August 27, 2021, 6:45 am | Read time: 4 minutes
Whether it’s GameBoy, PlayStation Portable, or Nintendo 3DS–mobile gaming consoles were once all the rage, but now they’ve all been discontinued. Does classic handheld gaming belong to the past? In the TECHBOOK editorial team, opinions differ on this. What do you think?
One topic, two opinions. While TECHBOOK’s editorial director Andreas believes classic handheld gaming is unfortunately dead, editor Rita disagrees. You can find the arguments either in the video or read and vote here in the article:
Rita: “Mobile gaming consoles are far from dead!”
Have smartphones replaced mobile gaming consoles? For me, the answer is a clear no! After all, Nintendo itself has the ultimate counterexample with the Switch in its lineup. The Switch and the new Switch OLED are clearly marketed as hybrid consoles. They are both–a console for the TV and for handheld use. And for skeptics who say that TV operation means the Switch isn’t a pure mobile gaming console, I have a counterargument. It’s called the Switch Lite. The smaller version of the Switch is clearly a handheld. It doesn’t allow TV operation or the removal of Joy-Cons.
Compared to earlier mobile gaming consoles, the Switch Lite is not quite as compact, but it doesn’t need to be. Like current smartphones, the demand for larger screens has also increased over time with gaming consoles. Just think of the New Nintendo 3D XL. At the same time, despite their large screens and good technical equipment with sometimes very good graphics units, smartphones are no alternative to the classic console.
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Andi: “Handheld gaming no longer exists!”
For me, the era of handheld gaming ended with the discontinuation of the Nintendo 3DS series. Because for me, handheld gaming is something completely different from mobile gaming. It’s not just about playing on the go. Handhelds and especially their games had their own flair. They were made for the mobile gaming experience. You could jump in and out at any time. Yet you could still follow the stories well. Handheld gaming brought us milestones like Pokémon or Advanced Wars and made Tetris a global success.
The Nintendo Switch, as a hybrid console, can’t deliver that for me. The games aren’t designed for on-the-go play. They are stationary games that you can also take with you. But I don’t need super graphics on a handheld; I want suitable game concepts.
We both agree: Smartphone gaming is no alternative
First: iOS and Android still don’t have classic console games. Most mobile games are designed for short-term entertainment and can’t compete with the vast game worlds and good graphics of titles for traditional gaming consoles. The best examples are the versions of Super Mario, Animal Crossing, and Pokémon, which have nothing in common with Nintendo’s big games.
Second: In our opinion, smartphones are not well-suited for gaming. Sure, there are real gaming smartphones today with good graphics and cooling systems. Accessories like gamepads are also offered to make the gaming experience more like that of a classic gaming console. Nevertheless, smartphones are primarily phones with internet access. The lack of space alone makes it difficult to combine all smartphone components plus gaming adaptations in one device. So, in the end, it remains a compromise.
Many smartphones are heavily taxed when gaming and quickly overheat. They require special software to prevent notifications or calls from popping up during a game. All of this is far from ideal. Moreover, even with a gamepad, the controls are not really intuitive.