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[RedSwirl]

With the exception of the SD cards, the Vita was pretty much the hardcore gamer's dream hardware as far as handhelds go, and we saw how that went.

Personally I think something with the Vita's functionality could still have a chance if it wasn't a gaming-only device. That is, if it managed to be an all-purpose device. I personally thought the Vita or whatever Sony's handheld strategy was going to be should have been the company's answer to the Kindle with hardcore gaming as a bonus. That would mean more software, potentially a whole ecosystems worth of usability software. But that was probably never possible coming from Sony. Sony is a company that has often had the individual components to become a modern tech force, but never brought them together: PlayStation, Walkman, TVs, Vaio, phones, e-readers. The whole company has just never been able to unify its vision in the way Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have. Wasted potential all around.

Maybe at one point in the future once it's finished merging UWP and Xbox Microsoft will put out a Surface-like device in a Vita-like form factor. We've already got $99 tablets that can run PC Crysis at playable framerates. Microsoft's only problem is... the UWP software library right now is total shit, and developers aren't supporting it.

Nintendo? Man whatever. Even if it did put out a great piece of mobile hardware with its usual software, general-purpose usability isn't coming out of that company outside the main media streaming apps.

Android handhelds exist but the whole platform is already extremely centered around the mobile touchstones of button-less input and rock-bottom software pricing.

Ultimately the problem facing handhelds is that one can't really succeed without being an all-purpose device, but no one has really made a successful all-purpose mobile device in today's world with a good suite of buttons. It actually always kind of surprised me no one ever at least tried to sell a function-over-fashion Android device for more utilitarian users. That new Blackberry is the closest thing I can think of.

Maybe the ultimate answer will turn out to be straight-up Windows handhelds.

 

[ksdixon]

Thread Creator, you're not wrong.

The problem with these older handhelds, and why people say 'people don't want console style games on handhelds', is they've never had 1:1 button inputs.

PSP had goofy slide circles for LS/RS. Vita had an awkward back touchscreen instead of a dedicated L2/R2.

I want a PSP/Vita that can do remote play of PS4, or digital titles on it's own without hardware gimmicks and goofed-up software like NEAR that I never, ever use.

 

[A Link to the Past]

People want to play handheld games on handhelds, not worse console games on a worse console.

I think that is what really killed this handheld gen. The DS and PSP were sufficiently "weak" to the point that they couldn't replicate console games, and thus had for the most part new and different experiences. With the Vita and 3DS they can do what consoles can do, and thus a lot of series' handheld incarnations lost their identity. Like, why bother with a handheld Mario Tennis for instance if it's just the console experience? If Mario Tennis on GBC didn't have a story mode, would people like it nearly as much as they did the N64 version?

 

[PastorOfMuppets]

You know where I think the untapped market actually is? Porting PC games over to tablets and phones. There are a lot of genres on PC that are designed around the mouse and keyboard interface that are easier to transition into a touch based interface. I would love to have a lite version of Xcom 2 on my phone or tablet. You could probably translate most of the PC's popular turnbased franchises over to mobile a lot easier than cramming Call of Duty onto a Vita.

 

[Aaron D.]

You know where I think the untapped market actually is? Porting PC games over to tablets and phones. There are a lot of genres on PC that are designed around the mouse and keyboard interface that are easier to transition into a touch based interface. I would love to have a lite version of Xcom 2 on my phone or tablet. You could probably translate most of the PC's popular turnbased franchises over to mobile a lot easier than cramming Call of Duty onto a Vita.

This has been happening for some time now. Which always makes me cringe when people only equate mobile gaming with F2P garbage they see on TV ads.

You can play damn good ports of XCOM: Enemy Within, Civilization Revolution, King of Dragon Pass and more on mobile RIGHT NOW that all control wonderfully with touch. As well as more action-oriented titles that still use successful k/m to touch translations like FTL, Papers Please, Wolf Among Us, Banner Saga, etc. Add to that a whole host of original classics (Lara Croft GO, Horizon Chase, etc.) and you start to see that mobile gaming isn't some ghetto experience some believe it to be.

