Is handheld gaming underrated?

[Igor-Rowan]

Let me get this out of the way, I am not talking about mobile gaming, I am talking about the devices built with gaming in mind, since phones aren't like that I'm ruling them out for another future topic. Also I tend to go off topic on ocasion, so be sure to call me out if it happens.

I have been noticing a few patterns in current years, games that are awarded best of the year, on top 10 best lists and such, there have been few handheld games. Then in events like E3 the big announcements that get the crowds roaring are PC and Console games, but handhelds receive a round of applause at most.

Let's go for a quick example, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Playstation) and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow(Game Boy Advance), the best Castlevania games according to Ben Yahtzee and people in general. Yet, when people think of the quintessential Castlevania game, they mention SotN without ever mentioning AoS, in fact they completely ignore all GBA and DS titles when talking about Castlevania going downhill.

Then there are franchises like Sonic, Okami, Metroid, GTA, God of War, Spyro; that unlike some others (Crash Bandicoot, Banjo-Kazooie, Conker) did have critically acclaimed games released for the portable devices, however they are usually dismissed as a spin-off or a non-canonical game. The portable devices kept Sonic and Castlevania alive, and GTA: Chinatown wars is considered one of, if not the best, Nintendo DS game; yet when ranking the best games, the handheld titles are dismissed because they aren't as big as their counterparts.

That's my theory, since these games don't have high prodcution values, that must mean they don't have much to them. The popular genres on the AAA market currently are: FPS online mutiplayer, open-world sandboxes and action games in general. None of these can go hand-in-hand with a handheld seamlessly (look at MGS: Snake Eater port for the 3DS). Yet, RPGs, both traditional and JRPGs seems to be thriving on the handhelds: Monster Hunter, Mario & Luigi series, Xenoblade 3D, Fire Emblem (I wish its brother Advance Wars came back) and Monster Hunter, etc. Then we have the genres that survived because of the handheld market: Platformers, Turn-based tatics games, bullet hell, Metroidvania genre (despite a lack of them in a while).

Then the handhelds have problems the consoles simply grew out of: the 3DS has almost no function other than gaming, it still uses cartridges and has the power of a GameCube, and the Vita has no backwards compatibility, overly-priced SD cards built in for it and developers realized early on that investing HD graphics on a small screen may not be a good idea.

However there are multiple examples of handheld gaming reaching the popularity and even depth of a console release. Want a RPG with a really deep story? Try Mother 3. Want a survival horror? Try Dementium the Ward or Metroid Fusion. Want a action RPG overflowing with content? Monster Hunter it is. Most of the bases were covered at some point, but they seem to have stopped trying.

So what do you guys think? Is handheld gaming underrated? Should it be looked down upon compared to console and PC gaming? Or am I over-analyzing it because of the drought of handheld games recently?

 

[Saelune]

I hate handheld gaming even more than console gaming. So many games limited by inferior hardware and tiny screens.

Have fun lugging your desktop in a car and playing that.

 

[Story]

Yeah I'd say so.
There are several reasons why this could be in my opinion.
1. In a marketing culture constantly boasting about how realistic graphics are, portabile games cannot achieve the same level as console games due to hardware limitations. I think the only execution the psp/psvita line but even those where compared to their home console counter parts. So my guess people are less likely to talk about them becuase of that.
2. Only 2 of the big three companies (Nintendo and Sony) are actually in that market. So less of the hardcore crowd pay attention to the platform. Sony's psp did fairly well while the go and vita didn't so much and Nintendo, well they have are underrated rep to me in general for the next reason why handhelds are underrated.
3. Handheld gaming is considered just for or mostly for kids. I think we can just chuck this up to Nintendo's hold on the market and their reputation of just being for kids or just nostalgic adults.
4. People look to their cellphones nowadays instead of dedicated systems. iOS games being more simplistic are cheaper to develop and also considered not real games to some people in spite of some actually good titles. Which is why they are underrated as well. Ironically more people probably game more than ever becuase of iOS games.

Personally I love handheld gaming I probably play more on my handheld consoles than my home consoles at the moment.

 

[FalloutJack]

I'm going to go with no, but state that those who created them sometimes make poor decisions about them. Oh, let's see... Creating PS Vita too soon after the acceptance and regular-use of the PSP set in with few games and no real backwards compatibility. 3DS, despite being a wonderful-sounding system, apparently can be remotely bricked for reasons that Nintendo sees fit, which to me is a power-play problem in of itself PLUS the fact that nobody's infalliable, which means that there are probably people who get their 3DS shut down accidentally with no apology, no replacement, and no refund. Microsoft hasn't attempted to make an X-Bit or whatever you'd call it if they did...yet. That's actually good news, but you know it won't last, and it'll be every bit the copyware their tech was to Sony's in the first place.

