Handhelds are dead the future is here

You're funny.

a port is still a port, the games i mentioned were made for that platform exclusively

@The_Last_Ride: Regardless of whether it's a port or not, it's the same game. And Baldur's Gate 2 was made on iOS concurrently with the Windows and Mac clients.

With the rate at which mobile devices are progressing, any new generation of handheld device is going to look ancient fast.

You still can't find experiences i just mentioned on them

I find it a bit ironic that one of the 3 games you use as an example is a port (P4 Golden). But just like with P4, being able to play games like xcom, kotor, shadowrun returns, FF 1-6, Anomaly Korea/2, etc. on the go is fantastic. Or having the convenience of not having to carry an extra device with you to play great games like Ghost Trick, FF Theater Rhythm, Ace Attorney 1-3, etc. Not to mention original games like the Room 1/2, Devils Attorney, Layton Brothers, (X) story series, Little/Great Big War game (good strategy games like FE:A), Ridiculous Fishing, Badlands, Rayman Jungle Run/Fiesta Run, etc.

Mobile devices are indeed progressing, and for me, has completely replaced the need for handhelds. And I'm not the only gamer who feels this way. The handheld market is shrinking at a faster rate than I originally anticipated. Despite Nintendo releasing its heavy hitters and multiple hardware revisions. 3DS hardware sales are trending downward and will probably struggle reaching half of DS's sales. PS vita will be lucky to reach a 1/4 of PSP's sales. Personally, I attribute this to the great strides mobile gaming has made in the past 3 years and $15-20 games found on PSN, XBLA, Steam, etc. Nintendo is having trouble convincing consumers that their handheld games are worth with the $40 admission. Not sure if they'll continue riding this train 'til it falls apart or change their strategy... We all know they can't rely on console sales to make up the difference in lost revenue once the rug is pulled from under their handheld business.

I can't tell if people are feigning obliviousness or not.

It's almost like listening to soccer moms talking about how their kid likes to "play on the nintendo".

Haha no.

Complete foolishness. People only play quick casual games on their phones. No one I know play REAL games on a phone.

Which is probably why the 3DS is nearing 40 Million+ units to date lol

Have fun with your half-assed games and micro-transactions.

It might be a port, but it's still exclusive and still an extensive experience compared to most of the mobile gaming library. There isn't anything that can really compare to either game i mention

Actually the 3DS is proof that a dedicated handheld can co-exist with mobile devices in the handheld gaming market. If you're talking about the Vita only, then I'd agree with you.

A number of people who play games also prefer physical buttons for gaming. There still hasn't been a standardized method of playing mobile games with a dockable controller. There's still a market out there for people who want a dedicated handheld, the companies just have to adapt to changing pricing models.

The problem with the mobile gaming market is the prevalence of cheap games ranging from $1-$10. Sorry but developers who want to create new complex and great games and not short length or money grabbing games would rather go for PC and other digital distribution. This is why smartphones are just getting ports of games (Ghost Trick, GTA SA, etc.) especially old ones and just spin offs of great games like Deus Ex and Dead Space. This is because it's a cheaper way of game development. Put a $25 price tag on a game on iPhone and no matter how great it is, there's a fat chance it would sell well unless it's a Mario game (sorry it's not coming to smart phones).

Besides, the Japanese developers rule handheld game development ever since. Western developers shunning handhelds doesn't really matter much at all. Whoever games on handhelds is at least a fan of a Japanese game. I don't think that Western developers were able to create great handheld games before the advent of smartphones (GBA and DS era) aside from a select few like Scribblenauts devs. In other words, unless Japanese developers abandon handhelds, they are not going anywhere anytime soon.

My friends, if you are a core gamer for handhelds, pc or consoles you absolutely do not want Mobile games to the future.

Publishers want it. They want to scam the utter **** out of you.

@treedoor: Gamestick? I haven't researched the Gamestick but basically it plugs into the TV. It will revolutionize gaming.

A game's complexity is not determined by its platform but by its design. A mario platformer isn't more complex than simulators, strategy games, or puzzlers providing a cerebral experience that are found on mobile. Unless you associate production values and/or a game's gamplay loops (the amount of time it takes the player to accomplish something) with complexity. Handheld are meant to be played in short bursts. Resident Evil Revelations for instance was designed to be played in 10-15 minute chunks. Super Mario Land 3d game play loop is < 1-3 minutes to complete a stage or < 10-12 minutes to finish a world. Console ports available on handhelds and mobile platforms are usually the only games that don't follow this rule, and instead rely on auto-battle, auto-save or more places to save your progress.