When I can play PC/console quality titles on my phone with no virtual buttons or IAPs to be seen, ON TOP of the functionality to take care of all of my other portable device needs, why would I buy a separate dedicated handheld? Like, I get the Enthusiast Market angle. That's fine. There's an enthusiast market for high-end digital cameras as well. But for general consumers? Mobile has you covered in ALL departments. And you don't even have to settle for s**t gaming in the process.

Much like every other dedicated portable hardware device out there, handhelds have simply outlived their usefulness in the mass-market environment. I don't think they'll disappear completely, but I do think their ubiquity will shrink and fade as their current trajectory suggests.

 

[OBias]

I'm not sure if the battery requirements for portable gaming will mesh well with the ability to play latest AAA games.

 

[Blak_Status]

It's because you weren't raised on it.

The 6-16 year old crowd grew up gaming on their parents laptops, tablets and phones, and rarely got exposed to console and handheld gaming. They are fine because they never know better. They went from Facebook games to mobile games and tablet games. They have clans in school for clash of clans and always have their phones on them. It's quicker and more accessible to them. If they want a meatier experience they play on their consoles at home.

Umm.. this is yes and no. Yeah I grew up on traditional handhelds. So I agree there. However, my nephew is 7. As far as gaming, he has a Wii U and a tablet. If he's at home, he plays his Wii U. If he's at a relative's house or something, he's playing games or watching youtubers on his tablet. However, if I'm around he wants to play with my 3DS. Is it because he prefers the 3DS over the tablet? Or does he want to play my 3DS because it's something different and doesn't own one? Maybe it's because his uncle is a gamer so he's exposed to different gaming platforms. I don't know, I've never asked him. He does want one though. But he's a kid... they want everything.

One thing I know for sure is that him and his friends value their Wii U's above all of their gaming options. He always tells me what they talk about during lunch. It's always Skylanders, the Lego Batman games, and Minecraft story mode.

 

[Kill3r7]

There is no high end handheld market. The folks who at one time would have gravitated to such devices are using smartphones and tablets. The 3DS market is basically it for handhelds. I am not sure that Sony or MS could grab a significant piece of already a shrinking pie.

I say this as someone who owns both a N3DS and a Vita.

 

[conman]

All that's needed is some combination of hardware and platform UI to blend with Android/iOS devices. Something that fits over/in/on phones and also is tied to a platform that sells and accesses games. The same way VR devices are blending with existing hardware. But I don't think dedicated handheld hardware can go much of anywhere.

 

[Tobor]

How could anyone look at this market and think there is untapped potential?

All available evidence points the other way.

 

[Weebos]

People want to play handheld games on handhelds, not worse console games on a worse console.

Hit the nail on the head for me. But I am part of the existing handheld market as an owner of two 3DS and a Vita.

Perhaps there are people who want what the OP is suggesting, I don't think so given the Vita's failure.

 

[cireza]

This is not what I am looking for in a handheld console. I want handheld specific experiences, not low quality home console games.

 

[Camwi]

But those 100 free games are nowhere near the same kinds of games I play on my handhelds.

Nor are the games I play on my Vita and 3DS anything like the games I play on my phone.

I don't think most people give a shit about the lack of quality. All that matters is the price nowadays.

 

[Comandr]

I just don't want to carry another thing. It's just something else to get lost or stolen or broken or wet or whatever while I'm on the go. As a man, my pocket space is limited. As a working adult that drives, I don't want to fill it up with some bulky ass device I will maybe use sometimes when I might have a couple minutes free in between whatever I actually left the house for.

 

[Sir Abacus]

I'm not sure if the battery requirements for portable gaming will mesh well with the ability to play latest AAA games.

