When the Nintendo Switch was first announced in 2016, it symbolised a new chapter for handheld gaming. A chapter full of ambiguity.
Handheld devices have been a staple in the gaming world for decades, but advancements in mobile and hybrid technology has left their future up in the air.
Will the introduction of devices like the Switch and Steam Deck enhance handheld gaming? Or does it foreshadow their demise?
Prestige of Handheld Gaming
The history of handheld consoles is almost simultaneous with the more powerful home consoles.
The first portable gaming devices can be traced all the way back to the 1970s.
The Mattel Auto Race is credited as the first handheld game ever made. The concept was created by George J. Klose in 1976 after he began to modify standard calculator hardware.
Auto Race was a huge success that turned the heads of many big games companies. In the next few years, other companies released similar handheld games.
Devices like the Game and Watch paved the way for handheld gaming. Whilst these consoles were limited to one or two games, having a full game in the hands was mind-blowing at the time.
After the initial breakthrough, developers began to create more powerful devices that would help bridge the gap between handhelds and home consoles.
The concept of taking a collection of games with you in your pocket was something that excited gamers around the world.
In 1989, Nintendo elevated themselves to the top of the handheld market with the release of the Gameboy.
The innovative system allowed gamers to play as their favourite Nintendo characters on the go in new adventures designed specifically for the portable system.
Not needing external components like a TV and the cheaper price point also meant that the Gameboy made gaming more accessible, increasing Nintendo’s fanbase in the process.
Companies like Sony and Sega followed suit with their own portable systems. Like the Gameboy, these systems let players play a range of titles that were either specifically made or altered for handhelds.
The 2000’s is considered the golden age of handheld gaming by many. The PSP and DS pushed handheld gaming into the stratosphere, with sales eclipsing the home consoles.
Picture of Sony's PlayStation Portable (PSP)
As of 2022, the Nintendo DS family of consoles has sold over 150 million units worldwide. 50 million units more than the Wii, Nintendo’s home console at the time.
It is very likely that if you were a 2000’s kid, you had a handheld gaming device.
Whether it was a DS, PSP, or Gameboy, any kid that owned a handheld at this time will look back with fond memories of long road trips and late nights under the duvet playing their favourite games.
This era of handhelds made portable devices a prestigious part of the gaming world. The increased performance and ground-breaking features made them a viable alternative or addition to home consoles.
Despite this, follow up consoles like the 3DS and PS Vita struggled to reach the heights of their predecessors.
The PS Vita sales were disappointing enough for Sony to stop production of handheld consoles entirely.
Though sales were declining, the portable gaming fanbase was still strong. Stellar reviews of both games and hardware suggests that the issue lied outside the console’s grasp.
Advancements in other technologies meant that gamers did not need dedicated devices for handheld play.
Also, improvements to home consoles created a larger gap in quality and shifted the ‘power vs portability’ debate into the favour of home consoles.
Because of this, gaming companies were forced to either adapt or shut down their handheld hardware completely.
It would have been easier for many companies to follow Sony’s lead and disregard the handheld market.
But Nintendo and other companies acknowledged the history and importance of handheld gaming and decided to persevere in supporting portable gaming.
They understood that these consoles were still valuable to their customers and needed to be handled with care.
So handhelds survived their toughest period during the 2010’s, but the next generation would introduce factors that would complicate the portable gaming market even further.
Switching to Hybrids
In 2017, Nintendo transformed the gaming world with the arrival of the Switch.
This revolutionary hardware blends the home and handheld experience to make a convertible console.
This means that the system plays identically in the dock as it does in the hands, eliminating any performance differences in the process.
Nintendo are known for attaching gimmicks to their consoles, but the switch possesses a gimmick that is extremely practical.
The new system revitalised the popularity of Nintendo after the company fell out of favour during the Wii U and 3DS generation.
After the announcement, every gaming fan was intrigued by the new hybrid design and coupled with great games like Breath of the Wild, the Switch became an instant hit.
5 years later, the Switch still constantly leads the sales charts and recently surpassed the Wii as Nintendo’s best-selling home console of all time.
Its safe to say that the Switch has been a huge success for Nintendo. Merging the handheld and home consoles has been a stroke of genius that the gaming world embraced.
The hybrid model has brought handhelds back into the spotlight whilst gifting their home console a special feature required to compete with the more powerful Xbox and PlayStation consoles.
However, the change to hybrid hardware left many fans with concerns about the future of Nintendo’s consoles.
By dedicating their next generation to this model, the balance between power and portability would need to be stronger than ever.
Tipping the scales towards one side would lead to the other being left behind. So far, Nintendo has worked hard to keep the balance steady, but more weights are being added to both sides.
The decision to include a handheld aspect had already limited the switch’s performance, but the release of the Series X and PS5 has increased the gap in performance between Nintendo and their competitors further.
Also, companies like Steam are replicating the hybrid model to create hardware that is more powerful than the original.
This has left fans demanding a new and improved version of the Switch.
Nintendo have offered some upgrades during the Switch era, but nothing that has improved the performance when docked.
If Nintendo were to improve docked mode, the assumption is they would be forced to reduce handheld capabilities to do so.
Nintendo fans have speculated that the Japanese company will struggle to make an upgraded hybrid system at an affordable price point.
As a result, they would have to revert back to separate models.
However, Nintendo have defied expectations before and after the success of the Switch, they would be eager to keep the hybrid model.
