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Do you game on a handheld console?

Do you game on a handheld console?

  • Valve Steam Deck

    Votes: 1,852 12.2%
  • ASUS ROG Ally

    Votes: 605 4.0%
  • Lenovo Legion Go

    Votes: 199 1.3%
  • MSI Claw

    Votes: 177 1.2%
  • Nintendo Switch

    Votes: 1,788 11.7%
  • Other

    Votes: 558 3.7%
  • No

    Votes: 10,058 66.0%

  • Vote for this poll on the frontpage
  • Total voters
    15,237
I had the Gameboy, GB Color, and GB Advanced, and PSP as a kid. I only used them when home. I don't care for games when I'm out of the house. On long trips, I rather look out the window. 8 hour flight? I'm staring out the window the whole time. I also feel like I'm going to puke if I focus on anythng up close while in the passenger seat of a moving vehicle.

You missed out on a lot....

IMG_0959.gif


On topic: I don't rule out getting a Steam Deck one day. But right now, the only handheld gaming I do is on my phone, through retroarch or an this damned Sudoku app!
 
Switch 2 on its way in a few weeks. Not that I'll really use it as a handheld. Why should I? I'd rather play on the 77"
 
I do, with my ROG Ally, when I'm traveling..
 
Last handheld device I had was a GameBoy Advance and even then I didn't use it much. I thought it would be awesome to have a color screen version of the GameBoy. But by then I was 21 years old and the nostalgia of the original GameBoy was still strong in me. I thought the GBA was going to be fun to play, but it was just kind of meh. I wanted the games I used to have with my GameBoy (that was stolen, along with all my games and so much more by my older brother when he took everything he could pawn and sold it all for his weed induced wannabe drug kingpin phase when he was 16 years old). Anyway....

I'd love to get a GameBoy today with all the Final Fantasy games and Zelda again, that would be cool. Otherwise I like gaming on my PC at home. If I'm not at home to use my PC for gaming, I don't play video game at all. The handheld PC devices, while certainly are intriguing to see, don't interest me.
 
Switch and soon Switch 2. The rest are not true/real consoles. They are just glorified low-spec PC in handheld chassis. There is no satisfaction of physical media and native version of the software.
 
Switch, Gameboy Advance SP, DS, 3DS, even some java phones, I've done it all. I still play games on my phone today but mostly reserve it for games like Duel Links.
 
Does that not make them handhelds, by virtue of that description? They're portable, have batteries and are held in the hands. Seems like a handheld to me..
No. It's Windows PC. Switch has dedicated bespoke OS and games.
 
Here the keyword is "console". Neither Steam Deck or ROG Ally are consoles. They are just handheld PC. Period. When certain game is coming to some platform you never see "Steam Deck" or "ROG Ally". You see Windows, Playstation 4/5, Xbox or Switch 1/2.
 
Here the keyword is "console". Neither Steam Deck or ROG Ally are consoles. They are just handheld PC. Period. When certain game is coming to some platform you never see "Steam Deck" or "ROG Ally". You see Windows, Playstation 4/5, Xbox or Switch 1/2.
Semantics and splitting hairs. ALL of those examples are computers running game software. The PS4/5 and XBox are little more than customized PC's running custom compiled versions of Linux or Windows. Period.

Hyper focusing the word "console" is does not change the intended purpose of the poll and/or this thread. If it plays games, has a built-in controller and is held in the hands, it qualifies as a handheld gaming console. Period.
 
It's not hair splitting. Like I said, all of those are dedicated systems, with their dedicated OS and officially listed as a platform.
 
It's not hair splitting.
Oh? Let's review...
Like I said, all of those are dedicated systems, with their dedicated OS and officially listed as a platform.
And what do you think Android, Linux, Windows, MacOS, iOS, BSD, etc, etc all are? They are platforms. We do not live in a world where games run on bare hardware anymore. ALL gaming "platforms" run on an operating system environment of one type or another that games run within. This is indisputable fact.

