Missing the point for handheld consoles?

[NovumVeritas]

Yeah, I live in a country where I just cannot use cloud streaming because of sucky internet.
Also, someone did try to make self-destructive DVDs!

Flexplay - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Really interesting. I never thought something like this existed. Thanks for sharing the link.

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

Yeah, I feel like we're kind of in a golden age of handheld gaming right now.
There are so many great options from companies like Anbernic, AYN, Retroid, etc.
From larger handhelds to pocket-sized ones, there are options for whatever you want.

Yes, you cant play the latest greatest games on the smaller machines without streaming, but that is hardly much of a limitation when 1000s of retro games as well as a wealth of newer indie games are available.

That's pretty much where I've settled into. I have been playing more retro games, or games I missed out on in general lately. I haven't bought a handheld PC or emulation device, but I would consider one.

 

[Dyne]

This is one of the reason all the Anbernic consoles are so popular among people, they are small and can be used just fine at any place like the old handhelds while also not being super expensive. I have a Switch, 3DS and PS Vita but I would never risk losing or breaking any of them while going outside compared to my RG35XXSP which would suck but is not the worst that could happen.

I LOVE my RG35xxSP!
I really hope they make a 40xxSP because I think that will be the sweet spot of a little bit bigger screen but not too big to lose pocketability.

 

[Frodoz]

Its because in the neoliberal system companies want to have full controll over the products to maximize profits. Thats why publishers push for games being "services" instead of letting you own physical copies that work offline.
Same is happening with the car industry, era of affordable small cars is gone. Now you have to lease big SUVs and pavement princesses and switch model every two - three years and even if you own a car producer tries to make you as dependant as possible.

 

[NovumVeritas]

That's pretty much where I've settled into. I have been playing more retro games, or games I missed out on in general lately. I haven't bought a handheld PC or emulation device, but I would consider one.

There are good options out there.
Retroid Pocket 5 or the Odin 2 Portal. Great retro devices.

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

Its because in the neoliberal system companies want to have full controll over the products to maximize profits. Thats why publishers push for games being "services" instead of letting you own physical copies that work offline.

Yeah, true. I am getting really sick of everything becoming a service or subscription these days!

 

[Graw]

PSP sold 80 million lifetime, but the best-selling title was GTA with 8 million, with the next best being a Monster Hunter with 4.9. The attach rate isn't bad but in an industry that would consider that number a failure nowadays, they just won't chase it any more. Still a shame, though.

Yeah but the Nintendo DS is still the second best selling console ever made, just under the ps2. The switch is the third best selling console and the gameboy and gameboy color combined are the fourth. Three out of the top four best selling video game consoles ever made are handhelds.

List of best-selling game consoles - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

I think trying to make handhelds the full console experience is what killed the pocket handheld. When they started going into 3D, the lack of a right analog stick and extra shoulder buttons was an issue(DS/3DS, PSP/Vita).

I guess that's the disconnect for me. Why would I want a handheld for the full console experience? They have consoles and PCs for that stuff.

 

[bjork]

Yeah but the Nintendo DS is still the second best selling console ever made, just under the ps2. The switch is the third best selling console and the gameboy and gameboy color combined are the fourth. Three out of the top four best selling video game consoles ever made are handhelds.

List of best-selling game consoles - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Not counting the Switch as it's still an active product, you're talking about 20-year old hardware at best. The world has changed a lot in that time. The rise of mobile has happened since then, and that reshaped a lot of how people consume stuff. If anything, the Wii U walked so the Switch could run with the notion that if even Nintendo isn't comfortable having multiple pillars, why would the competition?

Post automatically merged: Today at 4:37 PM

That's fair, although it's a little weird that the same could be said for the Switch 2 in terms of confusing branding and them not doing a great job of communicating. Switch 2 does have the benefit of piggy-backing off of the success of the OG Switch though, I guess

This will be a wait and see. Stuff always hits hot, but will it maintain longterm? I feel like they won't have any problems, but we won't know for at least 2-3 years.

 

[Advil Lavs]

I'm not sure if it's because of people that only care about the graphics and next gen, 100 gigabyte, 200 hour long games or because of companies making bigger and bigger games that both cost more to develop and more to purchase (if you even own the game you've bought). I don't even have the time to play such games so it's sad that the bigger studios only care about making bigger and bigger games. Good thing alternatives are becoming better and better every year.

 

[Muklas]

At this point just get a cheap android craphone and turn it into an emulation machine, nothing quite beats the sheer nostalgia of playing ancient GBA stuff on the go.

