Hot handheld game consoles were introduced at the beginning of the last decade. Sony arrived in 2011 with the PlayStation Vita, and Nintendo, a long-time competitor of this company, presented the Wii U to gamers. Previously, the successes of the portable PlayStation and the Wii console, in addition to both Japanese giants in video games, had given fans hope for great success.
Unfortunately, the fate of these two newer consoles was not so clear. The fans’ expectations were dashed, and not only did the mentioned handheld consoles sink into a deep quagmire, but the entire handheld console market experienced a great decline. Many analysts and companies believed that the popularity of smartphones had left no room for the growth of handheld consoles.
Although such arguments seemed logical, Nintendo revived this market again with the launch of the Switch handheld console. On the other side, Velo surprised everyone with the successful launch of Steam Deck, contrary to expectations.
Now we hear that other companies like Sony have plans to re-enter this field. But what’s going on? Continue reading our article in Arium as we discuss whether the golden age of handheld consoles is over or if we are witnessing the end of one era and the beginning of another.
Smartphones revolutionized handheld game consoles
The PlayStation Vita was a good handheld game console. Everyone believes that Sony could have designed and implemented better programs for the success of this console. However, every time these debates are on, Sony puts most of the blame on smartphones. Of course, we all know that the launch of the Vita happened at the glowing time of smartphones.
Phones, which have now become an inseparable part of our lives, proved simultaneously that they are here to conquer the future. But when we look at it from another point of view, we realize that their emergence was a bad medicine that the handheld console industry had to taste. In the next step, companies and gamers should understand that the mobile platform will not convey the experience of handheld consoles to the audience.
As we said, contrary to the existing idea, mobile cannot be a full-fledged gaming product for the general public, and there is no need for it. Even now, mobile phones are a common device for more than half of society. They use this device to have fun in the subway and taxi the easiest way. Likewise, mobile games have yet to survive on handheld consoles. A big hit to the industry was just what needed to happen to solidify this attitude.
People respect the functionality of different products again
In the same glory, with the excitement and interest formed in the phones, everyone was looking to throw away other products. Every IT website hosted an article that pointed to the end of various eras: the end of the computer, the watch, the television, and even the book. But why? Because phones had become smart and had various uses. Time is the greatest teacher and once again taught humanity how wrong it is.
Smartphones failed to throw other consumer, household, and everyday products into the dustbin of history but showed what features they should have in the new age. With the expansion of mobile phones, the world of technology reached an ambitious concept of a smart ecosystem, of which the smartphone was the first step. For example, people understand the benefits of using a laptop, why tablets will continue to exist, and finally, what handheld game consoles have their miracle.
For example, phones don’t have a handheld console’s exclusive buttons and features. Also, we shouldn’t forget the bigger screen. On the other hand, handheld consoles come with the manufacturer’s support, including exclusive games and online services. AAA or even independent console games are undoubtedly different from hyper-casual mobile works.
Cloud service; A friend who remains unknown
The ubiquity of cloud services created a way for weak devices like mobiles to run the best games.
Some think that the time for handheld consoles and overall heavy hardware will be over with cloud services. On the contrary, the emergence of cloud services sometimes eliminated the need for hardware but increased the demand for other services. Next, these same services are the birthplace of additional hardware.
For example, despite its positive features, Nintendo Switch cannot run all AAA games natively. Many big games, including Control, are based on cloud servers running on it. The Xbox Games Ultimate service also offers this feature. Take your phone and play console games on it. A new question arises: has this not affected the handheld console market?
And comes handheld gaming computers…
In answer to the previous question, only one word is enough: No, cloud services have only changed the old way of using hardware. Now we have handheld consoles and, on the other hand, gaming computers like Logitech G Cloud Gaming that work entirely based on cloud gaming.
Even Steam Deck Velo can use cloud services and its high processing power to expand its sphere of influence. Sony’s next handheld console, expected to be announced soon, will likely lack the feature of running native games.
So, at the same time that many events at first glance indicate that we should forget handheld game consoles, several other events are happening. First, cloud services have come to help in this area. Second, the functionality of such consoles has been proven and differentiated more than in the past; And third, the success of portable PCs like the Steam Deck confirms that a new-age handheld PC can do the trick. How about you, don’t you agree with us?
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