets respectively.