Is the handheld market paradigm shifting into oblivion?

[Creamhoven]

Hello dear atariagesters,

 

I am writing here today concerning the recent developments in the handheld market. Although there is much to be said about handheld gaming as a whole, please allow me to establish a brief history of handheld gaming.

 

There are alot of handheld gaming devices that predate digital gaming. The pingpong ball attached to a string for example, or the yoyo. They are quite fun but to keep it short I will focus on handheld gaming consoles starting with the original gameboy.

 

The original gameboy gained popularity due to its great soundchip, long battery lifespan and great games like tetris and super mario land for example. Many competitors with multicolor screens that even had backlights could not compete with their quickly drained batteries, and less impressive game libaries. Even the blast processing on the go sega nomad could not rival nintendo.

 

The gameboy was such a success, that it dwarfed even its own succesor the virtual boy. It could be argued that even the gameboy color or advance did not match the heights of the original gameboy.

 

Nintendo reigned supreme on the handheld market and felt adventurous. They gave a dual screen console a shot. It was a quite daring move. The clever games and marketing made it a huge success. With brain age they were able to sell alot of copies with a game that was hard coded to tell you that you are cognitivly challenged at the very start. Only big brained japanese can make something like this work.

 

Sony tried their best challenging nintendo, with the ps vita being peak elegance in console design, but nonetheless they failed in a very painful way. It was a good effort. They've tried.

 

Nintendo launched the 3DS, their last venture into handheld gaming as I would argue. The gimmick of the 3D screen was not well recieved by many, but still the 3DS was able to become a major hit eventually.

 

Since the 3DS has left the market, there seems to have opened a vacuum that has been filled by a flood of handheld devices that are open platforms more or less.

 

The nintendo switch is a hybrid, that seeks to strike a balance between home and handheld gaming. With that, it does not quite have the feel of a console that has its focus on the handheld aspect.

 

Smartphone gaming seems to have shook up things so much, that the market for a gaming company to commit to a dedicated handheld is too uncertain. Smartphone games due to their playcontrols, buisnessmodels, and open nature seem to be a quite a different phenomenon  to what we historically know as handheld gaming, so I won't cover it in detail here.

 

This leaves us with the hybrid that is the switch and a flood of open platform handheld devices, without the direction we came to learn from nintendo, segas and sonys dedicated gaming devices.

 

The discourse of the handheld game has changed dramatically. Playing on consoles that innovativly approached the idea of handheld design, with games that were deliberatly designed for on the go gaming are categorically distinct from what we are presented with today in the handheld console market to a large extend.

 

The loss of innovative dedicated hardware and games when it comes to big players like nintendo or sega, indicates a degenerative momentum. There are smaller players like the playdate, but it does not compare to nintendos past efforts in the handheld market. Open platform handhelds, are basically working off control schemes that can be traced back to the ps vita or even the dual shock controller.

 

In a way this might be the end of an era. Will smartphones, open platform handhelds and hybrids leave no space for innovative dedicated handheld consoles on the level we have seen in the late eigthies and the ninties? Will the homogenisation of handheld experiences swallow up any chance of innovation? Would this mean a degeneration and in a way a death for handheld gaming, it becoming a dead art like classical music?

 

Please shareyour thoughts on these concerning developments and trends in handheld gaming.

 

Thank you very much!

Edited April 23, 2023 by Creamhoven

[roots.genoa]

17 minutes ago, Creamhoven said:

The discourse of the handheld game has changed dramatically. Playing on consoles that innovativly approached the idea of handheld design, with games that were deliberatly designed for on the go gaming are categorically distinct from what we are presented with today in the handheld console market to a large extend.

The thing is the Switch proved you could play on a handheld system the same games as on consoles, since you can suspend and resume play very easily. That's why Breath of the Wild was the Switch's killer app even if it doesn't match with the traditional idea of a handheld game. But that doesn't mean that there aren't shallower games on the Switch. My only complaint right now is that the Switch is still a little too big for a handheld, and the Steam Deck is even worse, but they're the first generation of that kind of hybrid device, so I'm confident there will be smaller systems soon.

And I actually think that new form of entertainment will dominate in the mainstream audience, that doesn't care enough about high end graphics to have a big brick sitting next to the TV. That's also why smartphones have become so popular as well. Handheld systems are undeniably more convenient. And only hardcore gamers will keep on playing on big consoles and  desktop PCs, imho.

[Tanooki]

Nintendo 3DS isn't Nintendo's last handheld.