Current handhelds don't even mesh well with the ability to play handheld games. I got 5 hours at best out of my stock battery on my NN3DSXL. I ended up having to get one of those Mugen batteries for the princely sum of $100 which triples it out to 15 hours. It makes it much easier to survive conventions without dragging around USB lithium bricks everywhere.

 

[Toxi]

The big problem with the handheld market is near every American adult is already carrying a small device in their pocket with which they can call and text friends, take photos, surf the web, check the time, schedule appointments, and play games.

 

[Omnii-chan]

I could go for another PSP, loved that little thing. Best handheld in my opinion. It's just a shame UMD's sucked.

PSP had no gimmicks, just a reasonably powerful handheld with a nice screen, no bullshit touch crap.

It's had it's own "handheld" games, not console ports, like Pursuit Force and Patapon and a ton of cool RPG's. So many good games on the system and it sold well.

 

[Sir Abacus]

The big problem with the handheld market is near every American adult is already carrying a small device in their pocket with which they can call and text friends, take photos, surf the web, check the time, schedule appointments, and play games.

Nokia really fucked things up for everyone. Nobody wants to be the next N-Gage.

 

[KojiKnight]

i think people especially in the US wouldnt be interested in handhelds since most of them do not travel via metro/bus/train but with their own cars. another problem is that that handheld games need to be accessible hence pick up and play. most games which feature this, arent made for dual sticks.

This. We're not going to see a resurgence of handhelds till we have self driving cars... and by the time they are common, we'll likely have a decent cell phone gaming system.

 

[Griss]

I think there is a market for such a handheld, and my evidence is simply that Nintendo would struggle to do a worse job than the 3DS launch and first year, and yet they got that really mediocre piece of kit to about 50m sales.

If the 3DS can push that in the middle of smartphone upgrade madness then a much better device could do better now that phone upgrade cycles are beginning to slow down.

The key factors:
-Hardware form factor / industrial design
-Hardware price
-Software quality
-Software price

Get those 4 things right and you'll have a marketable product that could well succeed.

There is a market for a kid friendly gaming device like the Game Boy, there always will be.

There is no market for a "serious" gaming handheld like the Vita as has been shown a thousand times.

And this is obviously true, of course.

 

[LifeBrandRobot]

Well, the Vita was hated and ignored from the moment it came out and the 3DS is like a happy meal toy so yeah, I don't think that the handheld market is living up to its full potential.

 

[Funyarinpa]

This is not what I am looking for in a handheld console. I want handheld specific experiences, not low quality home console games.

I would have agreed more had it not been the case that:

1) Quality home console level games are possible (Shin Megami Tensei IV, Killzone Mercenary)

2) "Handheld specific experience" equates to "shallow, accessible time waster built around short bursts" for so many people.

It's difficult to be a person who wants to have long bursts of story-based or atmosphere-heavy (or gameplay heavy, even) gaming in a handheld form factor. There's practically nothing except Vita and 3DS anymore, and Vita is obviously not going to get a successor.

That's just saddening, not only because they are going out with a sizzle but also people are gleefully kicking the concept of proper, worthwhile handheld games while it's down.

 

[Spiritwalker]

I think there's still a core market worth pursuing (for Nintendo), but an untapped one? Doubtful.

 

[Griss]

The point about the handheld market is that you're no longer selling a device for carrying with you. I'm not sure you ever actually were, but that's another argument. This is because people have phones, and they're not taking another device with them just to game. But the point is that I've bought every handheld console ever and I have never used one out of the home. Plenty of people bought the 3DS and I never - not once in 5 years - saw one in public. And I commuted on a train with schoolkids for a year and a half.

Handhelds are for the following:
-Playing when the TV is busy
-Playing in bed late at night
-Playing on holiday / long trips
-Playing on the crapper

All of those things are going to appeal to kids or people who don't live in their own place, obviously. If you control your own space and bedtime there's less appeal. But there's still a market there.