So yes, semantics and hair splitting.
 
Oh? Let's review...

And what do you think Android, Linux, Windows, MacOS, iOS, BSD, etc, etc all are? They are platforms. We do not live in a world where games run on bare hardware anymore. ALL gaming "platforms" run on an operating system environment of one type or another that the games run within. This is indisputable fact.

So yes, semantics and hair splitting.
You know what I mean. When you go in Wikipedia, any public website for news, release dates or Metacritic (for example) you see the platforms. You never will see coming on "Steam Deck" or "ROG Ally". Got it?
 
You know what I mean.
I know what you're trying to say. I'm contesting the validity of your assertion.
When you go in Wikipedia, any public website for news, release dates or Metacritic (for example) you see the platforms.
That is not relevant to this thread or the poll subject.
You never will see coming on "Steam Deck" or "ROG Ally". Got it?
Meritless. Such statements have no relevance or relation to whether or not a particular device qualifies as a "handheld gaming console" type device.
Example? Ambernic's line of handheld gaming devices. All of them run Linux of some flavor and will never have any exclusive titles. That fact does NOT exclude them from being included in the handheld gaming console catagory.

The term "Handheld Gaming Console" is a description of function, not a hyperbole for classification of inclusion or exclusion, though by default and implication it does set certain parameters and boundaries.
 
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You could use the PS3 as any good ol' PC, because it wasn't locked.

You know, until they locked it. Because people did just that.

Basically nothing gets released "for Linux" btw. Most runs anyway...
 
I currently have a 2DS, GBA, GBC, and an RG35XX(emulation console)

Originally I was intent on picking up a Switch 2, but not anymore. I'll wait and see what the mid-cycle refresh is like.
 
The question is, if I'm at the home I have my TV hooked up to the PC, so I can relax on a couch or bed and enjoy probably better experience in every way - screen, speakers, controller or even KB+M. I think that having the ability to stream from my PC to handheld OTG is the selling point, but then you are left to the mercy of the cellular connection or Wi-Fi if you have one where you go. I think I'll wait for more efficient ARM based handhelds maybe one with the Nvidia chip, having cellular connection on the device will also be a big plus as I don't like opening hot spot from my phone.
Yeah, streaming at home works fine. But trying to stream from a cloud or from home to a remote location is a different story, I have yet to try anything that I would consider good.
 
Doubt I will ever game on a handheld again, my PC is connected to my home theatre, and I very much like my audio to sound great while I game.
 
Only the switch is a console,

The steamdeck is a bit more versatile than a console.
And the Claw, Legion and Ally are PC with capability near a full fledged ultra portable


Voted Ally but I should vote other :laugh:
Since i use my Ally like a laptop/desktop (docked) and as Console, I use a GBA SP and a DS ML ;)
 
Nearly 15. I have a Nintendo New 3DS XL, an original Nintendo Switch (the LCD version), and the Switch OLED. For the Switch, I just use it as a handheld console and love the games more than the console itself. If you stare at it for too long you eventually get bored by its somewhat dull design. The kickstand is a complete disappointment, and I actually broke the screen when that pathetic stand fell out and it fell face first on the ground. Now it's just a TV console that I keep around just in case my OLED craps out. I've been planning to 3D print a casing and fit a CPU cooler on it just to make it look cool. If I succeeded you'll see it in the Ghetto Mods thread. I actually bought the New 3DS XL a few years ago, and personally I think that it's probably the best handheld console that Nintendo's ever made. It's moderately priced even when it's just released compared to the Switch 2 with a 449$ price tag, with a few hundred games to choose from, backwards compatible with DS games, and most importantly it can run Minecraft. Its design was also way ahead of its time. That 3D screen is simply magical even now. It also takes 3D photos with that dual camera system on the back, and this little handheld console can actually track your eyes to provide a smooth 3D image. CFW and Homebrew makes it even better, although I gotta admit after a while, when you've basically played around with everything, it gets a little boring.
 
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