Maybe not in japan (train transportation is huge there), but in other markets... What happens when the amount of people willing to buy handhelds and its software dips to the point where releasing it in markets outside japan is no longer financially viable? 150 mil > 75 mil > 30 mil (??) > 15 mil (??)

Things are trending downward. The question is if the handheld market will still be a viable for all players involved (3rd party), or like with Nintendo consoles, just for Nintendo.

You can play dreamcast games lots of fun

You still can't get a game like those i mentioned, because nobody wants to buy them on the phone. There is a reason people have bought gameboys, psp's and similar handhelds all these years. They want something that's only for games. The same can be said about consoles. People said they were dead last year because pc was vastly superior and better. Still people buy them. As long as the games are good enough, there will be games and hardware for it

Having graphics that surpass 360/PS3 level in mobile phones means jack sh!t as Handheld Consoles are here to stay and will continue to co-exist with Handheld PC's (Smartphones)

Wow I have never seen such a defence for handheld gaming. Are people that threatened by the FACT that "mobile" gaming is advancing far quicker than the traditional handheld?

Mobile gaming makes sense to become the next step for handheld gaming. Its very much like having a decent camera in your phone. Do you really need a £1000+ DSLR to take photos all the time? Not really and your rather good camera in your phone makes it easier to do all the things you want to do with the pictures such as upload them to social media stuff etc.

To say "traditional handheld gaming devices are hear to stay and that is that" is truely short sighted. Imagine if Nintendo decided to add what is basic phone functionality to their next DS. That would be essentially a "mobile" gaming device, not a DS with a phone.

Sure the touchscreen interface sucks for most games. However no doubt there will come a time when add'ons are acceptable and easy to use. The move of technology is going towards the all in one hardware hub + online service i.e "Cloud".

in terms fo the guts of these devices they are very interesting and will provide plenty of poke. they clearly outclass the vita and 3DS.

i do hope someone actually makes a proper gaming phone though and backs it with a proper development push.

the idea of actually playing a game on tablets and phones is insulting. the content is dire....it really is awful. the amount of crapware on them makes the wii look like it had nothing but AAA top notch titles. there is not a single game i have found that i would like to play on a tablet or phone. they are poor gaming devices.

the vita still sets the standard as the best mobile gaming device on the planet (hardware speaking). i do hope someone can do better but that would mean going againt the slate design. oooooo scary. its the only way they will work properly as gaming devices though.

having external controllers and all that crap is unacceptable for a mobile gaming device (the 3DS gets enough flack for its nub addon and rightfully so).

I'm pretty sure the 3DS is doing fine, thanks for asking.

When I said complex games, I meant games that aren't similar to Angry Birds and Flappy Bird. Mario games are more complex than this kind of games. Even for shmups, smartphones can only boast ports of excellent old shmups. Have you ever seen a game that was built for smartphones from the ground up that can match the quality of handheld games? And when I said length I did not mean the amount of time to finish a level or two but the entire game and not in the arcade style of Flappy Bird.

PC and digital distribution market (consoles and handhelds) are more attractive and viable for indie devs who are looking to create a unique experience and a great game because of the saturation and pricing of the mobile game market. It is only good for cheap games (ports and spin offs and arcadey) and once you try to make a "The Swapper" or "LIMBO" or "FEZ" kind of game on smartphones, it's gonna be hard to make it sell well.

I don't get all the mobile gaming hate I see. People said there was no games. People said the controls suck. People said there was no storage. I post videos to answer all the questions and still people would rather waste money on handhelds. It's like old people who walk around with a point and click camera and calculator. Cell phones have the best displays and you carry them everyplace so why not game on them??

Carrying a big ass controller just to play games on a phone is a bit much. Also why would I want to drain my battery with games running that engine. By the time I need to make an emergency call the battery will be dead.

maybe because the handhelds offer better games..sorry but games on mobiles are pretty trashy atm.

They also have to remake the game to make it cheaper and actually getting money out of it with microtransactions

You can buy

1. A extra battery

2. A case with battery built in

3. A controller with a battery built in

Hell you can do all three and you still can charge in your car or any place with an outlet. I know my english is not great but I think this is barney style. You have the snes/n64/ps1 and dreamcast all working on android perfectly. There is even apps to download the bios and roms in the play store. Not to mention all the free games from candy crush to real racing 3.

