Missing the point for handheld consoles?

[Jayonnaise6105]

Why is it that one of the similarities between Xbox, Playstation & Nintendo is designing handheld consoles that defeat the purpose of them being portable?

The upcoming Xbox ROG Ally thing can only play Xbox games available through cloud streaming.

The Playstation Portal needed your PS5 to be powered on and for them both to be connected via Wi-Fi.

The Switch 2, as well as its library of "game key-cards", need to check in with Nintendo servers before initial use.

Handheld consoles are maybe my favourite sub-genre of gaming, and I guess I'm just a bit disappointed. I get the anti-piracy sentiment, but there's a point you get to where they're just flooding the market with more expensive and less convenient options. Like, yeah, you get a portable alternative, but the alternative is still an alternative to what I would have wanted.

 

[Stingy Perry Stingy Perry]

I feel you! I really missed the days when you fit that handheld to pocket along with some game carts.

 

[CheesyExplosive]

get a samsung device

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

I feel you! I really missed the days when you fit that handheld to pocket along with some game carts.

The amount of times I got to school or work early and would play my DS or my Vita. Good times

get a samsung device

Yeah, at this point, people would be better off investing their money in a handheld PC or a cheaper handheld emulation device.

 

[Matricks]

The spoiled videogame consumer wants same highspecs consoles/PC capabilty in portable forms to play anywhere.
Because current batterylife is the at Limit, any powerful chipset is 'useless' if the portable playtime is just 1 hourish.
So streaming is a cheaper option to play HighPerformance portablely.

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

The spoiled videogame consumer wants same highspecs consoles/PC capabilty in portable forms to play anywhere.
Because current batterylife is the at Limit, any powerful chipset is 'useless' if the portable playtime is just 1 hourish.
So streaming is a cheaper option to play HighPerformance portablely.

I mean, cloud streaming isn't even viable in my country. Our internet is abysmal! And I guess I just don't personally see the point in handheld options that can only be used under such restrictive circumstances.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

There's no way around it... It's really that stupid.

And I find it funny that Sony would pull this crap after roasting (and benefitting enormously from) Microsoft for the Xbox One fiasco.

 

[dropsmegamega]

Yeah, sadly proper portables are dead, the last ones were the 3ds and vita. Nowadays they are more like consoles that can be played in your bed or something. At least there's stuff like anbernic and I still have my vita to play the hundreds of psp games I missed.

 

[PSVitaForever]

For me "handheld" is DS, 3DS (also New XL), PSP, PSVita. Of course also GBA and beyond, but I didn't own them, I only saw them in photo.
Right now, for me the last handheld is Switch Lite; original Switch is not-so-portable, for me, ok, I keep it in my hands because I play only handheld, but it feels somewhat "heavy" compared to the "true" handhelds I've listed above.

I agree with you, because if you always need to be online or if the console is bigger and bigger (Switch - Switch OLED - Switch 2) it becomes handheld only when you're at home, but in this case it misses the point if you want to take it with you everywhere!

 

[HeliosVega]

Why is it that one of the similarities between Xbox, Playstation & Nintendo is designing handheld consoles that defeat the purpose of them being portable?

The upcoming Xbox ROG Ally thing can only play Xbox games available through cloud streaming.

The Playstation Portal needed your PS5 to be powered on and for them both to be connected via Wi-Fi.

The Switch 2, as well as its library of "game key-cards", need to check in with Nintendo servers before initial use.

Handheld consoles are maybe my favourite sub-genre of gaming, and I guess I'm just a bit disappointed. I get the anti-piracy sentiment, but there's a point you get to where they're just flooding the market with more expensive and less convenient options. Like, yeah, you get a portable alternative, but the alternative is still an alternative to what I would have wanted.

Yep, capitalism trumped art and fun this generation. God help us next time.

Post automatically merged: Today at 3:37 PM

Can i get an amen for Retroid users?

 

[bjork]

At this point the focus isn't people on the go, or kids in the back of a car on a trip or whatever, they can just use their phones. It's a form factor for people who are still at home but don't have control of the TV. Saves having to try and sell you Shootguy XVII on the big console and Shootguy Gaiden IX on a handheld too, so it makes sense from an expenditures standpoint. According to wikipedia (so take it with a grain of salt) 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.

 

[Dr.Kisaragi]

Yeah this why my phone will be my emulation handled like those bootleg 10000 in one game cartridge but instead of cartridge is sd card of 128GB and instead of 10000 Famicom games is All emulator from Atari 2600, Famicom, Super Famicom, N64, GB GBC, GBA, Ds, Sega Mark III, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, Sega Game Gear, TubroGrafx-16 SuperGrafx, PS1 and PSP

(I still thinking should I get Neo-Geo?)

My phone is my new handled my Niece and my Nephew also have emulator like mine but with only limited to Emulator no cheap mobile games and their phone have no Internet so basically a really gaming device.

 

[NovumVeritas]

I don't get it either and Nintendo somehow lost the plot like Sony did with the PS portal and MS with the ROG Ally X. You always have some dependencies. The best bet are AYN, Retroid etc.