Even back when mobile gaming was limited to Snake and Solitaire on a Nokia 3310 I always thought there was four types of gaming:
-PC gaming (at a desk with a mouse, complicated games, srs business)
-Console gaming (on a couch, possibly with some friends, less complicated games)
-Handheld gaming (at home in bed or in a TV-less room, still less complicated that console games)
-Mobile gaming (utterly simple time-wasting style gaming on your cell phone)

Mobile has gotten so big that handheld gaming may well disappear. But I don't think we know that for sure yet. If people care about quality experiences it may well live on. The problem, of course, is that only a small proportion of the population is actually interested in gaming as anything more than a simple time-waster.

 

[outunderthestars]

I doubt people want this. What you are basically saying is you want a portable PS4 or Xbox One. Those kind of games and that experience. But that experience is made for at home on your tv, not on the go.

I don't believe that this argument holds up anymore when games like Monster Hunter, Smash Bros, Zelda ports, and other console ports/large games dominate the 3DS.

People who want an "on the go" experience just play mobile games.

 

[4Tran]

The very opposite is true: the dedicated handheld market is fully tapped out and its potential audience is ever shrinking. For too many people, a smartphone provides good enough gaming so they don't want to have an extra device in their pockets. No amount of features or games will be able to combat this, so the only question is going to be how low the floor is going to get for this market. Until we reach that floor, I'd be surprised if successor handhelds manage to retain as much as 50% of their predecessors' customers.

 

[shandy706]

Sony's Vita advertising absolutely SUCKED. Horrible at explaining what it was. Horrible at showing what you could do with it. Horrible all around job, period.

I feel the same way about the Wii U...despite not being a handheld. Horrible name. Horrible job explaining it and showing it in ads. Just awful.



I swear I could have thrown together a better ad campaign in both cases for what would have probably been much less money.

 

[Green Yoshi]

Phones are the new handheld market. The tech is getting better everyday. There will come a time in the not so distant future that phones will be able to play games of the same caliber of anything you can get on Vita or 3DS. Some of the current phone games are almost there.

I stopped playing on smartphones a few years ago. If there are highlights as Monument Valley and Hitman Go I play them, but Free2Play is dominating the market. And I literally hate Free2Play.

The tech is not the problem. There has been an Bioshock for smartphones in 2014 and it sold like shit. So it was removed from the store and isn't even compatible with newer models. Neither Vita nor 3DS are capable of running Bioshock.

Sony should sell a PS Vita for 99$ with the support of Micro SD. Perhaps this could save the future of Vita. I doubt that there will be a successor.

 

[oakenhild]

I'd be up for a good (new) handheld. Hoping NX delivers.

With two little kids, most of my gaming time is easier played in various places around the house. Hard to get locked down to one tv in the basement. I might get interrupted at any time, so something like the 3DS sleep mode is basically a requirement.

Basically, the 3DS has been a really good handheld, so just an updated N3DS would be OK with me. Price not really an issue as this is basically my console of choice.

 

[ItWillGetBetter]

Yeah no. Vita tried this approach and failed.
I doubt adding two more shoulder buttons and removing the camera is going to do anything.

And what you're describing would be expensive as hell.

Vita failed becuase
1. Memory
2. No gta, monster Hunter, Skyrim or anything like this.
3. At@t only.

If they had t mobile, sprint and Verizon too, and allowed you to buy this thing on a payment plan. It could have worked very well. Then do incremental updates year by year.

It was poorly planned. Just like the vita Playstation TV was.

 

[DFox]

Don't we have a handheld business already. Android and iOS are very successful but the control support is poor at the moment but I can actually see this change in a couple of years when most people have some kind of Android/iOS device that can be projected to there TV. (You would basically take iPad/Tablet with you and sync a Dual-Shock to it).

Sony will push out PS Now to all plattforms, it would be smart to sell native apps trough the same application. I could actually see Sony creating a PlayStation Store on Android. Maybe build a emulator for the PS4 and make a Android based Vita successor.

