Resentment towards handheld gaming devices

[Emperor Megas]

I can't think of many handheld games that would have been successful as (modern) console releases. Handheld games tend to have 'pick up and play' appeal, and significantly lower production 'value'. A lot of games that are released on handhelds that can turn a profit would most probably lose money if released on a console.

[Aussie2B]

I've always been rather perplexed that some gamers are so turned off by handhelds. I just don't get it myself. I'll happily take it all, home console and portable (and the in-between, like the Virtual Boy, haha). There's a time and place for everything, I'd say. Playing a game on a TV feels like a much bigger commitment, for some reason, and of course that set-up can't go anywhere with you easily. There were definitely some major inconveniences with handheld gaming in the past, which is why I barely even touch any Game Boy system other than the SP these days (best application of backwards compatibility in a system ever), but now that we have recharging batteries and backlit screens, I really can't complain.

[Kevincal]

I agree with the OP, handhelds are a waste. I hate the small dark and blurry screens and pathetic audio. I like huge tv crystal clear picture with cranking sound and bass for my video games. It's a pity I have never played so many great handheld games. I actually have the perfect thing though, a modded XBOX with LOADS of handheld game roms I can play in full screen in RGB It's perty awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-UQ-qZFQKo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTZHu_deQwc

I will admit though that as a young kid it was kinda fun playing a game boy (og puke green screen) on the long drive to grandmas house. Ah yes, mario land, tetris, and simpsons.

[j_factor]

Yeah, I can't play on handhelds for very long, it always hurts my neck. I usually play GBA games on a Game Boy Player, and I barely touch my DS.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I didn't like handhelds for a while. I got flipped with the NGPC and GBA though. Been looking at smartphones recently. My next computer is going to be a handheld too apparently. I can potentially become nomadic!

Add a solar recharge station to my buy list...

Edit: Got a Motorola Photon 4G today. Time to see what this superphone gaming hubbub is all about.

[Emperor Megas]

I agree with the OP, handhelds are a waste. I hate the small dark and blurry screens and pathetic audio.

It sounds like you haven't played any handhelds since the original Gameboy Advance, and don't use head phones (or good ones, anyway).

[Rickstilwell1]

Heck I plug an audio cord into my handheld and crank up the volume on the big speakers!

[substantial_snake]

I am sorry if you have any problem towards portable gaming weather its a physical buttons, screen size, its just for kids, etc. The GB, GBC, GBA, PSP, and DS all have some of my favorite games of all time on them and if you missed out on those for whatever reason it sucks and I really do feel sorry for you. I love handheld consoles and the ways they force game devs to think differently around the limitations and/or design considerations for making a game that is in easily digestible bites.

I can understand if its not your thing but it does make me a bit sad when I know someone is going to like X or Y game says "Wow, that looks, sounds, and plays great too bad its on X portable console". I encourage you get over whatever issues you may have with it because ever since my first GameGear I've been hooked to the portable side of the industry.

Edit:

I am surprised that Sony hasn't added some sort of PSP emulation mode to the PS3. I'm sure the console is powerful enough and the PSP control scheme is basically a cutdown Playstation controller layout. These things along with the PSN linked accounts and download service would make it really simple to simply download digital copies of PSP games to play on your PS3..not really sure why they never did that for those who can't deal with portable consoles.

[Rickstilwell1]

I am sorry if you have any problem towards portable gaming weather its a physical buttons, screen size, its just for kids, etc. The GB, GBC, GBA, PSP, and DS all have some of my favorite games of all time on them and if you missed out on those for whatever reason it sucks and I really do feel sorry for you. I love handheld consoles and the ways they force game devs to think differently around the limitations and/or design considerations for making a game that is in easily digestible bites.

I can understand if its not your thing but it does make me a bit sad when I know someone is going to like X or Y game says "Wow, that looks, sounds, and plays great too bad its on X portable console". I encourage you get over whatever issues you may have with it because ever since my first GameGear I've been hooked to the portable side of the industry.

