What is the best handheld console?

[Luseth 1,966]

Putting this one here as though the Switch is handheld and we now have the Steamdeck the majority of handhelds are getting on a bit now.

 

In fact it seems like there is not much of a future for them considering the power we have in our tablets and mobile phones these days. That said I have quite a growing handheld collection with a nice white psp being added to the collection the past week and it got me thinking about which one's are my favourite.

 

We have the DS / 3DS consoles where there was an abundance of games and it was incredibly accessible for people, the PSP being Sony's first forray into handheld consoles and it being fairly successful to it's PS Vita offering which I think was maybe the best console but let down by Sony.

 

So do you have a favourite, do any of them still get a look in with modern consoles, steam decks, nintendo switches being available? Are there any games that bring back fond memories?

 

For me it is the PSP, partly because I had a PSP Go back when I used to work away and it was incredibly versatile, had an abundance of jrpg's that I loved (Jeanne D'Arc was brilliant as a tactics type game) and I used to sit at the top of 30m stacks just gaming and every now and again taking a reading. It was pretty great.

[phil bottle 9,779]

I had a Donkey Kong game&watch handheld when I was 11. Classic.

 

But yeah, while the Switch is very decent, I love my SteamDeck.

[IRaMPaGe 3,246]

I never really owned handheld consoles or that. 

 

Did know someone with a game gear. That's a blast from the past. 

Wasn't there a Sega Genesis Nomad or something as well? 

 

Of topic now, but Sega tried too much from the early to mid 90's.

The Sega Saturn wasn't very successful. And the terrible flop that was the 32x. 

[phil bottle 9,779]

Hated the GameBoy by the way. Could never understand why people raved about it.

[Spacedeck 920]

I probably spent most time on the DS, at the time it was so awesome to interact in the way you did with the screen.  The GG got used a lot, but we needed to keep it constantly plugged in to the mains while in use.

 

At the moment I still have PS Vita, GameGear and Nintendo Switch.  I don't tend to play the real GG though, as I need a longer mains plug, and I can play all the games on my PC.  I could really do with getting the screen  mod for my GG but it's expensive, and thought about it not being an original part bugs me.

 

I don't have a Steam Deck but I do love the Switch.  It's so seamless going from TV to handheld, and has become useful on many occasions. 

[GazzaGarratt 11,058]

I've gotta lot of thoughts about them, so i'll probably visit this thread back and forth over time. Everything is cyclical @Luseth so they won't really ever die out imo. People want everything in one space like your phone, but with games because people will demand more in the coming years of AAA games, mobiles won't be able to handle them as they'll be a Jack of all trades, Master of sweet FA. Look at the camera industry. Don't need them as much now because of phones, but there is slowly becoming a resurgence in fully fledged standalone cameras because they give you more freedom for the people that love taking photos.

 

Gameboy is where I started so will always be close to my heart, sorry @phil bottle. It was a great device that got me into games, although they don't hold my attention too long because I love home consoles way more. I'd Game Gear was up there for me. My cousin had one, loved the colours in Columns and the size of it was awesome. Big but not ridiculously huge that it couldn't be taken anywhere. I wish the PSP held me more like you @Luseth, it really was a great device. The PS Vita should be held in higher regard but I think the games on the PSP were more true gamer style and it was an added boost we could watch films on it too!

 

Out of everything, I'd say the Switch is unreal. If it had a better online way of connecting and keeping in touch with everyone, I think i'd be on it so much more. I'm with @Spacedeck when he says its seamless from hands to TV. And lets face it, if the games are awesome then thats where most of us end up. The games on the Switch have that unique flair that i'd say was similar vibes to when the Gamecube came out and was literally better than anything i'd played before. I do wonder if Nintendo gets that multiplayer online space right in the future, they could change the gaming scene more than we realise.

 

I'll come back and talk Neo Geo Pocket soon...

[J4MES OX4D 10,041]

I've only really had the Gameboy and Gameboy Advanced although I have loosely followed the handheld arena over the decades. It's quite amazing how far these have come even going back several years. Crazy to see Ocarina of Time on the DS for instance. I'd say one of the best would have to be the PSP in terms of games and just the sheer build quality. It's an exceptional piece of kit and I hope the rumours of a new Sony Handheld are true however the tragedy of these now is that they aren't exclusive devices and most can play or stream common AAA games you get on console. Before you used to have device-exclusive games and that was what made them special. Now it's just units you can use while you're in bed or doing a shit. 

