Resentment towards handheld gaming devices

[Kid Ice]

How close do you people usually sit to your TV when you play games? Try this experiment. Sit where you usually sit to play games on a TV. Take a handheld and hold it at the normal distance you would to play it, but have its screen appear next to the TV screen. Compare the 2 relative sizes from your point of view. Now tell me that hand held screens are really that much smaller. It's all relative...unless you sit as close to your TV as you hold a handheld that is.

Yeah playing a game on a small screen is exactly like playing one on a big screen if you hold the game close enough to your face.

The other day my family asked me to take them to the movies, so I set up four chairs directly in front of our 27 in. TV and said "welcome to the world's largest movie theater!"

We all sat with our faces three inches from the screen. It was just like being in a huge theater. Then I put my face directly in front of my daughter's face and said she can tell everyone at school her daddy is a giant.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

Yeah playing a game on a small screen is exactly like playing one on a big screen if you hold the game close enough to your face.

The other day my family asked me to take them to the movies, so I set up four chairs directly in front of our 27 in. TV and said "welcome to the world's largest movie theater!"

We all sat with our faces three inches from the screen. It was just like being in a huge theater. Then I put my face directly in front of my daughter's face and said she can tell everyone at school her daddy is a giant.

I understand your counterpoint, but if you hold the handheld at a reasonable distance it's still comparable in size to watching a TV at a reasonable distance. I just tried the experiment with my DSi, and any one of its screens are roughly the same size as my 40" TV. It doesn't mean the experience is the same of course, but JB143 is right, it's all relative.

[bluenote]

I much prefer portable gaming. I'm 36, married with a 2 year old daughter, so the days of spending hours playing a console video game are over. Portable gaming is perfect for me. (and I think for a lot of adults who are busy with kids, job, other responsibilities). I can play a portable game for an hour on the couch after my daughter goes to bed, and I'm fine. I don't have the time anymore to play large console games. Portable gaming offers quick gaming fixes without huge time committments.

Plus, I love the personal aspect of playing portable games. You are staring at your own little screen, with headphones on. I don't know, it feels more personal. More fun to me.

Also, all the handhelds now have such a huge back catalogue and compilations. I can play 2600 games, all the most popular NES and SNES games (GBA ports), arcade compilations, new style games (via Vita and 3DS) etc. All without digging out my old consoles.

For me, I love portable gaming. I much prefer it to console gaming.