Remember the days of Pokemon on the Game Boy? What about a few years earlier, when you played that Tetris handheld or Connect Four in the car while your parents drove to grandma’s house?
Handheld consoles are how gamers got their fix when their PC or consoles where out of reach, but in today’s world of smartphones, tablets, and relentless connectivity, (dedicated) handheld consoles are slowly dying.
Not only are game ports of an increasingly decent quality landing up on mobile phone and tablet platforms, but game developers like Sony and Microsoft are also punting “companion apps” which let you take your game with you wherever you go.
Is the age of the dedicated handheld at an end? The signs of the apocalypse may yet be nigh.
Sales
Right off the bat, let’s have a look at sales figures.
In the last quarter, Nintendo sold about 810,000 Nintendo 3DS consoles, bringing its total to 44.1 million units shipped since launch (1.84% higher from the last quarter). That’s not bad – certainly not a death knell, but also not magestic growth.
Sony’s PS Vita has also been quite successful in moving units, though not as successfully as it had hoped. The Sony handheld moved 7 million units in its first year, and Sony hoped to sell at least 5 million in the next – but only managed 4.1 million (for a total of 11.1 million).
Its forecast for this year? A rather big cut back to 3.5 million.
So the world’s biggest and best handheld console maker is showing teeny-tiny growth – and its closest competitor is cutting back its forecasts.
Smartphone and tablet sales, however, are on an upward path.
Release window
If we take a look at upcoming titles for the Nintendo 3DS and PS Vita, we can also see that developers aren’t exactly queuing to get games onto the two platforms.
PS Vita
- August 2014 – LEGO Ninjago Nindroids
- September 2014 – FIFA 15
- Awaiting ETAs – Lego Batman 3 Beyond Gotham, One Piece Unlimited World Red, Ratchet and Clank Nexus
Nintendo 3DS
- August 2014 – LEGO Ninjago Nindroids
- September 2014 – FIFA 15
- October 2014 – Fantasy Life
- November 2014 – Skylanders Trap Team, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, Pokémon Omega Ruby
Although there are some highlights there (Pokemon?), it’s not exactly a mind-blowing line up.
Performance should king, but we like convenience
Putting a handheld’s size and shape aside, the Nintendo 3DS and PS Vita still offer a better gaming experiences than any iOS or Android game on the market.
The visuals are better, the gameplay is deeper and more immersive, and buttons and analogues are easier to use than a touch screen.
Unfortunately, though, most mobile gamers don’t mind shallow games, and the more “core” gamers wait until they get home before they fire up their AMD or Nvidia rigs and consoles.
Can I play a game while on the toilet without having to carry an extra device? This is the kind of thinking that the handheld console market is up against, and seeing as you’re taking your phone in there with you anyway, well…
Are publishers giving up?
Another worrying trend is that a lot of publishers have admitted that they are looking to cash in on the mobile market – and this might be leading them away from the dedicated handheld segment.
They believe developing an app for a tablet will give them better financial results than releasing a “proper” game, and, well, the finances have shown that to be true.
Combine this with the release of incredibly powerful next-gen consoles – and the PC gamers who are rather set in their elitist ways – and the handheld scene is not really an attractive option for developers, anymore.
It’s not all gloom and doom though: we are seeing a few indie games coming up for the PS Vita, and Pokemon is the gift that keeps on giving for the Nintendo handheld systems.
Are tablets better?
Since the iPad and its rival tablets hit the market in the late 2000s, the *need* for a dedicated handheld gaming device has come under question.
And the case for having them was quite strained even back in 2012.
Due to multi-functional capabilities, tablets are not only more practical than a handheld, but a modern tablet comes with powerful system chips that can even produce decent gaming performance.
On the other hand, the developers making a success from the mobile platform are doing so with games like Candy Crush and Clash of Clans.
You won’t catch those games on a PS Vita (not yet, anyway), and tablets or smartphones still largely fail to cater to core gamers’ needs. But does that even matter?
So, what happens next?
Do you think handheld consoles, and their associated games, can survive? With mobile games making companies lots of money, and serious gamers getting their fix on traditional consoles or PCs, is there room for the handheld in 2014 and beyond?
If you are, or were, a fan of the 3DS or Vita, tell us why you chose to game on the platform. Those of you who never saw the point, give us an insight as to why. Option 3 is: do you even care about this topic at all?
The comments section and forum are yours.
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I have both the 3Ds XL and the PSVita…I love them both…I hope for a long run with these two units!
I love the Graphics on the PSVita and the RPG’s and the 3DS offers some ingenious games using both screens. I really hope its not over for handhelds…I never game on my phone ..IPhone 6s..yeha its capable, but it is a phone .I use it for internet and camera but not gaming.