The Last True Handheld - the Sad Legacy of the Nintendo 3DS

[@r.e.z9428]

Recently found my PS Vita again after god knows how long. Such a great handheld, it’s exactly what the Glass should have been just better support.

[@billyyank1916]

I stumbled across my old Nintendo 3DS XL from when I was a kid and spent the past couple days modifying it. With how expensive the 3DS is becoming, I ended up pimping it out with CFW, protective gear and even a new battery and circle pad to go along with it. I can only imagine that prices are only going to increase as time goes on so I want to make sure it lasts as long as possible. I'm also hoping to get ahold of a "New" model as I never got one as a kid.

[@deku812]

Miiverse was mostly Wii U driven, including drawings of the inklings from Splatoon (Wii U game not on 3DS) you briefly flashed on the screen. Miiverse was added to the 3DS after the Wii U came out. I also don't see much of a difference in games, since Switch is pretty much getting games that would otherwise go to a potential Nintendo handheld. Case in point, this June Nintendo direct is stacked full of B-team (not meant in a bad way) games you'd normally see in a Nintendo portable.

[@noahcuroe]

I think this was bound to happen unfortunately. Before the Vita dropped, the types of games we saw on handhelds were largely a factor of the low performance hardware that was necessitated by the form factor. Once hardware was efficient enough to drive full size games in a small package, Sony decided to push the narrative that the Vita was essentially a "portable PS3", and it felt like most developers didn't care about making anything else. These longer, narrative driven games just weren't as easy to pick up and put down on a whim, and the longer development time reduced the frequency of new games coming to the device, which I think were big factors as to why the Vita ultimately failed. Seeing that, the choice to blur the lines between handheld and home console makes a lot of sense with Switch, Steam Deck, etc. If the hardware is good enough to allow home console games to be portable, why not just make a device that is both? I do wish more developers would make games in the style of classic Gameboy, DS and 3DS games. There are a good handful on Switch to be fair, but a lot of them are low quality mobile ports or shovelware that just don't match the quality of titles on older systems. And since the hardware is so powerful, even high quality games that do suit the handheld play style well take so much longer to develop as there is still the push for increased graphical fidelity even in these games, leading overall to less releases. Lots of other factors too, like basically zero games utilizing the touch screen on the Switch because the game needs to also work docked and many won't take the time to implement custom controls only for one mode. I am really happy to see retro handhelds picking up pace and dropping in price like Anbernic, Retroid, R3XS etc, which all go back to low power hardware and smaller form factors but running Linux instead. But they are really only good for emulators, with very few new games that run on them well.

[@Raphtor13]

Great video. I'm still using my DSi XL and 3DS every day even though I have XB Series, PS5 and Switch.

[@ExoUrsa]

There are modern pocketable SBCs like the Retroid and Anbernic devices, but they are emulation machines, so they do require you to sail the high seas in most cases. It's a shame, Nintendo has a long history of fantastic handhelds - Gameboy (especially the GBA SP!), DS (especially the lite!), and 3DS are fantastic. I've definitely been enjoying my library of switch games, but just like yours, mine lives in the dock most of the time. It feels like a home console first, with a portability gimmick that only gets 80% of the way there.

[@dvg2532]

I still actually own my old 2ds xl and what makes these old consoles good is the amount of features it has made by the community (homebrewing). It especially good since Nintendo doesn't support it no more and shut down the servers which makes homebrewing the new normal nowadays. The same can be said on the PS Vita (still actually own one too) and a jailbroken one at that, and it still is in my opinion a better option than owning newer consoles like the switch (in my opinion). It is not as powerful as the switch though but I know overtime... the switch will also come to an end when it's servers will shutdown which makes jailbreaking the new normal too. Basically i'm just tired of buying online subscriptions to play online games and very expensive ones at that which only a few people can afford.

[@user-pe7up5od7i]

There are rumors that Sony is working a new handheld (not the PS Portal), as well as rumors Microsoft may release a Xbox handheld.

[@ilikeme1234]

I like the term “pocket console”. It creates that distinction between being handheld and portable, vs a gaming console with pocketable portability in mind.

[@brendancurry9808]

personally games like botw and Mario Odyssey are trying to give the short burst gaming of handhelds with shrines and quick easy moons, which if you play in long bursts on the couch kinda fell flat for me

[@marcuskane3187]

Playdate is what continues the true pocket handheld legacy where exclusives matter

[@robertgreblheo]

Please be apart of the streetpass movement 😊

[@saidul02]

switch 2 can be like 3ds, let's say the bottom part will be the second screen and the top part can be separated and docked

[@wmv8996]

At least nintendo card about the 3ds, because they had to. It was the reverse for sony. Once 2013 came around, PS4 go brrrr and sony thought whats a handheld?

[@LynxxLancer]

The Switch might not have the familiar pocketable handheld form factor, It still receives a lot of handheld tier games.

[@RealChoopgood1]

Well, at least Xbox is planning a handheld I heard that could be native So that means it might have its own games on there

[@therealjaystone2344]

Probably like the switch

[@RealChoopgood1]

@@therealjaystone2344 Maybe not

[@kenzonhundredpower]

The Steam Deck is a true handheld

[@WurddSX]

A big one

[@kenzonhundredpower]

The 3DS sucks, PlayStation Vita is better