[Luseth 1,966]

22 hours ago, GazzaGarratt said:

I've gotta lot of thoughts about them, so i'll probably visit this thread back and forth over time. Everything is cyclical @Luseth so they won't really ever die out imo. People want everything in one space like your phone, but with games because people will demand more in the coming years of AAA games, mobiles won't be able to handle them as they'll be a Jack of all trades, Master of sweet FA. Look at the camera industry. Don't need them as much now because of phones, but there is slowly becoming a resurgence in fully fledged standalone cameras because they give you more freedom for the people that love taking photos.

 

Yeah I agree that a product that is dedicated to a task tends to be way better, I still have a camera, I mean the big one is I don't want to drain my phone battery if I go out with the intention to take a few photos. But that said mobile gaming is the biggest element of the gaming industry now and I can't help but feel it is only a matter of time before handhelds as we know it will fade out. There will still be a place for say emulation devices and such but whether or not a Switch will still be around in 40 years time, I am not convinced (especially as cloud gaming does fully take over).

 

I have a lovely handheld collection and plan to put some photos up, that said it probably doesn't go earlier than the gameboys unfortunately.

[GazzaGarratt 11,058]

I've only got a few of mine out at the moment but I would say getting a 3D print for some stands work really nicely, especially with the logo on them.

 

 

I'm unconvinced at this moment that Cloud Gaming will be the permanent way even though I appreciate it has a large following already.

 

Looking at them just now, the GameBoy Advance SP was a serious piece of kit that is so underrated. So easy to store, games to go with lots of detail in them - and you could link them up too to get some fun parties going.

[Luseth 1,966]

Ah lovely little collection @GazzaGarratt,  2 of those 4 are consoles I have never even played ^_^

 

I will post again in a moment with a photo and what each is ^_^

[Luseth 1,966]

Excuse the mess, having a bit of a sort out at home :D

 

Anyway, I grew up being a big gameboy fan in my young years i.e. 5-10, used to love being able to play pokemon everywhere and the og games were quite long due to the amount of grinding required etc. Unfortunately none of these are my original gameboys as they got broken when I was younger (I did not appreciate the hardware like I do today), so back right is the og gameboy, that one is a bit yellowed these days and it was actually my wife's from when she was younger. The only game that one has ever really seen was tetris which I think came with it?

 

Middle left is one of my jewels in the collection, these go for a tidy sum as it is but what makes this one a little bit special is I bought it for about £30 on ebay around 6 years ago, the value has shot up since then but it was probably my first real gaming bargain. I put a bid on ebay, it did not detail that it was boxed or anything so when it turned up complete (the box has seen better days) it was a bit of a score, the handheld itself is immaculate.

 

Back right is GBA SP - Pearl Blue, I have no idea if it is a reshell but it's a lurvley looking handheld.

 

At the front are the og DS which I bought recently for about £30 as I wanted something a bit more comfortable to hold when playing gba games, the white psp is also a recent purchase and I have gone a little mad on buying games for that with about 13-14 games for it already I think (probably part of the reason I am going to be broke for the next couple of months ^_^ )

 

The red console in the middle is a Vita, the coloured versions were only released in Japan, I have no idea why, I had a black OLED one originally and like a numpty I sold it. Then when I came to wanting one again the price was near enough the same for this as it was black UK equivalent so I picked this tidy thing up.

 

Then I have my 3ds's, the DS is a brilliant console in itself, there are a huge number of games and such a variety. The right one is the pikachu version, again because it's pokemon related it's a nice little collectible and then the right one is a new 3ds, this is meant to sit in another box which I imagine would add some extra value to it but these are becoming quite sought after, you had to be some club nintendo member in order to be able to pick one up, you only became a member of this if you bought a 3ds before the original price drop in it's early days, so Nintendo's little way of saying sorry I imagine. Anyway the faceplates are a little scuffed but other than that it's a lurvly little thing ^_^

 

 

[GazzaGarratt 11,058]

I really need to get a 3DS at some point, I miss out on a few games that they only made for that and not the DS. Also need a GBC too, just to feel how it plays and looks as opposed to the OG GameBoy.

 

Great collection so far @Luseth!