Handhelds No Longer Relevant?

15252 Views 131 Posts Gaming Industry

Kudos: 186,102

There is a lot of back and forth between Microsoft and Sony about the relevance of Handheld consoles these days. With the influx of high-powered, small and sleek smartphones do consumers really want to carry around a clunky handheld gaming device? Especially when titles on the iOS are starting to utilise the Unreal 3 engine with ease?

Is that why the 3DS didn't do that well? Are people just over the whole handheld console experience?

I'm opening this up to all the forums so we can get a mixture of opinions on this topic. Keep the discussion flowing guys, I'm keen to hear what you have to say :)

27/06/2011

Melbourne, Victoria

Kudos: 302

TheWarlock

The only thing keeping the 3DS and the soon to be release PS Vita on peoples radars are the exclusive titles. If you could get Zelda or Uncharted on the iPad these devices would fall into the depths of the trolls.

I'm bringing you a morsel of truth. I'm an F-18 bro, and I'm bring my ordinance down to the ground. Handheld gaming only has a few years of life left, while the iOS platform is continually WINNING!

Just ask Steve Jobs - we were banging 7gram rocks all night while Iwata was crying over the disappointment of the 3DS!

27/06/2011

Leave a comment

Kudos: 186,102

Heller

Well I don't really know why you keep going on with these Charlie Sheen quotes but I actually see your point.

It's the exclusive content that keeps me coming back to the 3DS and hopefully the PS Vita - however if Zelda was on my iPad I probably wouldn't have bothered with a 3DS in the first place.

27/06/2011

Melbourne, Victoria

Kudos: 3,253

Prime

I do enough gaming on a console to not have to be doing it on my phone or with a handheld.

I personally have never understood the appeal. I can understand it perhaps for a long plane flight. I worry about people who game for numerous hours a day on a console as well as taking a portable with them wherever they go. It starts to cross into addiction.

Sorry for going off topic lol

27/06/2011

The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely - Carl Jung.

Kudos: 186,102

Heller

I do most of my gaming on handheld devices now - I catch a 48 minute train to and from work every day so unless I have a book to read I game the time away.

27/06/2011

Melbourne, Victoria

Kudos: 206,651

M@ndyz

handhelds are great for kids especially when they are stuck at their nans house or in the car.. or just anywhere where theres no entertainment.. my kids both have a DS but soon they will have an ipad each.. which is better cause they can watch movies and the battery is longer.. last week we went to my mother in laws and my daughter watched movies all day.. best thing ever

27/06/2011

Add me on steam........... bootie [mmgn] Or raptr.......... bootie101 Or wiiu. actually don't add me on wiiu im never on it :p

Kudos: 2,003

xman81

I like the idea of a handheld but I always end up selling them as they dont get enough playtime.
Was thinking about getting a Vita for Uncharted, but spending all that money for one game seems a bit much.
My experia play should be here this week so that should satisfy my limited handheld gaming needs.

27/06/2011

Are you ready for your shpanking?

Kudos: 2,574

CHEEZE

Personally I think that handhelds stopped being relevant to the mainstream gamer after the Gameboy Advance, they cant keep up with a console or a PC.
That said, they can be a good device to keep away boredom when you are going from place to place or stuck somewhere (but a book can serve that purpose just as well, Does anyone else remember books, or are am I the only one that still reads things on paper?)
Mandy as for them being good for kids, I think that encouraging kids to make their own fun is better. When I was a kid we used the imagination to have fun :P

27/06/2011

"The wise man speaks because he has something to say, the fool speaks because he has to say something" - Aristotle

Kudos: 34,223

insectoid

Handhelds are definitely still relevant, especially amongst younger people who don't have exclusive/priority access to a television for a console.

As I see it, the problem with handhelds is when they try to be like a console, why would I want to play a duplicate of a game that probably works better on a larger console? Sure the portability is cool, but for me (and I think for a lot of people), the convenience of the portability doesn't outweigh the benefits of just waiting until I get home and playing it on a console.

27/06/2011

indeed.

Kudos: 206,651

M@ndyz

CHEEZE said: Personally I think that handhelds stopped being relevant to the mainstream gamer after the Gameboy Advance, they cant keep up with a console or a PC.
That said, they can be a good device to keep away boredom when you are going from place to place or stuck somewhere (but a book can serve that purpose just as well, Does anyone else remember books, or are am I the only one that still reads things on paper?)
Mandy as for them being good for kids, I think that encouraging kids to make their own fun is better. When I was a kid we used the imagination to have fun

lol not at the doctors its not fun to have an imagination.. [MOG]

27/06/2011

Add me on steam........... bootie [mmgn] Or raptr.......... bootie101 Or wiiu. actually don't add me on wiiu im never on it :p

Leave a comment

Kudos: 186,102

Heller

But how do you feel that devices such as the iPad and iPhone are impacting the relevance of these devices. I mean the iPad produces some truly amazing graphics that put the 3DS to shame!

27/06/2011

Melbourne, Victoria

Kudos: 2,574

CHEEZE

M@ndyz said:
lol not at the doctors its not fun to have an imagination..

My GP has children's toys in the waiting room.