Microsoft on the other hand will focus on Windows 10 and will probably make it easier to developers to release there games cross all of there devices including Xbox One. So you would basically see same game running on your phone and Xbox One. It's too early to say how far they are willing to go but we could get some clarity this week already at Build 2016.

 

[diaspora]

The idea of bringing a gamepad with me is so asinine. At least a handheld is pocketable.

 

[outunderthestars]

Vita failed becuase
1. Memory
2. No gta, monster Hunter, Skyrim or anything like this.
3. At@t only.

If they had t mobile, sprint and Verizon too, and allowed you to buy this thing on a payment plan. It could have worked very well. Then do incremental updates year by year.

It was poorly planned. Just like the vita Playstation TV was.

I don't think anyone wanted a data plan for a handheld. And it is hard to say that the Vita never had games when it had Fifa, Madden, Call Of Duty, Assassin's Creed, Batman, Little Big Planet, Resistance, Resident Evil, etc.

It had games. It just so happens that the market that buys those games simply doesn't want dedicated handhelds anymore.

 

[UncleSporky]

What the heck is a "handheld specific experience?"

Full featured console-style games still sell like crazy on 3DS. Fire Emblem Fates had the best opening sales of any Fire Emblem game ever, AFAIK it's probably going to be the best selling one ever if it isn't already.

Pokemon games aren't "handheld experiences," they're full on JRPGs. Same for Bravely Default or Etrian Odyssey. Sure, they don't look as gorgeous as console games, but they aren't meant for bite size chunk play either, they last a long time and have a lot of depth.

Ports of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask have been awesome. The port of Star Fox 64 was awesome. Mario Kart 7 was awesome. Kid Icarus Uprising, Luigi's Mansion, Mario Land 3D were all great.

3DS's best games aren't "handheld specific experiences" other than to say that generally the only way you can experience them is on 3DS (stuff like Smash Bros aside). Nintendo makes exclusive games for their handheld, and takes them seriously. They are good games in their own right that people seek out because they can't play them anywhere else.

People wanted an update of OoT with better textures and frame rate and the nice touchscreen features we got. If you wanted that OoT update then you got a 3DS for it, "handheld experience" be damned.

Everyone gets hung up on this expectation that people are looking for iPhone-style games on their 3DS, but long form console-style games continue to be the platform's biggest successes, because Nintendo cares about these games and it shows.

 

[diffusionx]

Yea, you are crazy.

Nobody outside of NeoGAF and 10 year olds want to carry around a separate handheld system. It's not going to happen.

 

[outunderthestars]

What the heck is a "handheld specific experience?"

Full featured console-style games still sell like crazy on 3DS. Fire Emblem Fates had the best opening sales of any Fire Emblem game ever, AFAIK it's probably going to be the best selling one ever if it isn't already.

Pokemon games aren't "handheld experiences," they're full on JRPGs. Same for Bravely Default or Etrian Odyssey. Sure, they don't look as gorgeous as console games, but they aren't meant for bite size chunk play either, they last a long time and have a lot of depth.

Ports of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask have been awesome. The port of Star Fox 64 was awesome. Mario Kart 7 was awesome. Kid Icarus Uprising, Luigi's Mansion, Mario Land 3D were all great.

3DS's best games aren't "handheld specific experiences" other than to say that generally the only way you can experience them is on 3DS (stuff like Smash Bros aside). Nintendo makes exclusive games for their handheld, and takes them seriously. They are good games in their own right that people seek out because they can't play them anywhere else.

People wanted an update of OoT with better textures and frame rate and the nice touchscreen features we got. If you wanted that OoT update then you got a 3DS for it, "handheld experience" be damned.

Everyone gets hung up on this expectation that people are looking for iPhone-style games on their 3DS, but long form console-style games continue to be the platform's biggest successes, because Nintendo cares about these games and it shows.

Well said.

 

[zerokoolpsx]

The handheld market is tapped out and is shrinking rapidly to mobile devices. There is no more untapped potential.