Now people say hey I don't like touch screen buttons so I show them the mogo controllers. I even show them amazon has a microsdxc 128gb for 119 bucks. Now people talking about battery life. It seems like people just invent excuses NOT to use their phone to game on. They would rather spend 200 bucks on a handheld then spend even more on games. Walking around with a 3ds/vita and games and extra battery/charger.

Are Next Gen 3DS/VITA/Mobiles Capable of Being "Multi-Platforms" Due to "Diminishing Returns"?

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/system-wars-314159282/are-next-gen-3ds-vita-mobiles-capable-of-being-mul-30913207/

There's no doubt that mobile gaming would be heavier in the future but in the near future, I don't think there's gonna be too much of a positive change.

Until $ 29.99 and up softwares are closing the Consoles territory stats, the scene might not change much from the current most popular prices of Free/Microtrans and around $ 7.99 budget mobile titles.

I do see a bigger change 3-4 years from now with Steam (actual PC-not-ripped-off-mobile game) on True/Full Windows Mobile platforms.. or I can see Apple with a good push if they really wanted to (will they go x86?).

Majorly surprised with today's 8" Full Windows tablets. I just wish AMD would get in the mobile scene.

Wonder what happened to them.. X1/PS4 CPUs are basically some sort of tablet-planned CPUs (in an APU).

The 3DS will still have a success IMO and the VITA successor has a glimpse of hope one way or another (reasonably priced, perpetually updating VITA hardware for Cloud Gaming/PS5 interaction outside what its been doing today).

IMO the problem is the demographic not the hardware. Many people that buy a high end smart phone are NOT gamers. Then you look at the 3ds and it has a much smaller install base but it's all gamers. Also smart phone tech improves every 6 months vs a stable platform like the 3ds.

Sony tried to merger cell phones and handhelds with the xperia play but the hardware was not good enough. Still I have more than enough games for my phone with all the emulators and it's free. The next gen cell phone gpu's this year are 64 bit and can address 8gigs of ram with 360+ GFLOPs of power. That is like having a 360/ps3 in your pocket. By 2016 if the trend holds cell phones will have next gen console power with 4k displays. I hope that by then the mobile gaming market will stabilize and we will get ports of console games or pc games at steam prices.

i have ip5s and note3 and although the graphics are nice, touchscreen sux big time. I'll stick to my vita thank you.

As long as the primary demographic for portable games continues to be children there will always be room for a sub $200 dedicated device. Not every kid is going to be carrying a note 3, iphone 5s, htc one, or xperia. Yes even modest current phones or older flagships like a gs3 or a 4s are more capable than even a vita but the devs that make those awesome ds/3ds/psp/vita games know that pops or moms won't give up their phone to jr. so he can get a 5 hour bravely default session in so those parents will feel disinclined to purchase such an app on a phone but wouldn't even bat an eye at the same product with a price premium for a handheld. I can't help but imagine people purchasing these very powerful smart phones primarily want a communication device, good media capabilities are a plus and gaming is just the cherry top as much of the marketing for these devices is focused on ease of use, speed of the device, connectivity, features, media with gaming capabilities barely a bulletpoint . They are also trying to sell you an eco system and they don't care if you are buying books, music, movies, or games as long as you just buy something. If you are buying a smartphone as a gaming device then you don't need one, your needs are served elsewhere and better. Phones will not kill portable gaming; with that said it will continue to expand and even outgrow dedicated devices in gaming profits if it hasn't done so already but there will continue to be a need for an inexpensive entry point solution for the youngins or young at heart even if the software is pricier. I say this even as an avid mobile gamer. I find it somewhat funny that the best gaming to be had on a phone is through flawed 5-10 year old ports of portable games that struggle to compete with freemium/f2p or dollar apps just due to the sheer number of the latter that is often garbage that was developed in 3 weeks hoping to fleece the ill informed (though a few standouts like gameloft or kairosoft are rather talented at different ends of the mobile spectrum.)

You do realise you can use controllers right?