Edit:

I am surprised that Sony hasn't added some sort of PSP emulation mode to the PS3. I'm sure the console is powerful enough and the PSP control scheme is basically a cutdown Playstation controller layout. These things along with the PSN linked accounts and download service would make it really simple to simply download digital copies of PSP games to play on your PS3..not really sure why they never did that for those who can't deal with portable consoles.

Because they made a cord that already lets you connect your PSP 2000 and higher to the TV anyway? I also think the reason they don't just let the PS3 run PSP games is because they want to make sure they sell the handheld systems. If all PSP games could be run on PS3 and cost less than PS3 titles, nobody would even buy the handheld to play them. They would just get a PS3 and call it a day.

[TRM]

I used to play handheld gaming devices while growing up, as they were a great way to occupy my time during long car rides; when I became the driver, the need entertain myself on the long journeys ended, and at that point I stopped playing the handheld systems.

Although I have not played any of the newer handhelds (with the exception of borrowing my brother's DS from time to time), I find some of the functions to look very...eh, not comfortable to operate. For those times that I want to play a game, I would much prefer just to sit down in front of a big screen with controller in hand, as it just provides a better experience when not on the go.

[leatherrebel5150]

I still don't see why they have never made a pokemon game on a console like the ones they have made for handhelds...thats what really annoys me.

[jonebone]

I hated handhelds and never played a single one up until about 2.5 years ago when I finally bought a DS Lite. Totally worth the purchase IMO.

Of course I still play console games the majority of the time, but the DS has produced several games that I've gotten at least 5-10 hours of gameplay out of. The perfect handheld game is one that you can play for about 10-15 minutes and save your progress. But sometimes you wind up playing for much longer than that simply because it's addictive.

For me, the woman usually complains if I'm gaming too long on the basement TV. But if I let her watch lifetime while I'm playing my DS, it's a perfect win-win situation.

[GameNinja]

I still don't see why they have never made a pokemon game on a console like the ones they have made for handhelds...thats what really annoys me.

I have been wondering this since 1997. I guess the market and profitability is just better for handhelds, and I think part of the appeal of pokemon is that you can just take it on the go with you all the time.

[substantial_snake]

Because they made a cord that already lets you connect your PSP 2000 and higher to the TV anyway? I also think the reason they don't just let the PS3 run PSP games is because they want to make sure they sell the handheld systems. If all PSP games could be run on PS3 and cost less than PS3 titles, nobody would even buy the handheld to play them. They would just get a PS3 and call it a day.

They did similar things through the PSP life span such as releasing the GTA X City Stories games as a PS2 release and now especially the God of War Origins Collection and MGS Peace Walker HD. I think it would of made a lot of sense earlier in its life span to have PSP emulation capability for pretty much anyone in this thread who weren't interested in picking up the portable console, now I think its time has passed. Sony's business model doesn't hinge on making a profit from hardware and with the upcoming release of vita games for both PS3 and Vita I don't think Sony is splitting hairs about it this time either.

It makes me a bit sad too, Substantial Snake, but I have not totally forsaken portable gaming devices, just so you know. Last portable I purchased was the DS, which I bought because I wanted the new Advanced Wars (I love the damn series. It is the reason I bought a GBA). I also justified the purchase because of the dual screen/ stylus screen novelty. When I did strain my eyes to play it, I did enjoy the lil' bastard- it disappeared in my travels. Every morning use to begin with me drinking coffee and playing Brain Age to knock the dust off my brain. I also have an iPod Touch, which I buy app games for every now and again (Space Invaders Evolution rocked!!!). In regards to novelty and puzzle games, I think they are well suited for portable devices. I just don't like serious games that would have been better suited- in my estimation, of course- on a home system. I'd love to have the new Mario on the 3DS, but I just don't want to torture my poor near sighted eyes. Nintendo should wait a while and release the game on the Wii.

