jawa asks... What is your all-time favourite handheld games console?

I'm not criticising your reasoning! Just drawing a comparison.

I'm criticising your reasoning for getting into the DS and 3DS later though.

Hey, I bought and played Ghost Trick, what more do you want from me?

It to be in all your top tens ever, what else?

Probably the PSP, such a great library. The 2000 & 3000 models were gorgeous too.

Obviously you had to rip your UMDs and put them on memory sticks to avoid that horrible noise from the discs.

DS is a very close 2nd though.

OrangeRKN wrote:
jawaX wrote:...I have never used a PSP and it seemed like a bit of an oddity; a powerful system but (and this is from an outsiders perspective!) with relatively few must-have games. It felt like they were trying to make slightly cut-down PS2 games run on the system when they perhaps should have made dedicated PSP games. Of course, the machine had a long life (thanks, Japanese fans!) and saw a huge range of games in the end.

I do wish their had been more promotion of the Vita; and a successor! It's strange how Sony couldn't quite crack the portable gaming market as it had with the home consoles.

I think the PSP should be considered a success - certainly moreso than the Vita. The PSP sold 80 million units, more than the 3DS and almost exactly the same as the GBA ... (lots of good and well-made points here) ...I hope I've made a convincing argument for it not being a niche console with few worthwhile games in its library!

Orange, I appreciate your strong and constructive response, dude! I do agree with the fact that the PSP sold well and that it did have some good games... although ("BUT!") I do also think - from my "never used it" perspective - that it wasn't a stand-out system. It did a lot of things reasonably well rather than hitting a home run in a couple of areas. Sales figures are, I feel, hard to assess as time passes. As an example, for me the Xbox 360 stomped all over the PS3 during the bulk of that particular console generation - it was only in the twilight years that the PS3 started to look good next to the 360 and overtook it in global sales. One can now look at Wikipedia to check the sales and say that PS3 won... but, in my eyes, the 360 won out in terms of being the best place to play games for (most of) that gen.

The PSP was a monster (

) success in Japan but it never felt like it had quite the same sort of recognition elsewhere. IMHO there maybe weren't enough "big hitter" games built for the system; although I accept that things like Locoroco very much were and looked great!

The good thing about these votes is that we can all get our perspective and points across. We all have a fondness for certain systems and maybe not as much for others... but it's cool to hear the different angles :-)

.

OrangeRKN wrote:The PSP - I don't think there will ever be a greater jump between generations than going from a GBA (basically a handheld SNES) to a PSP (basically a handheld PS2). For all its flaws the PSP just had a hell of a load of character and I probably consider it the "coolest" gaming console. It played games of course (proper, 3D home console worth games!), it played music, it played movies, it even had a web browser! In 2005. The iphone came out in 2007!

Some of my best gaming memories are with the PSP. Some of my favourite games are on PSP. It's the PSP

Preach on brother!

My three choices are GBA, DS and PSP.

Gameboy, GBA and Vita for me.

Gameboy has the most play time and nostalgia, plus is the home to link's awakening. However, I probably got the most play time out of my GBA, which was like carrying a supercharged SNES around with me. Saved me from a LOT of boredom when on a year in NZ working.

Vita was like having a ps4 before the ps4 existed. I loved it.

I went for GBA, Vita and something else.

The GBA SP to be precise was just the home of so many awesome games, plus it's the console that introduced me to Fire Emblem, it also had 3 great Castlevania games and 2 metroid games.

The Vita was just a lovely bit of kit and not the first place I played a Disageia game but the place I really got into them

The something else is my Powkiddy Q90 I play so much megadrive and Mame stuff on it and love every second I spend with it, it's grown on me more and more.

Gameboy
The original, and pre-cursor to all my Nintendo gaming. Great games for the time, with the added bonus of nostalgia.

DS Lite
The updated form factor was so good and it had so many great and unique games. Plus it wasn't region locked so didn't have to wait on releases. I got a 3DS subsequently but never really played it; my son is getting plenty of use from it now though.

Switch
On its way to being my fave of the lot; I've really started to get into Switch gaming since the start of the Year. The fact it can be docked is great too.

A Vita and Everybody's Golf is my idea of heaven.

Gameboy, basically a Pokemon machine.

Gameboy Advance: basically a Pokemon and Metroid remake machine.

DS, basically Phoenix Wright and Pokemon machine.

Vita: Everybody’s Golf Machine.

Of course I play other games but I sure play all those more frequently.

Only ever owned Game Boy's and the DS, so i voted for the GB, GB color, and GB Advance.

Impossible to choose. Maybe it's because handheld devices just feel so much more personal but I've loved every single handheld equally.

Last edited by Ironhide on Sat Jul 31, 2021 8:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I had a Gameboy but never really bothered with it beyond a few games (Mainly Tetris, Super Mario Land 2 and Wario Land) and didn't get another handheld until the GBA which I bought purely to be able to play the various ports of the SNES games I previously hadn't played (didn't have a SNES) and was incredibly impressed with it and in part was the reason I eventually bought a Gamecube having previously never bothered with Nintendo.

Edit: I did have a handheld before the GBA, the NeoGeo Pocket Color (stupid US spelling) for which I had a single game, Samurai Shodown 2 which was pretty decent but the main problem I had was that I couldn't find anywhere nearby that actually sold a decent selection of games for it and I just stopped using it.

These 3 for me..

I still have a number of DS's/DSi's around and a Gameboy Colour (Lime) and my daughter always uses her Red OG 3DS.

Ironhide wrote:...the NeoGeo Pocket... for which I had a single game, Samurai Shodown 2 which was pretty decent but the main problem I had was that I couldn't find anywhere nearby that actually sold a decent selection of games for it and I just stopped using it.

. I have disgraced myself by not including a dedicated vote option for the NG Pocket! I've never used one but recall seeing it on the shelves of MVC stores. I really liked the hyper-chunky game cases and I came close to picking up the system... but stuck it out with my GBC in the end. It looked to be a cool system but it was around for such a short time here in the UK; maybe eighteen months IIRC?

Thanks for mentioning it and triggering the memories!

KjGarly wrote:These 3 for me..

I still have a number of DS's/DSi's around and a Gameboy Colour (Lime) and my daughter always uses her Red OG 3DS.

That's a good shot, Kj! The Vita looks so chunky there! The New 3DS consoles were a real step up from the previous models in terms of feel, the extra nub and the 3D effect; it's a shame that they arrived right at the tail end of the system's popularity.

Having tried a standard 3DS but owning a New 3DS, I cannot imagine actually playing in 3D on an original model. The better head tracking makes such a huge difference.

OrangeRKN wrote:Having tried a standard 3DS but owning a New 3DS, I cannot imagine actually playing in 3D on an original model. The better head tracking makes such a huge difference.

The New version of 3D was a real upgrade; it was far more stable and (for me) significantly reduced the eye strain. The New 3DSs work well and look dang fine, too :-).

I must have missed this one. I love my Vita but there isn't enough games for it and it wasn't supported either. The 3DS and DS were great handhelds but I always liked the size of the DS Lite and it looked nice too.

I would have voted Switch, even though it's a hybrid console the games, screen and controls are how I want handhelds to be in the future, I can see where the Stream handheld got their ideas from.

jawa asks... What is your all-time favourite handheld games console?

What is your all-time favourite handheld games console?

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