Point of fact, the WiiU sucked so damn hard and if not for other assets bankrupted them, they had to change direction.  They terminated their entire console R&D division.  Any and all usable employees, assets, and projects were carried to their HANDHELD division.

 

Nintendo now only makes handhelds internally speaking, which is of course, Nintendo Switch.

 

Your entire premise of the handheld shifting into oblivion is asinine because well, facts.

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/finance/hard_soft/

** As of December 31, 2022 -- 

Nintendo Switch

Hardware:122.55million units
Software:994.30million units

 

By now probably closer to 130M by now as that's nearly 5 months old.  With all the sales of the new Zelda coming and already had in preordered tears modeled switches and the Mario thing from March who can really say.  Despite a huge rash of cheap sub $150 handheld devices from Abnernic, Retroid, and others, or just people using their existing iPhones and Android devices Nintendo seemingly hasn't hand their handheld dominance eroded or screwed with, as unlike the 3DS period their cut has grown defying the odds.

 

Switch isn't really a hybrid, out of the gate sure, but they changed gears with the Lite and made it clear the experience is made for on the go, the dock that's just for those who detest handheld gaming on small screens or those who want an option, that's it, they're an option, just a paid one in the case of the standard and OLED releases.  Hybrid or not, it's still a handheld and developed internally as such, so the fact you want to diminish it to make another crazy post says a lot.

[Creamhoven]

On 4/24/2023 at 1:29 AM, Tanooki said:

Nintendo 3DS isn't Nintendo's last handheld.

I hope thats true.

On 4/24/2023 at 1:29 AM, Tanooki said:

Point of fact, the WiiU sucked so damn hard and if not for other assets bankrupted them, they had to change direction.  They terminated their entire console R&D division.  Any and all usable employees, assets, and projects were carried to their HANDHELD division.

Okay I didnt know that.

On 4/24/2023 at 1:29 AM, Tanooki said:

Nintendo now only makes handhelds internally speaking, which is of course, Nintendo Switch.

But the nintendo switch is clearly a hybrid console.

On 4/24/2023 at 1:29 AM, Tanooki said:

Your entire premise of the handheld shifting into oblivion is asinine because well, facts.

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/finance/hard_soft/

But why are there no dedicated handheld systems on the market anymore (apart from smaller platforms like the playdate)?

On 4/24/2023 at 1:29 AM, Tanooki said:

** As of December 31, 2022 -- 

Nintendo Switch

Hardware:122.55million units
Software:994.30million units

 

By now probably closer to 130M by now as that's nearly 5 months old.  With all the sales of the new Zelda coming and already had in preordered tears modeled switches and the Mario thing from March who can really say. 

The new Zelda games are home console experiences. The first one being a WiiU original. Alot of other switch games are developed with homeconsole gaming in mind and are not solely dedicated to handheld gaming.

On 4/24/2023 at 1:29 AM, Tanooki said:

Despite a huge rash of cheap sub $150 handheld devices from Abnernic, Retroid, and others, or just people using their existing iPhones and Android devices Nintendo seemingly hasn't hand their handheld dominance eroded or screwed with, as unlike the 3DS period their cut has grown defying the odds.

They've abandoned it by choice.

On 4/24/2023 at 1:29 AM, Tanooki said:

Switch isn't really a hybrid, out of the gate sure, but they changed gears with the Lite and made it clear the experience is made for on the go, the dock that's just for those who detest handheld gaming on small screens or those who want an option, that's it, they're an option, just a paid one in the case of the standard and OLED releases.  Hybrid or not, it's still a handheld and developed internally as such, so the fact you want to diminish it to make another crazy post says a lot.

It is clearly a hybrid console. I see your point, but the switch is the dual shock control sceme with an inbuilt screen. It is conceptionally not far removed from a dual shock with a screen and ps1 hardware. If you compare this to nintendos earlier efforts, from the gameboy to the virtual boy and eventually the dual screen, they were pushing innovative things, with the switchs innovation being the hybrid aspect, at the cost that it is basically a dual shock with inbuilt console and screen.

 

Even with nintendo being serious about the on the go experience, it is still diluting the idea of a dedicated handheld. Youre underselling the homeconsole aspect of the switch just like you are not paying me enough bells for my fish, Nook!

 

Also this:

 

Edited April 29, 2023 by Creamhoven

[Keatah]

As far as I'm concerned, the golden age of handheld electronic gaming was the time of the RED LED. All those Mattel handhelds and derivatives. Anything else seems like a castrated videogame, shrunk down to a tiny scale. Portable gaming isn't for me. And it had to have been over 5 years since I touched a mobile game.

