Would you be interested in a new exclusively-handheld console?

[Gorse]

Let's say a new handheld console came out from Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo. You couldn't connect it to a TV, it couldn't cross-play home console games, it couldn't play 95% of downloadable indie games, and it wasn't backwards-compatible with any other system's games (outside of ports or remakes). It could wirelessly connect to the internet for multiplayer gaming, and you could download full games to it, but physical games would still be released for it, as well. This console would essentially be a handheld-only successor to the 3DS or PSVita.

Would you be interested in a console like that, or has the time for a pure handheld passed? I've seen a lot of people – even people who like handheld gaming – state quite categorically that they don't want exclusively-handheld hardware any more, or that they don't "get" handheld gaming and can't fit it into their lifestyle. On the other hand, every Nintendo handheld system released has been a massively-successful, childhood-defining piece of game hardware, and the PSP isn't very far behind.

So what do you think? Is that time in gaming "over", or will there ever be hope for a proper, first-party, handheld-first video game console again?

 

[TheGreatExplode]

It depends on what the creators do with it. The console isn't going to sell well if it doesn't have an interesting twist that makes buying it worth it, because you might as well just get a switch or steam deck. If Nintendo made a new handheld as creative as the DS, then it might be worth looking into.

 

[Снегопад]

I'd only care if they had the same design philosophy as the GBA/NDS/PSP/Vita.
Lower-budget games with a focus on experimentation.
That's why games like TWEWY became the classics that they are.

 

[Boo Man]

i would mod it immediately

 

[MrHtuber]

Oh, absolutely, and that's for two main reasons
A. The return of mid-budget games, especially considering how the current AAA industry is gearing head-first towards a complete collapse.
B. A console that actually feels portable in the PSVITA/DS sense. Like, the Steam Deck and Switch are technically portable, but you can't exactly put them in your pocket or anything; they need at least a backpack, just like a laptop.

Also modding. Lots and lots of modding

 

[SkunkyBeaumont]

I don't think it's viable to do portable consoles anymore when everyone basically has a mobile phone with comparable specs. Mine even has a little belt clip that doubles as a stand so I can use a bluetooth controller. That and it makes calls.

 

[MrHtuber]

I don't think it's viable to do portable consoles anymore when everyone basically has a mobile phone with comparable specs. Mine even has a little belt clip that doubles as a stand so I can use a bluetooth controller. That and it makes calls.

Well, there has been a growing market for stuff like standalone music players precisely because they're standalone devices for one purpose. I can see a similar appeal being there for a handheld.
Plus, not everyone can or wants to either use touch controls or carry around a bulky bluetooth controller.

 

[SkunkyBeaumont]

Well, there has been a growing market for stuff like standalone music players precisely because they're standalone devices for one purpose. I can see a similar appeal being there for a handheld.
Plus, not everyone can or wants to either use touch controls or carry around a bulky bluetooth controller.

Well, you're basically gonna be carrying around a bulky console that's probably the same size if not bigger then a bluetooth controller as well as your phone, so what I ask is the difference. Plus my phone does GZDoom in VR.

Post automatically merged: Jan 2, 2025

If Stereoscopic goggles weren't so uncomfortable, it's viable to just have a T.V. right in front of your face for the same amount of space in a travel bag.

 

[SwordBreaker39]

No im to broke to afford any new consoles. I wish I could have a steam deck that´s about it. With how fucking weak the Switch I don´t want anything new from Nintendo and with Sonys stupid handheld monitor that cost 200 bucks I know for sure they don´t give a shit.

Only new hand held I would want is one that lets me play PC-engine, Sega Saturn and sharp x68000, games on the go. With out it being a handheld rasberry pi and with out having to pay 500+ for steam deck just to install retroarch for..

 

[Somnia]

The ship has completely sailed on a pure handheld being remotely viable, but yea I'd personally love to see it again. While being an adult that doesn't live in an area with good public transit means my time with it would be more limited, I still adore cozying up with handhelds at home or when going to social functions. I'm really hoping that the rumors of Sony releasing a handheld that can natively play PS5 games is real (though I know it won't happen) because Switch style hybrid consoles or stuff like the Steam Deck that let you take another platform's library on the go are the only handhelds we will ever get from here on out.