You need a fairly high end PC just emulate PS2 games still. These phones will not be emulating PS3 or Xbox 360. Now a phone in 4-5 years might.

system exclusive titles can keep any system alive, but I have to agree, tegro looks insanly cool

I was talking to one of my friends who I got into mobile gaming and he bought up a point I had not considered. People want a device they can turn on and play barney style. For example the dreamcast emulator you need to put some files on the sd card after you create a folder and sub folder. He was too lazy to look up the info and find the files. The ps2 emulator again he was too lazy to look up the info and make some minor mods to the code. He also needed the ps2 bios files and to create a folder and sub folder. He was too lazy to look for roms or even to rip the files from his ps2 dvd's.

Even when I told him what to do and what apps to get on the play store he still called saying it's not working. He said he would pay me just to do what he could do himself for free. Personally I don't get it but for some reason people hate to look for stuff even when it will benefit them. They would rather spend money on a handheld. Then let Sony and Nintendo tell them what games they can buy and for how much.

For me, the problem is twofold. First, the smart phone costs an outrageous amount of money that I'm simply not willing to pay just to game on a tiny screen. Secondly, piracy is highly immoral, and I'm an ethical person.

1. A nexus 5 with sprint 2 year contract is 50 bucks less than the price of a game with a 800/330 chipset and kitkat 4.4 the battery is meh. . The vita is best handheld screen 960x544 with a ppi of 221 vs the n5 1080x1920 ppi is 445.

2. Emulation is not illegal or immoral if you own the games. Not to mention there are good games for free in the store. You can of course choose to do otherwise and take your chances.

1. No thanks on the 2 year contract.

2. That seems like a lot of money just to play games I already own.

Nobody is twisting your arm here you complained about the price and the price is much cheaper than a handheld. The games are free. If you can't afford 50 bucks then you should not be playing video games period.

I'll stick with my Vita.

It's not really $50, though. The cost of the phone is built into the contract. In most cases, it is actually quite a bit cheaper to just pay the full retail cost of the phone and get service without a contract than it is to take the contract deal.

LMAO! 200 bucks for a memory card, no thanks. And no thanks on the contracts and 600 buck phones. I'll stick with a console.

Wow 128gb in a size smaller than my pinkie fingernail for 119 bucks. Yet your crying how clueless can you be??

As for the price of phones you get what you pay for your walking around with a mini pc,a point and shoot camera and universal remote plus a decent wifi hacking tool with a 1080p display at better than 400 ppi. It also happens to be a kick ass gaming device as I have shown. Call me crazy but that level of power is more than worth the price IMO. Hell one of my phones even works under water and is dust proof. It also is a wifi router and a kick ass streaming box. It is a kick ass multimedia device also.

Seems you guys are penny wise and pound foolish. Me personally I would rather get a cell phone zero down with 4g on t-mobile. Guessing by some of the comments that your kids or have bad credit or just broke. I walked into tmobile the ran my credit and I walked out with a xepria z1s for zero down. They gave me 100 bucks for my old nexus 3 with a cracked screen and paid for my at&t early term fees. The phone has a 20.7 mega pixel camera with a 800/330 chipset and is water proof with 2 gigs of rom and 32gb of ram with a 1080p display. I also pay 10 bucks a month for extra protection and the jump program. I can upgrade when I want as many times as I want.

Yeah cell phones are a horrible deal herp derp. Take off the tin foil hats and join the 21st century people. I am shocked by the comments here on a gaming site of all places. If your trolling me well done lmao.

If you have good credit you can pay ZERO down and break the cost of the phone into 24 payments. Of course you can buy some walmart chinese special that sucks all around. The service sucks and you will be having buyers remorse.

Kind of like wii u owners that bought their console for 350 and had a price drop months later. Then the little 3rd party support it had just dried up. I personally get a good gear sure it cost a little more but it is worth it.

There are some great games on handheld devices. Olli Olli, Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 cannot be touched by any game in their genres regardless of genre or platform. And in my opinion Killzone Mercenaries is the best shooter released in the past year. I have a Samsung Note 3 and gaming on the device is great. But there are far too many gaming experiences that cannot be had on mobile devices. Handhelds still have a place as of now.

I think you meant smartphones and tablets. Those have been around for a long time.

"That's right pretty soon there will be ps3/360 emulators"

Is that some kind of joke. Microsoft and Sony couldn't even develop emulators to allow the PS4/Xbox One to be backwards compatible. It will be a long, long time before we see PS3/360 emulators. (There isn't even a good ps2/xbox emulator yet)