 

[Joni]

There is a gap for a cheap kid system.
Like the game boy was and the Nintendo 3ds just wasn't at launch.

 

[UncleSporky]

I don't think anyone wanted a data plan for a handheld. And it is hard to say that the Vita never had games when it had Fifa, Madden, Call Of Duty, Assassin's Creed, Batman, Little Big Planet, Resistance, Resident Evil, etc.

It had games. It just so happens that the market that buys those games simply doesn't want dedicated handhelds anymore.

I think the Vita would've done much better if Sony was willing to treat it like Nintendo treated the 3DS.

They started off in that direction with Uncharted and some other decent exclusives, but I think it became obvious to a lot of people that these were being handled by B-teams and not taken as seriously as the console releases. They also tended to release in close proximity to console releases and were overshadowed by them.

Uncharted 3 was released Nov 2011 and Uncharted Golden Abyss was released Feb 2012, just a couple months apart. Compare with Mario Galaxy 2 coming out May 2010 and 3D Land in November 2011, when people were starved for more 3D Mario content, with nothing else in sight for the near future (3D World was 2013).

Heck, Mario Kart 7 was released in line with the rest of the Mario Karts, a full numbered release. Imagine if Golden Abyss was called Uncharted 4, and treated as such by the dev team!

Nintendo likes to give its handheld games time to thrive on their own. They don't release a crappy cut down version within months of a console release.

 

[diffusionx]

I think the Vita would've done much better if Sony was willing to treat it like Nintendo treated the 3DS.

They started off in that direction with Uncharted and some other decent exclusives, but I think it became obvious to a lot of people that these were being handled by B-teams and not taken as seriously as the console releases. They also tended to release in close proximity to console releases and were overshadowed by them.

Uncharted 3 was released Nov 2011 and Uncharted Golden Abyss was released Feb 2012, just a couple months apart. Compare with Mario Galaxy 2 coming out May 2010 and 3D Land in November 2011, when people were starved for more 3D Mario content, with nothing else in sight for the near future (3D World was 2013).

Heck, Mario Kart 7 was released in line with the rest of the Mario Karts, a full numbered release. Imagine if Golden Abyss was called Uncharted 4, and treated as such by the dev team!

Nintendo likes to give its handheld games time to thrive on their own. They don't release a crappy cut down version within months of a console release.

The problem with this is that everything has an opportunity cost. Nintendo feels it is worth the cost because handhelds make them so much money, but realistically having their best teams work on Mario Kart 7 means those teams are not working on Wii U games. Sony has their best teams and most resources on top console games. If they made Naughty Dog work on Vita, then Naughty Dog is not working on The Last of Us or their PS4 engine or what have you. Etc. etc.

Especially now, with the PS4 being a runaway hit, it just makes no sense to funnel resources towards a moribund platform in a shrinking market that is getting eaten alive by smartphones.

 

[djtiesto]

I think there's definitely a market for handhelds, but in the complete opposite way you describe. A very low pricepoint that would make for a nice 'impulse buy' ($99), small yet comfortable form factor, high battery life, sturdy, no bullshit, no extraneous apps/tools platform. Built for pick-up-and-play games and the occasional deeper title - i.e. what the DS and past handhelds were.

Although I do feel there's something to be said of the 'console experience on the go', and cross-play between handheld and TV. When I'm playing a GB/GBA game, it's awesome being able to play some on my big screen TV via the GB Player or Super Game Boy, and then take my SP with me and resume at work during my lunch break. This is what I'm hoping the NX ends up being...

 

[RedSwirl]

I think there's definitely a market for handhelds, but in the complete opposite way you describe. A very low pricepoint that would make for a nice 'impulse buy' ($99), small yet comfortable form factor, high battery life, sturdy, no bullshit, no extraneous apps/tools platform. Built for pick-up-and-play games and the occasional deeper title - i.e. what the DS and past handhelds were.