Like what would the gimmick even be? What would make it more appealing than a Switch 2 or a mobile PC like Steam Deck? The 3DS and Vita already suffered heavily in sales and general relevance due to how prevalent and capable smartphones had become by 2011/2012 and the issue has only gotten worse. At that time, the main advantage to the handhelds would be dedicated exclusives and assumed support by popular publishers/developers, affordability and comparable or greater power for gaming (at least when you compared contemporary 3DS and Vita software to what was being made for phones). That won't happen now. Now we have tons of console games that exist with huge levels of parity on phones or at the very least /could/ just exist on phones. You can definitely make something that is more affordable, but how do you convince anyone to hop to the platform both as a consumer and as a popular publisher/developer? What are they gonna get there that they can't get on Switch/Switch 2 or a Steam Deck?

The closest you can come to stuff like that is stuff like Playdate, which is a standalone device made by an independent company that just sort of exists in its own cute ecosystem with minimal releases entirely made by independents. It certainly has its audience and everytime they come back in stock they sell out pretty quickly so clearly some level of demand is there. It seems to be cute and someday I plan to get one, but we will never get a new handheld-exclusive platform that manages to exist near the mainstream and has any notable publishers/developers outside of niche indie spaces making games for it.


Despite everything, I'm glad that I was able to grow up in what I believe to be the prime era of handheld gaming (NDS/PSP and 3DS/Vita). Being able to geek out about these systems and incorporate them into the extremely compatible life of a middle/high schooler was wonderful. Very thankful for Nintendo making the Switch what it was to keep that experience alive for kids and I hope that the last 8 years have been full of people taking them to school to game on the bus and before/inbetween classes. While I still play on my Vita and 3DS regularly (even whip out my GBC and NGPC from time to time) it is sad that my day to day life can't slot those tiny bits of gametime in like school did.

 

[Stingy Perry]

Heck yeah especially if it’s from Sony we all know how great the psp and vita are.

 

[Waffles]

I wouldn't, because it has too many downsides and seems designed to prey upon every thing I look for on a system.

 

[Bakuma1997]

Yup, Nintendo needs to unplug the poor Switch

 

[Inkingsama]

Although i would like to see another handheld in the market, there is no way that it will have a chance. No games will be made for it, investors will not even give a look at something that they can't sink millions of dollars into OR be tricked into sinking millions of dollars into. The trend is to make AAAAAAAA open world pseudo GAAS movie games that takes one decade to develop(also on pc), no way you can fit that into a handheld and people won't buy a system just to get the same treatment they get on their home consoles but on the go...right?

Yup, Nintendo needs to unplug the poor Switch

Two more weeks. Trust me, my uncle works at nintendo.

 

[Zerpina]

i would mod it immediately

Dammit Skelly, i was gonna say that, But yeah that's the first thing out of box for a handheld

 

[vitad00d]

Handheld gaming >>>>> console gaming imo

I've spent so much time on handhelds in the last twenty years, playing on a tiny screen while multitasking has now become the experience of playing video games for me.

Beyond emulating old games––a perfect marriage to handheld tech––the technical limitations of handheld technology seems also to lend itself to the kind of quirkier/niche game development I find more interesting.

There's an argument to be made that console gaming and handheld gaming (I put the Switch in the latter category) represent two distinct lineages. To me (someone who only plays JRPGs and "weird" Japanese games) the handheld tradition seems healthier and more compelling at this point, and the only place where I'm going to find much of interest nowadays.

So, yeah, I hope this category goes on as long as there is life on Earth.

 

[ATenderLad]

Hypothetically? Yeah, a handheld device is always going to be an attractive option for people traveling, stuck in transit, or simply sharing a home with others.

Realistically? Somnia covered most of the pitfalls above already, and the Playdate is darling, but a real alternative to the Switch that *isn't* a PC in the vein of the Steam Deck? Hard to imagine enough games actually materializing to justify it. If Sony abandoned the notion of cross-play and laid out a handheld as it's own platform, maybe?

Some of the issue is we just used to expect handheld ports in the "ballpark" of major releases, like Mortal Kombat on the Gameboy. I'm not sure most of the intended audience would accept something less than feature-complete. The Witcher 3 might look rough on the Switch, but the whole games packed in there.

Also, some of the criteria notwithstanding, Nintendo is still in the business of making exactly what we're talking about. Yes, the Switch can dock with a TV, but it's primarily a handheld device. We have a Switch Lite in my house, it's always charged and ready to play Pocket Card Jockey.

 

[Lee__Kanker]

The psvita 2 will never happen, but hey a man can dream

What if it had semi native ps1 and ps2 compatibility? *dreamy sigh*