I have not heard anything about handheld consoles in the past couple years, so I'm wondering if they are becoming outdated! I know the 3DS isn't THAT old, but it seems like not a lot of people play it anymore.

Do you still play video games on a handheld? If so, which one(s)? Do you think handhelds are becoming outdated? If you have heard of any new handhelds that are coming out, let me know!

My 3DS is the only handheld I have since it only made sense for me to sell my DS. I don't play it anymore because it's pretty broken. It's weird to not be playing any handheld games anymore!

With how the Switch is technically a handheld... not exactly, but it's getting there.

The problem with handhelds is that in this day and age where phones are becoming capable of running better and better games, there's really not much reason to get a separate console when you could just put the game on the App Store instead and get more sales that way.

The solution to this is a gimmick that phones cannot offer - for the Switch, it's the ability to easily connect to your TV and also have console-tier power while doing so, though it's definitely on the lower end of the spectrum for current gen consoles. The 3DS has it's 3D capability (and two screens that doesn't translate beautifully to phones), and the Vita had that back touchpad and generally a game library which most phones couldn't handle at the time of its release.

Nintendo will dominate the handheld market for as long as it exists because that's what they specialize in - weird gimmicks that set the console apart, rather than joining the Sony vs Microsoft pissing contest on which console is more powerful (hint: build a PC). It's just a matter of how far they're willing to take it.

Minuano : That's a good point. I didn't realize how popular and more advanced mobile gaming is now. Yeah, I like that Nintendo's consoles are different and they seem to be taking their time more on which consoles they release and when.

Just like Minuano said, phones nowadays are pretty much the equivalent of handheld consoles. They've become very advanced and not just because of apps or functions, but also for what they can run. And I can say I've seen a game played via a tablet sporting graphics that are perfectly above the average handheld console.

Games for phones will only keep evolving. After all, since the dawn of smartphones, its destiny was to integrate every single portable electronic device in existence. The N-Gage gave us a first glimpse of what was to come, but either if it was too soon for such a device to take the world by storm or if we didn't believe such a time would actually come, the end result is clear: mobile gaming has the upper hand right now.

The handheld market, after all, was always a Nintendo thing. The rest of handhelds were merely approaches to deliver something similar or something Nintendo didn't care for. The handhelds will die when Nintendo gives up on them, but seeing how the gimmick of the switch is working out, looks like this market can still be stretched.

As for your question, I could still boot up my PSP if I so desired, but I just don't feel like it. I won't take it anywhere with me any longer, and it's so outdated that I already have a functional emulator installed on my PC for the very few games that still pique my interest.

EX Palen : Yeah it's crazy how advanced mobile games can be. It'll be wild to see in the future just how much smartphones will take over.

I never knew handhelds were mostly a Nintendo thing. That makes sense considering I've seen the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, DS, and 3DS all seem to be well liked.

Pacman+Mariofan : as it has been already mentioned it appears that the phones are taking over the handheld consoles these days but some of the older handheld game systems could be worth holding onto since they might be worth money I have a saga game gear that I bought from my cousin about 15 years ago that has 17 games including sonic 1 2 and 3 I,m not sure how well it works though since I have kept it stored away for at least 8 years but the last time I tried it recently it appeared to be still working I also saw a video on u tube one day about some toys that are supposed to be collector,s items and they said that the nintendo gameboy was also supposed to be worth money

no 8120 : Yeah I think some of those handhelds are worth money. If only my 3DS's top screen didn't entirely break and now it doesn't display anything :/ The Game Boy should definitely be worth a lot, I agree about that!

I don't think so. If you think about it, Nintendo basically had a monopoly on handhelds forever and it's still going strong for them.

Microsoft never had a handheld. Sony tried it out with the PSP and then a couple years after the Vita came out they gave up. But in Nintendo's case, they never slowed down.

Because of this, I would say that handhelds are as big now as they were 20 years ago, it's just that other places tried their hands at handhelds and those have become outdated.

Really it depends on the handheld and what it offers, if it gives people a reason to buy it, then they will. Though for me I just use my phone and one of the many android emulators on the play store. My phones an absolute unit and can run most things at full speed.

zanderlex : Yeah, I figured Nintendo was dominating with handhelds.

Boured : I don't know of a lot of handhelds that give people special reasons to buy them. Then again, maybe more of those handhelds came out a long time ago!

For me, I have very limited access to a TV, and when I do have access, I have trouble sitting due to a spinal problem, and the TV is simply too distant to see too well from bed. I don't live in a room that I could simply rearrange or anything like that, I'm cohabiting in a house with 6 people. So handhelds are the only way I'm able to play video games, I explicitly seek them out, and am interested in things like the GPD Win Max, which provides a PC experience with built in game pad.

Pacman+Mariofan : i still play games on ds even final fantasy 6 on gba sometimes.

pennylessz : That's understandable. Yeah, I like the flexibility that handhelds provide.

hellno163 : I would be playing DS games too if my 3DS wasn't broken! But yeah, that was a really nice handheld to have.

Pacman+Mariofan : It's not that they're dominating, it's more that nobody else really tried. Microsoft never tried. Sony gave up. You can't dominate something when you're literally not competing against anyone else.

zanderlex : Good point XD They could be competing against themselves at some point to see which handhelds are the most successful compared to their previous ones.

Honestly, I dont think so... There's been alot of retro game consoles popping up the past few years. I guess you can say maybe the nintendo switch might be the "last?" modern handheld gaming console, but I really don't see how nintendo making a dedicated sit and play console due to the fact how successful the switch is. I actually hate gaming on the phone due to the frustrating microtransactions and that pay-to-win model developers keep shoving down our throats. Not to mention, touch controls which I really don't like, I always perfer physical buttons. I actually bought an original Nintendo DS model around late last year, and so far only have 8 games for it. At the moment I've been collecting PS1 games. I do want to get a game boy color someday but they seem to be getting expensive for some reason. But really, maybe handheld gaming consoles are probably getting outdated. I highly doubt sony will ever make another playstation portable/vita.

You know I would of swore I posted in this thread before but apparently not that or I'm just blind which I wouldn't doubt it. Any who idk if I would say they are outdated as much as I would say gaming companies likely just don't wanna compete with mobile gaming and I feel like mobile gaming proves it isn't outdated. That and the Nintendo Switch being a hybrid showing how well that can work even if I have never took my switch anywhere and played it as a handheld.

CrimsonTHRAK : Oh, that's true. I haven't been paying much attention to the retro consoles since I just like to have Virtual Console games on my Wii U like I used to on my 3DS when I still had that.

SonicOlmstead : Maybe I should start making my thread titles in all caps! (Just kidding, that's called clickbait). But yeah, mobile gaming has really taken over it seems. The amount of ads I get on my phone for mobile games are just unbelievable!

Minuano : You know if you do actually use this site and play a game and select the retro Arch player your phone or device can be played like a handheld game, something I actually found out just to check on my own and suddenly I realized, oh so that's why the retroarch is the way it is, and why the game pad appears if the mouse point is onscreen, because this was probably meant for tablets or phones. I tried this once I prefer using the desktop, I just have to have a plug-in keyboard on me (because you can't change controls on RetroArch and the arrow keys on laptops are quite small)

With the invention of smartphones, the answer to whether or not portable systems are outdated is: probably.

But I still love them, because there is something unique about a system specifically designed for gaming on the go. I suspect we'll see less and less of them as time goes on, which is a shame. I'll always continue to play my 3DS. It's the best, and probably last, portable gaming system.