 

[Dyne]

At this point just get a cheap android craphone and turn it into an emulation machine, nothing quite beats the sheer nostalgia of playing ancient GBA stuff on the go.

I mean, you can just as easily turn your regular cellphone into an emulation machine. It doesn't take much storage.
The real problem with cell phone emulation is that touchscreen "buttons" suuuuuuck

 

[Graw]

Not counting the Switch as it's still an active product, you're talking about 20-year old hardware at best. The world has changed a lot in that time. The rise of mobile has happened since then, and that reshaped a lot of how people consume stuff. If anything, the Wii U walked so the Switch could run with the notion that if even Nintendo isn't comfortable having multiple pillars, why would the competition?

I get that. Hell I pretty much just use my phone to emulate games these days but there's definitely a market for small handhelds. I know a few peope with young kids who've bought those emulator handhelds for them. The higher end ones are pretty well known these days and sell decently. I've seen some of the cheaper Chinese ones for sale in local stores even. People are obviously buying them.

The problems listed in the op are really a problem with all modern consoles. Each generation from the ps3/Xbox360 onwards got worse with that kind of online bullshit. Already by the ps4/Xbox one generation it seemed like consoles were kind of pointless and a waste of money. I would never in a million years buy any of the big current gen consoles over some kind of computer, handheld or otherwise. I think even most of the android based devices are a waste of money that would be better spent on a phone with a good graphics chipset and a decent controller.

 

[bjork]

I get that. Hell I pretty much just use my phone to emulate games these days but there's definitely a market for small handhelds. I know a few peope with young kids who've bought those emulator handhelds for them. The higher end ones are pretty well known these days and sell decently. I've seen some of the cheaper Chinese ones for sale in local stores even. People are obviously buying them.

Okay, so let's say you're Sony. We'll even say you have unlimited funds, just for the sake of the exercise here. What is your strategy to break back into a market that you've shown you won't support for more than a few years? I just don't see where, if you factor in hardware development costs and then funding at least a handful of first-party projects, that they could ever get back in, at least in a big way. The Vita was an amazing little gadget but even having all the bells and whistles couldn't make a big splash, and that was like 12-13 years ago.

I mean, I'd love to see it, I just don't see where today's risk-averse companies take that risk.

 

[PiroLargo]

Hi! I'm (very) new around here, but this just caught my attention. It is true and annoys me as well. At the time being I will stick to my Switch OLED, while I wait to see what becomes of Switch 2.

I have two solutions, neither perfect. One: I am using a hacked Switch for the sake of convenience and portability (also to check if a game is fun). No carts or whatever to carry around, no internet woes. Just turn on and play. I do buy box versions of my favourite games, though. Got about twelve so far.

Two: Steam Deck, but please don't fire up your torches just yet. There is a ton of games there without any DRM and always-on requirement (case in point: Triangle Strategy, which is smoother and better looking than on Switch OLED), I just don't buy anything with Denuvo or other crap. Also, there is emustation, so you can have a huge collection of your retro games on SD. Lots of gen 7 era games have their PC versions, they look and play great (Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Vanquish, Enslaved etc.), it's 90fps at max details on Steam Deck OLED.

 

[Morgana Veil]

Ya know, honestly I don't need my handheld to play Skyrim Remastered Version 42, or Cyberpunk, or anything that is graphically intense on the go. If I wanted to (and had the time to) play those, I would play them on my gaming rig. A handheld, I want it to play about up to M.A.M.E. maybe Dreamcast at best.

Something just to kill 15-20 minutes while waiting for food, or waiting for my next work order to come in, or waiting in the doctor's office etc. Mostly it's the 16-25 year old (and no, not everyone in that age bracket is like this) little twits who have the attention span of a gnat, who want every game they own on hand to show off to people. It's not that impressive kid. You spent $600+ dollars of your mommy and daddy's money on a toy.

Me, I'm happy with my little fold-up handheld. It plays what I want for when I need it to.

(i have a Powkiddy V90, plays what i want OTG, and i can stick it in my pocket)

 

[Dyne]

Ya know, honestly I don't need my handheld to play Skyrim Remastered Version 42, or Cyberpunk, or anything that is graphically intense on the go. If I wanted to (and had the time to) play those, I would play them on my gaming rig. A handheld, I want it to play about up to M.A.M.E. maybe Dreamcast at best.

Something just to kill 15-20 minutes while waiting for food, or waiting for my next work order to come in, or waiting in the doctor's office etc. Mostly it's the 16-25 year old (and no, not everyone in that age bracket is like this) little twits who have the attention span of a gnat, who want every game they own on hand to show off to people. It's not that impressive kid. You spent $600+ dollars of your mommy and daddy's money on a toy.

