Why We Need a New Handheld

Written by Vivek Philendra

@vivekphilwrites_

Thumbnail Photo by Mike Esparza 

I remember my dad telling me about the time the first home consoles were released when he was young; “It was like having multiple arcades in your house, it was revolutionary!” I felt the same kind of marvel with handheld consoles. He would say, “No more scrounging for quarters, or waiting at the long arcade lines watching the kid in front of you failing the same level for the hundredth time.” And in the same way, I would think, “No more waiting for my sister to finish watching her Disney reruns, or my mom watching that seemingly never-ending reality show.” With console-quality graphics resting in the palm of my hands, the world was my oyster, and the possibilities were limitless.

 Maybe you started with your dad’s old Game Boy or failed miserably at keeping your Tamagotchi alive after pouring in hours every day (let’s face it, no amount of love was ever enough). Perhaps you generously “borrowed” your older sibling’s N-Gage a lot, or had both a PSP and DS back in middle school (and have the kids at school secretly hate you for showing off). Or maybe you just picked up a Switch recently to see what all the fuss was about Animal Crossing. Regardless of when you picked up your first handheld, we can all agree that there’s an undeniable sense of charm and practicality that makes them our go-to while packing for any trip, which is why they’ll always have a special place in our hearts.

After Sony’s second portable that launched back in 2011 (phew, can’t believe it’s been a whole decade), the PS Vita failed massively, I thought it was game over for handhelds. Fortunately, Nintendo proved me wrong in late 2016 with a wild card entry: The Nintendo Switch. And boy has it never felt so good to have a prediction of mine go wrong!

 The Switch earns all its credit and is nothing short of amazing — a solid choice for a handheld today, no doubt. Heck, it even outsold a much more powerful home console for what it’s worth. And although the Switch has been on a good run for roughly half a decade, and is clearly still relevant with exciting titles like Bayonetta 3 and the much-awaited sequel to Breath of the Wild set out to release on it, it’s time we got a new handheld — and here’s why:

 A New Generation Has Begun

While the Switch is technically Nintendo’s ninth generation console, there’s no doubt that it is by all means competing with the eighth generation since their original entry for the generation, the Wii U, turned out to be a disappointing flop. And in comparison to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the Switch was already less powerful to begin with. So even though it is usually a great device for playing Nintendo titles like Luigi’s Mansion 3, it struggles to keep up with the others while playing third-party games like The Witcher 3, and even struggles with certain first-party titles on a bad day. With 4K gaming being the norm in 2021, and the new generation of consoles leaping ahead both in terms of visuals and performance, I’m afraid that the Switch’s low resolution just won’t cut it.

 A modern handheld would ideally come with a stunning 4K display and variable refresh rates, as well as improved internals that would ensure an ideal gaming experience on-the-go. Seeing how good smartphone displays have gotten recently, this definitely isn’t too much of an ask.

 Remote Play

Imagine this: it’s the weekend after a long week, so you and your partner decide to stay in and relax instead of going out. Sounds like the perfect time to get started on that game you’ve been eyeing for a month, eh? *ERR* wrong, they just loaded up a Netflix show on the TV. This is where remote play comes in.

 Perhaps the best feature of the Vita, remote play allows you to stream your console’s screen to another device using Wi-Fi to play without hogging the TV. Since most households typically have one screen and multiple people fighting over the remote, this feature is a godsend! The intuitiveness of remote play on the Vita is simply unparalleled, and remote play is perfect for grind-heavy games. This means that you can chip away at those long hours a little during the lunch break, and make otherwise banal commutes to work or school much more bearable (if you have the luxury of abundant mobile data that is).

 Since the Vita cannot remote play PS5, it is time we got a successor that can. Microsoft especially has the greatest underlying potential because of their Game Pass subscription service.   Integrating it could result in a handheld of insane value and popularity; now that would be interesting to see!

 Different Mode, Different Games

Handhelds aren’t just meant to remote play or play ports of games that are available on their more powerful counterparts, they’ve also had amazing exclusive titles such as Pokémon Gold & Silver and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker that were system sellers. I personally find myself playing a lot more platforming titles and wacky experimental games like LocoRoco and FIFA Street on handhelds, and reserving the more narrative-heavy experiences for the big screen. These kinds of games are just better (and more fun) on handhelds because they are meant to be played in short chunks. That’s why we see way more casual and puzzle games on them. And as a result, we see ourselves expanding our gaming palates on handhelds. This could be a great avenue for indie developers and coupled with Game Pass as mentioned before, handheld consoles could end up bringing indie games to the spotlight even further, and establish a loyal fan-base on these devices.

Not All Users Are the Same

Back in the day, I remember only a few people having a console at home, whereas almost everyone at school had either a Sony PSP or Nintendo DS. Similar to how different kinds of games are played on different systems, different kinds of players use different devices. Since handhelds were easier to use, and much more affordable compared to a fully-fledged console especially with more budget-friendly versions offered like the DS Lite and PSP Street, it was accessible to a much wider demographic. They were not only used for playing games but also as a multimedia device; they were used for listening to music, watching movies, surfing the internet, and even drawing! These functions were extremely useful before smartphones (and specifically high-capacity ones) became commonplace. 

A modern handheld would ideally help us remain connected outdoors by being integrated with other social platforms such as Discord, and functions such as a second player being able to join a game using their phone as a second screen. 

Even with the superior hardware, and promising exclusives like Uncharted 4 and Gears 5 of the competitors, the Switch has still outsold them in many markets and regions. This means that there is clearly a huge demand for handhelds, which could be in large reason due to their huge appeal to both casual and hardcore players. Sales during the Covid-19 pandemic have only further confirmed this. Simply put: handhelds make gaming a much more accessible and inclusive form of entertainment (and what’s not to love about that?)

 Backwards Compatibility

There aren’t enough ways available to us to support the developers we love, especially for those of older games. By developing handhelds that also support titles from the manufacturers’ older consoles through emulation, you simply can’t lose. 

You no longer lose sales due to emulation piracy, can re-release games that were originally exclusive to a territory (just imagine the number of Japanese gems currently hidden from the rest of the world), developers get paid, players get to relive their favourite memories and get another chance at the games they missed earlier — everyone wins!

 Competition Brings Out the Best

With Nintendo enjoying a monopoly on the global handheld market right now due to lack of competition, it will likely result in a stagnation of major improvements and significant changes to handhelds for a long time. I predict that they will adopt an ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ attitude, and without anything to compare to, consumers would likely choose the Switch if they’re in the market for a handheld. Without any competition trying to outdo one another, there would be no innovation, and we as players would be stuck with what we have now. Especially since Nintendo doesn’t seem to have any plans of announcing any upgrades to the current Switch any time soon, if there’s anyone losing out from Nintendo’s handheld monopoly, it’s definitely us players.

 While handhelds are never going to satisfy all my gaming needs, I do wish to see a deserved comeback that’ll bring them back to their former glory. What was your first handheld, and some of your favourite memories with it? What features would you like to see on a new handheld?

Claire Keenan