 

[bjork]

If you've got all that stuff, having some Neo Geo on there only makes sense too. Fire up some Neo Turf Masters and wish every other golf game was as good.

 

[HeliosVega]

Yeah this why my phone will be my emulation handled like those bootleg 10000 in one game cartridge but instead of cartridge is sd card of 128GB and instead of 10000 Famicom games is All emulator from Atari 2600, Famicom, Super Famicom, N64, GB GBC, GBA, Ds, Sega Mark III, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, Sega Game Gear, TubroGrafx-16 SuperGrafx, PS1 and PSP

(I still thinking should I get Neo-Geo?)

My phone is my new handled my Niece and my Nephew also have emulator like mine but with only limited to Emulator no cheap mobile games and their phone have no Internet so basically a really gaming device.

I'm too married to physical buttons and d-pads to use a touchscreen, i need a controller, so an emulation device beats a phone for me.

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

At this point the focus isn't people on the go, or kids in the back of a car on a trip or whatever, they can just use their phones. It's a form factor for people who are still at home but don't have control of the TV. Saves having to try and sell you Shootguy XVII on the big console and Shootguy Gaiden IX on a handheld too, so it makes sense from an expenditures standpoint. According to wikipedia (so take it with a grain of salt) 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.

That still intrigues me slightly, just because the Wii U had a similar use case. A handheld/home console hybrid that didn't have a lot of portability and was largely considered a failure. But, there'd be a lot more reasons for that I guess.

Yeah this why my phone will be my emulation handled like those bootleg 10000 in one game cartridge but instead of cartridge is sd card of 128GB and instead of 10000 Famicom games is All emulator from Atari 2600, Famicom, Super Famicom, N64, GB GBC, GBA, Ds, Sega Mark III, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, Sega Game Gear, TubroGrafx-16 SuperGrafx, PS1 and PSP

(I still thinking should I get Neo-Geo?)

My phone is my new handled my Niece and my Nephew also have emulator like mine but with only limited to Emulator no cheap mobile games and their phone have no Internet so basically a really gaming device.

If you've got the free space, why not go for the Neo-Geo?

 

[Dr.Kisaragi]

I'm too married to physical buttons and d-pads to use a touchscreen, i need a controller, so an emulation device beats a phone for me

We using Kacool T3 controller because those touchscreen are kind of hard and fear of damage it.

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

I'm too married to physical buttons and d-pads to use a touchscreen, i need a controller, so an emulation device beats a phone for me.

I literally forgot that the Switch even has a touch screen the other day! That's how little I use that feature

 

[bjork]

That still intrigues me slightly, just because the Wii U had a similar use case. A handheld/home console hybrid that didn't have a lot of portability and was largely considered a failure. But, there'd be a lot more reasons for that I guess.

Messaging and branding is what killed the Wii U. They confused the marketplace and never did the legwork to make it more clear. Looking at how many Wii U games came to switch and did well (even if you only counted mario kart 8) shows that the software wasn't the issue. Just a swing and a miss all the way around.

 

[vulonkaaz's iconvulonkaaz]

ever heard of Ayn, Anbernic, Retroid, GPD, ... ?

For me console gaming as a whole started to completely lose its relevency from xbox one era, maybe even sooner (x360 era when gamepad became USB), console used to be a unique experience, now the experience is unified and you have the same games on every platform

Why would I choose a locked down console over a tinkerable computer ? The debate PC vs console nowadays is a debate of Freedom vs consumerism, a console player can only consume and be at the mercy of the manufacturer, a PC player is the master of his own machine, a PC player can create, tinker, experiment, this freedom come at a cost as PC gaming requires skill, or at least a little bit of technical knowledge, but this is a great cost to pay, knowledge and skills are always a good thing

I think what I meant with my off-topic rant is we can't afford to stay in a console player mindset in these days anymore, Android handheld consoles are a great experience, and I'm not required to be online all the time
(i just wish we had more good modern games that play good on those handhelds, its always emulation nowadays)

 

[qw90700]

The bigger topic is how the video game industry is missing the plot of what video games are supposed to be which reflects on how they design video game consoles.

Skipping all the interactive primitive urge satisfer story program aspect of new games, from the start game doesn't work without internet despite it's not an online game is an issue. They use streaming technology as a magic card, then selling console doesn't matter when smartphones can stream games too. Which is why people wanna play games on their smartphone instead of buying anything else.

However internet is an additional cost and a hindrance for customers. For lots of part of the world people have limited internet access that has monthly quotas that once the quota is reached they have no internet until another month. People may prefer such internet services for many reasons that simply "cheap" and "I don't use internet anyways" but everything forcing for internet causes nonsense economical and life style choices for nothing. Just because their is technology doesn't mean it will be better to use it for everything.