Although I do feel there's something to be said of the 'console experience on the go', and cross-play between handheld and TV. When I'm playing a GB/GBA game, it's awesome being able to play some on my big screen TV via the GB Player or Super Game Boy, and then take my SP with me and resume at work during my lunch break. This is what I'm hoping the NX ends up being...

I'm not sure there's a big enough base of developer support for a new handheld system that tries to be what the DS and Game Boy systems were. The GBA and DS worked because the whole Japanese game industry was able to supply them with extremely healthy libraries of exclusive games. Look at the 3DS library in comparison. It's not bad, it still get's great games from both Nintendo and some third parties, but it's nowhere close to the old days. A lot of those Japanese developers have gone to mobile. Admittedly some did just switch to PSP and Vita, and some of those could come back to the handheld NX. The NX might salvage the developer support of the 3DS and some of the Vita's, because if Nintendo is doing what we think it's doing, the whole platform is going to have the handheld as its flagship with the console as a secondary big brother. It's really the handheld experience on the big screen, but these days there has been less and less difference between Nintendo's handheld and console games. It's western AAA games that don't fit well on portable systems. Even there we're just talking about slowing down the shrinkage of the market overall.

 

[Apt101]

The Nvidia Shield tablet paired with the controller pretty much fits this niche, and provides a fast 7" tablet to boot. I can put both in my satchel and take them to the office (I know I shouldn't game on company time for what they pay me, but a lot of my work involves waiting while my scripts run, waiting for SQL statements, etc).

I love mine. I think it's only $200 for the tablet now (have to order directly from Nvidia though). I think I paid $50 for the controller.

 

[calc84maniac]

Pokemon games aren't "handheld experiences," they're full on JRPGs. Same for Bravely Default or Etrian Odyssey. Sure, they don't look as gorgeous as console games, but they aren't meant for bite size chunk play either, they last a long time and have a lot of depth.

I agree with most of your post, but I would say that many JRPGs are absolutely made for handheld experiences, especially Pokemon which has been handheld-exclusive outside of spinoffs. Who wants to grind in front of a TV? Not me.

 

[Finale Fireworker]

I agree with most of your post, but I would say that many JRPGs are absolutely made for handheld experiences, especially Pokemon which has been handheld-exclusive outside of spinoffs. Who wants to grind in front of a TV? Not me.

This.

I will never sit in front of a television and play a game like Pokemon. Honestly, if we never got a JRPG on consoles again, I wouldn't even notice.

Some games are better suited for handhelds. Passive turn-based games are the best example of this.

 

[Apt101]

This.

I will never sit in front of a television and play a game like Pokemon. Honestly, if we never got a JRPG on consoles again, I wouldn't even notice.

Some games are better suited for handhelds. Passive turn-based games are the best example of this.

I don't know. I'm enjoying a lot of turn-based RPG's on my PS4. Disgae 5 is law.

 

[RedSwirl]

Honestly I do prefer to play passive turn-based games on portable devices, but again, that depends on the market. The mainstream western market from the beginning decided that the home experience was for the most technically proficient and immersive gameplay. Turn-based is seen as something un-immersive and low-tech that draws attention to the fact you're playing a game. That's probably why all the big developers went with real-time for console RPGs.

 

[djtiesto]

I definitely prefer most genres on TV, and that most definitely includes turn-based RPGs. The handhelds are mostly seen as a compromise for me, but of course there's no denying that there are plenty of amazing handheld-only RPGs. Still, I tend to binge when I actually get a moment to play through an RPG and there's nothing appealing at looking at a handheld for 4 hours straight. The only genre I really think benefits from being on portables are VNs, since it's like having a 'book' you can take with you.

 

[RoninChaos]

I think the folks that love portable gaming on dedicated hardware will continue to shrink due to smart phones. It sucks too because I love dedicated hardware. I was playing my GBA earlier this evening.

 

[Atomski]

People just want a handheld they can trust.. Which is by Nintendo.

No one will trust Sony on the handheld market ever again.