Me, I'm happy with my little fold-up handheld. It plays what I want for when I need it to.

(i have a Powkiddy V90, plays what i want OTG, and i can stick it in my pocket)
View attachment 103311

Exactly!
Thats why I love my little $50 Anbernic RG35xxSP!

 

[Not_Red]

I honestly would use my RG35XXSP a lot more if not for the fact I recently fixed my 3DS and want to tackle th backlog of games I haven't beaten on the console yet. I can always go back to the old retro games any day but the 3DS is probably a lot harder to fix and set up with the games I want later on.

 

[qw90700]

Its because in the neoliberal system companies want to have full controll over the products to maximize profits. Thats why publishers push for games being "services" instead of letting you own physical copies that work offline.
Same is happening with the car industry, era of affordable small cars is gone. Now you have to lease big SUVs and pavement princesses and switch model every two - three years and even if you own a car producer tries to make you as dependant as possible.

Honestly I have no money issue or anything but my issue is new generation people mentality to run a company that intentionally produces product that will be useless in few years just to ensure people keep buying it and new generation people are okay with it. They normalized scams which is where I draw the line of "hell no motherfucker" lol.

People started to think how normal it is because smartphone logic that gotta buy new ones that support new version OS so new apps will run after forced updates make your phone rendered useless. They think how BS it's, and they justify it with "phones doesn't last that long anyway so you gotta buy a phone anyway" when it doesn't have to be like this. I understand cheap products not being durable but even expensive shit is like made of paper anymore. No one expect Nokia 3310 durability but even a strong wind just kill whatever product you buy anymore lol. So for me the issue is not the price but the price doesn't worth it. It's especially not okay when for example durability in cars matters to me a lot. But this is the BS anymore lol:

People can even destroy Lamborghini cars with their bare hands so they don't have to be a Street Fighter chaaracter!!! lolol:

 

[Turbo Kid]

The Switch 2 holds no interest to me until it gets cracked, which is exactly how I felt about the original Switch. I had no interest in it until I was able to get one that was modded/hacked.

I'm tired of the stupid, obnoxious shackles game companies want to put on us. Online for everything? Screw that. Not being able to remove patches or updates? Screw that. DRM? Screw that. Not being able to back up your save data on physical media? Screw that too.

For now I'm quite happy with my modded OLED Switch, my Retroid Pocket 5, my hacked Vita, my hacked New Nintendo 3DS XL with dual IPS screens, and my Odin2 Portal. I can do WHATEVER I WANT with them.

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

The Switch 2 holds no interest to me until it gets cracked, which is exactly how I felt about the original Switch. I had no interest in it until I was able to get one that was modded/hacked.

I'm tired of the stupid, obnoxious shackles game companies want to put on us. Online for everything? Screw that. Not being able to remove patches or updates? Screw that. DRM? Screw that. Not being able to back up your save data on physical media? Screw that too.

For now I'm quite happy with my modded OLED Switch, my Retroid Pocket 5, my hacked Vita, my hacked New Nintendo 3DS XL with dual IPS screens, and my Odin2 Portal. I can do WHATEVER I WANT with them.

Yeah, a big gripe I have with the PS5 is that you can't copy your save data to a USB anymore. You gotta pay for PS+ now to back that up. It's pretty scummy!

 

[NovumVeritas]

Yeah, a big gripe I have with the PS5 is that you can't copy your save data to a USB anymore. You gotta pay for PS+ now to back that up. It's pretty scummy!

Even worse. If you have ps plus and use cloud saving. Your cloud saves will be deleted after 1 or 2 years of no use.

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

Even worse. If you have ps plus and use cloud saving. Your cloud saves will be deleted after 1 or 2 years of no use.

Yeah, so "why pay for it to begin with" is what I'm hearing. I hate subscription services!

 

[NovumVeritas]

Yeah, so "why pay for it to begin with" is what I'm hearing. I hate subscription services!

Likewise. Subscription is a pain. I also look at Xbox Live ( now Xbox Game pass), PS plus or Nintendo Online. All garbage just to get you into one eco system.

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

Likewise. Subscription is a pain. I also look at Xbox Live ( now Xbox Game pass), PS plus or Nintendo Online. All garbage just to get you into one eco system.

I don't mind Gamepass, just because it is sometimes $1. I've subbed to it a few times at that price to check out some games, but I've not used any of its other online-based features.