Make games able to work without DRM, Denuvo, server-check, et cetera. Their mistake is turning games into a service model by eliminating the product aspect of it and then some random brain dead Ubisoft person says "games never meant to work forever" when paying for the game is pointless if it's otherwise unless it's MMO. Even for competitive online games I see no point to pay for them unless they offer bots. For example they killed Hawken (you bastard lol) long time ago but thanks to its bots the game can be played offline. They treat games like food, once you eat it it's gone so keep paying for it. Imagine buying a movie and the disc self-explode itself due to its expiry date. This is fail in business especially when they force you to rent the game but selling the ticket for $100. When everything is expensive and everything keeps asking for money to keep using it naturally people will sacrifice whatever is luxury and whatever is expensive than others to limit themselves to what does the same for cheap. If gaming gets expensive there is always Netflix and shit for people, and then there are drugs, and then beating your kid with a belt lol.

I honestly see no point for the video game industry anymore. They wanna be a Titanic I don't wanna be on lol.

 

[Not_Red]

The moment handhelds started to go for super HD graphics was the moment they started to die. Games can look great on handhelds sure, but the main appeal was always being able to play your stuff at any place with ease.
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.

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

Messaging and branding is what killed the Wii U. They confused the marketplace and never did the legwork to make it more clear. Looking at how many Wii U games came to switch and did well (even if you only counted mario kart 8) shows that the software wasn't the issue. Just a swing and a miss all the way around.

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

ever heard of Ayn, Anbernic, Retroid, GPD, ... ?

For me console gaming as a whole started to completely lose its relevency from xbox one era, maybe even sooner (x360 era when gamepad became USB), console used to be a unique experience, now the experience is unified and you have the same games on every platform

Why would I choose a locked down console over a tinkerable computer ? The debate PC vs console nowadays is a debate of Freedom vs consumerism, a console player can only consume and be at the mercy of the manufacturer, a PC player is the master of his own machine, a PC player can create, tinker, experiment, this freedom come at a cost as PC gaming requires skill, or at least a little bit of technical knowledge, but this is a great cost to pay, knowledge and skills are always a good thing

I think what I meant with my off-topic rant is we can't afford to stay in a console player mindset in these days anymore, Android handheld consoles are a great experience, and I'm not required to be online all the time
(i just wish we had more good modern games that play good on those handhelds, its always emulation nowadays)

I mean, the one benefit consoles used to have was that they were a lot cheaper than PC. And in my own experience, consoles have just been more convenient overall. But a lot of that is becoming less and less true, so I can't really argue with you there hehe

 

[Dyne]

ever heard of Ayn, Anbernic, Retroid, GPD, ... ?

For me console gaming as a whole started to completely lose its relevency from xbox one era, maybe even sooner (x360 era when gamepad became USB), console used to be a unique experience, now the experience is unified and you have the same games on every platform

Why would I choose a locked down console over a tinkerable computer ? The debate PC vs console nowadays is a debate of Freedom vs consumerism, a console player can only consume and be at the mercy of the manufacturer, a PC player is the master of his own machine, a PC player can create, tinker, experiment, this freedom come at a cost as PC gaming requires skill, or at least a little bit of technical knowledge, but this is a great cost to pay, knowledge and skills are always a good thing

I think what I meant with my off-topic rant is we can't afford to stay in a console player mindset in these days anymore, Android handheld consoles are a great experience, and I'm not required to be online all the time
(i just wish we had more good modern games that play good on those handhelds, its always emulation nowadays)

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.

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

The bigger topic is how the video game industry is missing the plot of what video games are supposed to be which reflects on how they design video game consoles.

Skipping all the interactive primitive urge satisfer story program aspect of new games, from the start game doesn't work without internet despite it's not an online game is an issue. They use streaming technology as a magic card, then selling console doesn't matter when smartphones can stream games too. Which is why people wanna play games on their smartphone instead of buying anything else.

However internet is an additional cost and a hindrance for customers. For lots of part of the world people have limited internet access that has monthly quotas that once the quota is reached they have no internet until another month. People may prefer such internet services for many reasons that simply "cheap" and "I don't use internet anyways" but everything forcing for internet causes nonsense economical and life style choices for nothing. Just because their is technology doesn't mean it will be better to use it for everything.

Make games able to work without DRM, Denuvo, server-check, et cetera. Their mistake is turning games into a service model by eliminating the product aspect of it and then some random brain dead Ubisoft person says "games never meant to work forever" when paying for the game is pointless if it's otherwise unless it's MMO. Even for competitive online games I see no point to pay for them unless they offer bots. For example they killed Hawken (you bastard lol) long time ago but thanks to its bots the game can be played offline. They treat games like food, once you eat it it's gone so keep paying for it. Imagine buying a movie and the disc self-explode itself due to its expiry date. This is fail in business especially when they force you to rent the game but selling the ticket for $100. When everything is expensive and everything keeps asking for money to keep using it naturally people will sacrifice whatever is luxury and whatever is expensive than others to limit themselves to what does the same for cheap. If gaming gets expensive there is always Netflix and shit for people, and then there are drugs, and then beating your kid with a belt lol.

I honestly see no point for the video game industry anymore. They wanna be a Titanic I don't wanna be on lol.

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