[GUSH]I bought a DS for that exact reason, Advance Wars since the GBA Days has sold me Nintendo portable consoles. I played both Dual Strike and Days of Ruin but perfered Days of Ruin by far, even with the drastic shift in tone. The game was simply super-balanced and the best playing AW game IMO. I just love it and it sat in my DS for months at a time. [/GUSH]

I really see the "serious game" complaint levied against the PSP far more then the DS and in that arena you do have options. The PSP 2000 and up has a TV output that when paired with component cables let you play your games on the TV. I ended up using this feature a lot for a ton of the systems late releases like the Dissidia games and Peace Walker with both games having great sound when put through a proper sound system and damn good graphics for a portable game. On the flip side the GB Gamecube player allowed you to play GB, GBC, and GBA games all on a TV using the Gamecube which I hear is how many people play those games now. Its unfornatunate that the DS and 3DS will probably never have a proper TV out method but that's also part of Nintendo's strategy of making portable games for portable consoles.

I guess I don't really have a point to this semi-rant other then I find it frustrating given the example I had given in my previous post for those without some physical issue and just don't like playing on portable systems. I've probably put equal amounts of time in both portable and console/PC gaming over the years and missing out on those great portable games just seems wrong to me.

[BlastProcessing402]

I would confer the status of "fact" to this assertion, Frankie Says Relax. You have to wonder how successful the Gameboy would have been if ol' Tetris wasn't packed in with it.

I think it still would've done well. I got mine for Super Mario Land. Primitive as it was even compared to later GB games, it was still MORE MARIO! and that was a way to move systems. I'm really glad it wasn't the pack-in, though, or I might never have even got GB Tetris, and while Mario got me in the door, Tetris kept bringing me back. I still think that's the best version of Tetris around.

Wasn't one of the Dragon Warrior games only available on the DS?

Dragon Quest 9 is a DS game. There are also remakes of 4-6, and various spinoffs (Monsters, Rocket Slime, etc) on the DS.

[treismac]

[GUSH]I bought a DS for that exact reason, Advance Wars since the GBA Days has sold me Nintendo portable consoles. I played both Dual Strike and Days of Ruin but perfered Days of Ruin by far, even with the drastic shift in tone. The game was simply super-balanced and the best playing AW game IMO. I just love it and it sat in my DS for months at a time. [/GUSH]

I know this is a retro gaming forum, so this might be like me asking a Republican if they've heard of Ronald Reagan, but have you ever played Military Madness on the Turbografx-16? While I am not certain if it is the grandfather of turn-based military games or not, it deserves a good look by any and all fans of Advance Wars. I don't care for the remakes, but the original rocks. It is a Virtual Console game for the Wii, and I also downloaded it for an old work cell phone I had. Oh, did I mention it that one of my favorite developers made it?



I know Hudson made some crap games, but when they were on, they were on.

[treismac]

I can understand if its not your thing but it does make me a bit sad when I know someone is going to like X or Y game says "Wow, that looks, sounds, and plays great too bad its on X portable console". I encourage you get over whatever issues you may have with it...

It makes me a bit sad too, Substantial Snake, but I have not totally forsaken portable gaming devices, just so you know. Last portable I purchased was the DS, which I bought because I wanted the new Advanced Wars (I love the damn series. It is the reason I bought a GBA). I also justified the purchase because of the dual screen/ stylus screen novelty. When I did strain my eyes to play it, I did enjoy the lil' bastard- it disappeared in my travels. Every morning use to begin with me drinking coffee and playing Brain Age to knock the dust off my brain. I also have an iPod Touch, which I buy app games for every now and again (Space Invaders Evolution rocked!!!). In regards to novelty and puzzle games, I think they are well suited for portable devices. I just don't like serious games that would have been better suited- in my estimation, of course- on a home system. I'd love to have the new Mario on the 3DS, but I just don't want to torture my poor near sighted eyes. Nintendo should wait a while and release the game on the Wii.

[Griking]

I can't think of many handheld games that would have been successful as (modern) console releases. Handheld games tend to have 'pick up and play' appeal, and significantly lower production 'value'. A lot of games that are released on handhelds that can turn a profit would most probably lose money if released on a console.

Wasn't one of the Dragon Warrior games only available on the DS?