The release of the Switch Lite (a strictly handheld version of the Switch) also shows a dedication to handheld devices.
Whilst it’s not guaranteed, Nintendo look set to keep handheld gaming alive in their future console families.
Emergence of Mobile Gaming
One factor that is considered to have impacted handheld devices is the advancements in mobile technology.
During the golden age of handhelds, mobile phones were mostly used to make calls.
Most phones had a few pre-installed games such as Nokia’s infamous Snake or Blackberry’s Brick Breaker.
But these games were very basic and struggled to satisfy even casual gamers.
Handhelds were still a necessary item for those looking to play on the go, or to keep the kids quiet for a while.
Then along came Smartphones.
In the late 2000s and early 2010s, smartphones took over the world.
Whilst most people already possessed a mobile phone, the introduction of smartphones made everyone want one.
Apple's iPhone was one of the smartphone pioneers.
The revolutionary touchscreen controls and access to internet put the world into the hands of consumers.
Along with the improvements came the ability to play a wider range of games.
The touchscreen controls were ideal for gaming and built-in stores allowed customers to download games as an application.
Developers took advantage of this and began developing titles for mobile.
Games like Jetpack Joyride, Angry Birds, and Candy Crush became sensations and set the path for other mobile games to follow.
For casual gamers, there were many benefits to adopting mobile gaming as a replacement to the traditional handheld or home consoles.
Most games are free-to-play or significantly cheaper than a handheld game but still offer plenty of content.
In fact, free-to-play are designed so that there is always something to do to keep players engaged.
Being able to use a phone for games and other tasks is also more convenient than having to bring another device around just to play games.
And whilst the early smartphones struggled to compete, the rapid progression of mobile technology has lead to game quality similar to the best handhelds on the market.
The increased standard has made even the historically biggest handheld companies like Nintendo and Sega have jumped on the mobile gaming bandwagon.
Recently, mobile gaming has been boosted by the introduction of cloud gaming.
Increased popularity in cloud gaming has led to mobile gaming devices like the Razer Kishi.
Services like Xbox Cloud Gaming allow players to stream console games onto a phone, laptop, or tablet.
This means that subscribers can access AAA games from their phones as long as they have a steady connection to the internet.
Instead of developing games that attempt to match the quality of handhelds, cloud gaming offers mobile devices the ability to play any game without having to consider device limitations.
As cloud gaming continues to improve, its more likely to lure more gamers away from handhelds.
This could result in a future where phones and tablets make the more traditional hardware redundant.
Physical games will always have some benefits when compared to digital or streamed games, but the affordability and convenience might just be too good to say no to.
Even the most hardcore gamers have had their heads turned by the idea of having their high-performance console games in their hands.
It might not happen soon, but it’s easy to see a world where dedicated gaming handhelds become another casualty of the streaming conquest.
The Retro Aesthetic
So there are plenty of factors that suggests dedicated handhelds will struggle to make an impact on the future of gaming.
But its not all doom and gloom for fans of the Gameboy, PSP, or DS.
It would be silly to underestimate the love that gamers have for handhelds, and their ability to revive and repurpose popular products.
Since the decline in popularity, handheld gaming enthusiasts have created portable devices that play a range of retro games.
The majority of gamers would have grown up with a handheld device, so what better way to get a boost of nostalgia.
These emulators give players the opportunity to play game catalogues from a range of classic consoles, all in one device.
Some of the collections available include the Gameboy and Gameboy Advance, NES, SNES, N64, and more premium devices allow for PlayStation and GameCube titles.
It’s important to acknowledge that there are ethical and copyright issues that comes with third party emulation, but plenty of devices offer legitimate methods of playing retro games.
For example, the Analogue Pocket is a premium handheld device inspired by the Gameboy.
It supports cartridges for Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, and Gameboy Colour games out of the box and can support Neo Geo, Lynx, Game Gear, and more games via adapters.
If a cartridge based device is not going to cut it for you, then there are plenty of other devices that allow for digital emulation.
Some of the best examples include the AYN Odin Pro, Retroid Pocket 2, and Evercade. For some more suggestions, click here.
Emulators allow games that would have been lost in time to resurface with a performance that is better than ever.
Whether it’s for a nostalgic return to a personal favourite or to try out a cult classic for the first time, retro emulation is a great way of preserving retro games.
Though there are some moral issues, a retro device that allows for the legal emulation of classic games is a great use for a handheld device.
Companies like Nintendo and Sony could even capitalise on this growing market and produce classic versions of their most popular handhelds.
Similar to the classic versions of the NES and PS1, these devices could replicate the original hardware but offer a catalogue of the best games pre-installed.
For dedicated handhelds to move forward, the best option could be to look back.
Conclusion
As things stand, the presence of dedicated handheld devices in gaming is hanging by a thread.
Nintendo’s Switch Lite is the only dedicated handheld device produced by a major gaming company on the market.
The introduction of mobile gaming, cloud gaming, and hybrid hardware has pushed handheld consoles out of the picture.
Nintendo's Switch Lite may be their final dedicated handheld.
In the survival of the fittest, gaming companies have decided to incorporate handheld elements into another device or service instead.
Despite this, portable gaming fans across the world are refusing to let these prestigious devices die.
Instead, they are finding them a new purpose, hoping that the big companies take notice.
Whilst it seems like dedicated handhelds will eventually be placed on the shelf, they certainly won’t go down without a fight.
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