I dissagree =D

27/06/2011

"The wise man speaks because he has something to say, the fool speaks because he has to say something" - Aristotle

Kudos: 2,574

CHEEZE

Heller said: But how do you feel that devices such as the iPad and iPhone are impacting the relevance of these devices. I mean the iPad produces some truly amazing graphics that put the 3DS to shame!

The Ipad is a touch screen computer, not a true handheld.

EDIT: soy about the double post, I is tyred

27/06/2011

"The wise man speaks because he has something to say, the fool speaks because he has to say something" - Aristotle

Kudos: 2,486

noobi

smartphones are definitely taking over, why pay $250 for a device and then $60-$70(I don't actually know handheld game prices so correct me if I'm wrong) for a game when I have iphone and and endless stream of cheap(or free) accessible games at my disposal

I think there is still a market for handhelds but only for a small segment of the population, as far as the mass market is concerned iOS games are sufficient to kill time when you're waiting around

27/06/2011

Melb

Kudos: 3,253

Prime

Heller said: But how do you feel that devices such as the iPad and iPhone are impacting the relevance of these devices. I mean the iPad produces some truly amazing graphics that put the 3DS to shame!

To me these devices are part of an ongoing revolution of electronics in general, not just for handheld gaming. ipad has internet, email, gaming and so much more.

We are headed towards a future where all such things including tv are accessible via one device.

27/06/2011

The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely - Carl Jung.

Kudos: 10,518

LMA0

I still play my PSP and been playing handhelds since 1991 (20 years) even Robin Williams plays Zelda n Super Mario games on his 3DS. Portable technology is getting better n popular especially in Japan where handhelds are big. If 3DS had better games at the start then u see more sales up.

27/06/2011

Outer West Sydney aka The Ghetto

Kudos: 206,651

M@ndyz

CHEEZE said:
M@ndyz said:
lol not at the doctors its not fun to have an imagination..

My GP has children's toys in the waiting room.
I dissagree

not my gp. [MOG]

27/06/2011

Add me on steam........... bootie [mmgn] Or raptr.......... bootie101 Or wiiu. actually don't add me on wiiu im never on it :p

Kudos: 186,102

Heller

Yeah but when I can play a hard-core Dead Space utilising amazing visual effects and sound, compared to an okay looking 3DS game I know which device I'm going to choose.

27/06/2011

Melbourne, Victoria

Kudos: 206,651

M@ndyz

Heller said: But how do you feel that devices such as the iPad and iPhone are impacting the relevance of these devices. I mean the iPad produces some truly amazing graphics that put the 3DS to shame!

it think the ipad is fantastic.. i dont care if it wipes out the DS.. lol =D

27/06/2011

Add me on steam........... bootie [mmgn] Or raptr.......... bootie101 Or wiiu. actually don't add me on wiiu im never on it :p

Kudos: 297,579

Tano

I think that to say the iPad isn't a gaming device is either naive, ignorant, arrogant or just scared.

It plays games.
It has lots of games.
It plays the games well.
It displays the games well.

So, it is a gaming device, which is one of its features.

I think the accessibility of both the hardware and the digital distribution platform make the iPad and smartphones legitimate threats to handheld gaming, because the price of these handhelds aren't really justified considering you're paying slightly more for a piece of hardware that does twice as much.

27/06/2011

"Niko! Cousin!"

Kudos: 2,486

noobi

Heller said: Yeah but when I can play a hard-core Dead Space utilising amazing visual effects and sound, compared to an okay looking 3DS game I know which device I'm going to choose.

do you want to play that game on a handheld though? those sort of experiences I would rather play on my couch in my living room

27/06/2011

Melb

Kudos: 186,102

Heller

Totally agree with you noobi, but sometimes you just can't get to that couch. I want compelling reasons to play games on the go.

27/06/2011

Melbourne, Victoria

Kudos: 2,574

CHEEZE

Beta said: I think that to say the iPad isn't a gaming device is either naive, ignorant, arrogant or just scared.
It plays games.
It has lots of games.
It plays the games well.
It displays the games well.
So, it is a gaming device, which is one of its features.

And a computer isnt a gaming device?
Games arnt the core element of things like an Ipad or smart phones. they can be used for games, yes but they dont get bought exclusively for the purpose.
A handheld does.

27/06/2011

"The wise man speaks because he has something to say, the fool speaks because he has to say something" - Aristotle

Kudos: 2,486

noobi

Heller said: Totally agree with you noobi, but sometimes you just can't get to that couch. I want compelling reasons to play games on the go.

yeah I hear ya, I do think handhelds are great, I just think the mass market appeal is not longer there

Playstations 'transfarring' thingo I think is a neat idea, i feel for me at least that it would come down to a business model where I buy a PS3(or PS4) and then a Vita, then any game I buy for my PS3 comes with a code or second disc which basically gives me two copies of the game, one for the console and one for on the go

27/06/2011

Melb

Kudos: 71,333

Silence

Another reason for the decline in handhelds would be the cost of the games in compared to those on the iOS. Barely anything on the App Store is greater than $10. Compare that to the full-priced releases on the 3/DS and PSPita

27/06/2011

I'm from the Internet. Nothing I say is original.

12 3 4 5 6 Next