 

I don't do the latest AAA games on PC, so good integrated graphics do me fine. And that means no BigBox necessary. Can get by with those (growing in popularity) miniPC's.

 

 

 

[Tanooki]

Cream I see doing that post was a wasted effort.  You're being a fool, are set in stone, and just want to counter or misdirect with nonsense.  If you were hoping for a better reply, you won't get it as I won't make that mistake twice in here.  Just refer to the last post.

[NE146]

I've been a big fan of handheld gaming since the 70s.. even mechanical stuff pre-LCDS, LEDS, and VFDs (like the Tomy pocket games and various EM ones) and remain so. Matter o fact it's my primary way of playing games today in 2023 (since the majority of my "free time" to game is in the throne room  ). I don't think it's going away at all and there will always be a market to playing games on the go in some fashion. 

 

Regarding the Switch I don't see what the debate is. For the record 99% of my time playing it is done in handheld form so I'm all about the Switch being a handheld. However in the few and far between times I put BOTW on a 80" screen for example... I was blown away. It's also a console. Same for steam deck.. it's a handheld, and it's a PC. So I do agree that the homogeny we see among the consoles like PS5/XBOX and PC gaming is similarly happening within the handheld form where future mainstream iterations are along the lines like Steam Deck, Switch, the various emulation consoles, phones, or even the FPGA Analogue Pocket where the focus is more on versatility rather than a unique dedicated form.  But then again who knows! You never know what the future is.. e.g. maybe a little holographic display or something to give a unique handheld experience not available otherwise.

[wolfy62]

I play my Evercade plenty!

[roots.genoa]

7 hours ago, Keatah said:

Portable gaming isn't for me. And it had to have been over 5 years since I touched a mobile game.

Which is no surprise to me, since what precisely bothers me with emulation on a PC is it can't emulate a handheld system properly (let one original controllers and 3D). A lot of gamers think they don't need a Switch because they can play Switch games in 4K on their PCs but, to me, the whole point of the Switch is playing on a handheld system.

[Creamhoven]

On 4/30/2023 at 12:32 AM, Tanooki said:

Cream I see doing that post was a wasted effort.  You're being a fool, are set in stone, and just want to counter or misdirect with nonsense.

Okay I might be a fool to you, but do you know what you are to me? A nooker.

On 4/29/2023 at 11:22 PM, Keatah said:

As far as I'm concerned, the golden age of handheld electronic gaming was the time of the RED LED. All those Mattel handhelds and derivatives. Anything else seems like a castrated videogame, shrunk down to a tiny scale.

What about the 2DS XL?

On 4/30/2023 at 3:52 AM, NE146 said:

I've been a big fan of handheld gaming since the 70s.. even mechanical stuff pre-LCDS, LEDS, and VFDs (like the Tomy pocket games and various EM ones) and remain so. Matter o fact it's my primary way of playing games today in 2023 (since the majority of my "free time" to game is in the throne room  ). I don't think it's going away at all and there will always be a market to playing games on the go in some fashion. 

 

Regarding the Switch I don't see what the debate is. For the record 99% of my time playing it is done in handheld form so I'm all about the Switch being a handheld. However in the few and far between times I put BOTW on a 80" screen for example... I was blown away. It's also a console. Same for steam deck.. it's a handheld, and it's a PC. So I do agree that the homogeny we see among the consoles like PS5/XBOX and PC gaming is similarly happening within the handheld form where future mainstream iterations are along the lines like Steam Deck, Switch, the various emulation consoles, phones, or even the FPGA Analogue Pocket where the focus is more on versatility rather than a unique dedicated form.  But then again who knows! You never know what the future is.. e.g. maybe a little holographic display or something to give a unique handheld experience not available otherwise.

I agree. Also holocgraphic gaming would be nice for local multiplayer. How plausible is holographic gaming within the next 10 years?

 

On 4/30/2023 at 5:18 AM, wolfy62 said:

I play my Evercade plenty!

Nice.

 

[roots.genoa]

3 hours ago, Creamhoven said:

I agree. Also holocgraphic gaming would be nice for local multiplayer. How plausible is holographic gaming within the next 10 years?

It won't happen like in Star Wars imho, but I guess it may happen thanks to the AR technology (each player with AR glasses).

Edited May 2, 2023 by roots.genoa

[Creamhoven]

21 minutes ago, roots.genoa said:

It won't happen like in Star Wars imho, but I guess it may happen thanks to the AR technology (each player with AR glasses).

So no holographic wiisports boxing with Leia?

Edited May 2, 2023 by Creamhoven

[Keatah]

No.