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Community Discussion: Handheld Gaming
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Community Discussion: Handheld GamingPosted:

theartftw
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With an engrossing form of media, that not only encompasses Sony and Nintendo, the handheld market is one that is as varied in content as it is in providers. The somewhat recently released Nintendo 3DS and Playstation Vita will both be facing stiff competition from the soon to be released Nvidia Shield and Razer Switch blade.

A Media facing death?

Smartphone games, the bane of the handheld generation. Is there room to share our collective pockets, or are the days of toting around a small console soon to be a memory? The convenience of a smartphone brings all sorts of changes to our lives, making things easier, quicker, and less of a struggle, but is it killing off handhelds? Most modern phones can run many games through various offered marketplaces, and even more software provides a user with almost infinite access to retro games for free with the use of emulation. Could this be a nail in the coffin?

Concluding question: Do handheld's have a future in gaming, as they are now?


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#2. Posted:
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No, they will forever be just a side, casual type gaming experience and consoles and PC's will stay for the hardcore gamers
#3. Posted:
Obiwon
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No I think the handheld market is slowly dying out. I think it will return in the future generations though as technology becomes more advanced.
#4. Posted:
Miss
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Not as a main console like the big systems are but, I still see them making some sort of impact. Phone games will never take over handheld console games in my opinion. Hand haled systems are just so much more better than game apps on my iPhone.
#5. Posted:
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I think the games for consoles and PCs will always be more superior.
#6. Posted:
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I still find myself playing a lot of games on my handheld consoles. There is a great backlist of games on handhelds that I never got to play until recently.

Mobile gaming will be around for awhile it seems like, and smartphone games are bringing games to a more casual audience which is also good. I like being able to play some of the games I have played as a kid on my phone without having to bring my vita or 3ds everywhere I go.

Handheld gaming may seem to be for more casual gamers, but I have multiple games were I have put in well over 100 hours into and still have content left to do.
#7. Posted:
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I say they will still have a future in gaming. I play a lot of iOS games and Nintendo 3ds games like pokemon. I dont feel like they are gonna be as big as future consoles but they will be there when we get bored or traveling.
#8. Posted:
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Yes, I do think they play a very large role in gaming. Take the newest Pokemon release by gamefreak for example, Pokemon X/Y. The game itself showed that tens of thousands of people are willing to shell out the cash for a handheld (Roughly $170-200) just to play a game. The ongoing popularity of the series is sure to continue boosting the less than stellar sales for the 3DS platform.

Game wise, not everyone likes to sit at home and play games. I'm always on the train into town, or carpooling with friends so having my handheld in my back pocket is good for passing time (The glitter on it is sure to scare off potential criminals too). The degree of handhelds price has also stayed fairly similar throughout the years. People recently went crazy over the price of the new Xbox (Little do they remember the 360 was roughly the same price), and many bought Sony's PS4 instead purely based on price. Well handheld games are even cheaper (The average handheld $200 and the game $40), and have a different outlook.

The only real problem is the technical limitations. You don't get the power of an Xbox One in a handheld the size of a Nintendo DS at this time. Also things can only get so small. Processors and memory units inside these machines can only get so small before they produce so much heat that the thing is a literal bomb. So Manufactures like Nintendo should look into more powerful systems for the money. The 3D is also very good in some games. Internet capabilities are also built in.




Another problem for getting players to switch over to these handhelds are the titles. The handheld market is fairly young-age oriented. Games like Mario, Animal Crossing, etc may be off-putting to players coming from a CoD based Console. The fact that the games aren't too violent (But god damn if their stories aren't amazing....), which may be a bit shocking to those used to games like Grand Theft auto or Battlefield for example.

However these Nintendo games also have solid followings. It really just depends on if the developers execute. And no, I do not think that mobile phones will replace handheld gaming machines simply because phones as of now are so multi-process based. They are a phone, app machine, iPod, web browser, etc, all in one. A Handheld is well...a handheld. Made for playing games first. And some Netflix and youtube things second. They do a lot more justice to the department.




So yes, I think and I hope that Handheld gaming will make a strong comeback from recent falling outs. There are great games out there for them, and I'm more than willing to shell out the money for quality titles.

tl;dr Yes :DDD

If you're wondering why I didn't mention the Vita for example, it's because I do not own these so I thought it wouldn't do justice if I criticized them.
#9. Posted:
Ilusionz
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Mobile gaming = F2P market.

F2P Market = Micro-transaction hell hole.
#10. Posted:
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Death to handheld consoles? Doesn't really seem like it to me. The 3DS outsold every other console in 2013 with a grand total of 47.2 million units sold world wide. Now granted there are a lot more smart phones out there with games but I don't think that 47.2 million is a low number. Hand held games have been with most of us since we were kids and I don't see them going away any time soon. As long as companies continue to make games for the handheld consoles that are actually good and have a demand then I see handheld consoles sticking around for a very long time. I personally bought a 3DS exclusively for just 1 game so as long as developers make games worth playing then they won't die out.

Edit: Let's talk about games for phones for a little bit. There aren't really a whole lot of games for phones that people would consider dropping $30-50 on. I honestly don't think there is a single game out there that would actually justify a price like that for a phone. Games on phones are usually there to kill time. Examples of this might include Angry Birds, Flappy Bird, Temple Run, etc... There's no real story to any of the games and you don't really get sucked into playing it for more than an hour. Handheld console games are the exact opposite of this. I could easily sit on the couch and play Pokmon or some other console game for hours on end and there would still be new stuff to do and more places to explore. Games on phones lack that and that's where the big difference is. Another big difference is microtransactions. Games on phones are filled with these little pay-to-win and pay-to-play microtransactions which I think everyone agrees on when I say that they are awful and makes you want to uninstall the game. Handheld consoles don't really deal with this sort of thing which I think helps add to it. You aren't constantly getting ads on your screen or pop ups with the option to buy in game content on handheld consoles like you are on phones. I like that a lot and it's really nice to just be able to play without getting interrupted by someone wanting my money.

Another thing, game developers for phones honestly only care about making money as fast as possible. They don't take their time to fully develop and polish a game and make it something that everyone wants to play. Content is removed from phone games and added as extra content which is something you don't see on handheld consoles. You don't see Pokmon charging you $0.99 to go onto the next town and battle the next gym leader or being able to pay $3.00 for an upgraded Pokmon. You don't see any of that. That's why handheld consoles are here to stay.
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