 

[wings012]

How many games are made better by the fact they are handheld?

Portability isn't a huge plus. Local multiplayer isn't a huge plus anymore, with internet everywhere.

Phones and their simplistic games suit having a quick fix on public transport, random waits or otherwise.

A gaming experience is overall improved by having better hardware and in a more comfortable location.

You can cite handheld exclusive games that were great, but would they not have been better at home with better specs?

 

[infohippie]

Mobile gaming is really the only worthwhile direction for portable gaming to take. People should not have to lug multiple mobile devices around with them. Nearly everyone has a good general-purpose computing device with them already in the shape of a smartphone. Now we just need storage and processing power of smartphones to continue improving as they have been. There should be no reason at all to carry a phone, a DS, a PSP, and whatever other gaming device you might want to add when you can just install all your games on your phone and only have one physical device to deal with.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

As soon as someone can make a phone with a D-Pad and some buttons, I think Mobile gaming as a unit is dead.

I mean I've own a 3DS since november. I've barely touched the damn thing.

 

[JCAll]

I play handhelds more than anything else. Even at home. You're not rooted in one place, and also not taking up TV/PC time the rest of the family might want. Mobile is still garbage, though.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

I think as long as one keeps the limitations of the platform in mind, the DS/Vita is a good place to develop certain games: I know if I wanted to make an old-school 2D platformer then I'd be looking their first rather than the X1 or PS4.

 

[Mister K]

I think as long as one keeps the limitations of the platform in mind, the DS/Vita is a good place to develop certain games: I know if I wanted to make an old-school 2D platformer then I'd be looking their first rather than the X1 or PS4.

Or Visual Novels. Or high quality JRPG's that focus more on story, characters and gameplay than on beauty. Puzzle games are great on handhelds too.

Also I hate touch controls for games with a passion, so there is that.

 

[Maximum Bert]

A good game is a good game and I dont believe handheld gaming is underrated more so than perhaps overlooked by many.

Personally I do not like handheld gaming much simply because of the tiny screen size and limitations in hardwear. There have been games I have enjoyed a lot on handheld but with every one of them I was always thinking damn I wish I could play this on a home console or PC.

As for mobile gaming I havent touched it since Snake on the old Nokias its really not my thing I would rather read a book (since I like reading) when I am out and about than game on a mobile device.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Ever since I lost my DSi I've really missed having it. There's a lot of cool games that work very well on a mobile platform that I don't like playing on regular consoles or a PC, mostly JRPGs for me. Not on my phone either because gaming drains its battery like there's no tomorrow, and I got more important things to do on that thing.

I recently rediscovered my PSP though. Though not really as a PSP, but as a SNES emulator. It's ridiculously easy and rewarding to emulate old stuff on that thing.

 

[Saelune]

Mobile gaming is really the only worthwhile direction for portable gaming to take. People should not have to lug multiple mobile devices around with them. Nearly everyone has a good general-purpose computing device with them already in the shape of a smartphone. Now we just need storage and processing power of smartphones to continue improving as they have been. There should be no reason at all to carry a phone, a DS, a PSP, and whatever other gaming device you might want to add when you can just install all your games on your phone and only have one physical device to deal with.

I'm more likely to take my 3DS than my phone. Plus phone gaming is well...there is no phone gaming. Plus just as fast food hasn't toppled the restaurant business, neither will "mobile gaming" topple actual portable gaming devices. Plus Pok?mon.

 

[Sharia]

Not underrated, more overlooked and underappreciated.

Handheld gaming almost saved last generation for me. I saw so many good games and beloved franchises pick up a lot of bad habits during the last gen and I quite honestly didn't like the way gaming was heading in general. The handhelds however felt like an extension to the 5th and 6th generation and pumped out a ton of great exclusives that filled my top games each year.

Some people think only of the tech sadly, and they let a lot of great games slide on by, but it doesn't matter, great handheld games are still pumping out at an alarming rate. Only counting full, physical releases, I have around 30+ games on my 3DS now, and another 30+ on my Vita.

 

[The Enquirer]

I think it's right about where it belongs. There's some really good releases for it and some really terrible ones that ultimately make it a questionable purchase.

 

[Saelune]

I hate handheld gaming even more than console gaming. So many games limited by inferior hardware and tiny screens.

Have fun lugging your desktop in a car and playing that.

If I did want to play on the go, I'd emulate old games. But I don't. I'd rather play those games on an adequately sized screen.

...have fun lugging around your desktop? Fail to see how emulating games makes your PC portable. And screen size is relative to how close it is. My TV is way bigger than my computer screen, but I'm also farther away from it. When I play on my 3DS its even closer to my face than my computer would be. But you're the one missing out not me.