Where Do Handheld Systems Go from Here?

So far they've stuck pretty hard to the notion that each console should at least be able to play one generation back, so it'll be interesting to see how they tackle that crafting of the new system if it only has one screen.

I'd say two screens are here to stay, though. Especially seeing as they're the only ones really doing it right now, and the Wii U kinda hopped on that bandwagon, too.

Just please get rid of resistive touch screens, though. I mean, seriously? A stylus in 2014? Come on, guys.

Oryx said:

Not necessarily; plenty of smartphones and computers run DS games with one screen from a technical perspective. It would just have to be a carefully crafted game system. I don't think they're ready to let go of the old library yet so I doubt there will be a question of them making a handheld that's incompatible with DS games.

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Yeah, I guess so. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the whole "no divider" deal, and I can't really see the screen being large enough that it wouldn't make both screens really small (at least, compared to an XL). But that's just me, I guess we'll see.

wakachamo said:

Just please get rid of resistive touch screens, though. I mean, seriously? A stylus in 2014? Come on, guys.

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I like the stylus, and heck, I use my finger a lot, too. I don't see why you can't just use both. After all, I couldn't imagine playing Osu Tatakae Ouendan/Elite Beat Agents or The World Ends With You with my fingers. I don't even really see the stylus as an outdated concept.

machomuu said:

I like the stylus, and heck, I use my finger a lot, too. I don't see why you can't just use both. After all, I couldn't imagine playing Osu Tatakae Ouendan/Elite Beat Agents or The World Ends With You with my fingers. I don't even really see the stylus as an outdated concept.

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I guess I'm just getting more and more used to capacitive touch screens on a harder surface. With resistive, you have to press against the screen rather than just touch it, and I feel like the malleable surface just gets dirtier a lot easier. ):

wakachamo said:

Just please get rid of resistive touch screens, though. I mean, seriously? A stylus in 2014? Come on, guys.

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I like the stylus, too. I still can't really text with my fingers, much less play a game with them.

I use my nails infrequently in Pokemon, but that's mainly during battles just to softly tap the commands, for fear of scratching the screen through the protector. I'd really rather at least keep the stylus as an option, for those of us with nails. =p

Sgt.Dustmop said:

I like the stylus, too. I still can't really text with my fingers, much less play a game with them.

I use my nails infrequently in Pokemon, but that's mainly during battles just to softly tap the commands, for fear of scratching the screen through the protector. I'd really rather at least keep the stylus as an option, for those of us with nails. =p

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I guess I'm just weird. I text much faster with my fingers on an iPhone than I could ever dream to with a stylus.

wakachamo said:

I guess I'm just weird. I text much faster with my fingers on an iPhone than I could ever dream to with a stylus.

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Oh, haha, I don't use a stylus for texting, won't register on the screen.. though I'd rather use that! I just use a slide-out keyboard. Gave up on the screen.

My point was more that my fingers are completely useless on a touchscreen and that I can't even accomplish the 'simple' task of texting on a smartphone that auto-corrects. Especially if they have to be fast, as they would in some games.
It's probably because I can't see through my nails, I'm super girly when it comes to my nails, they're kept long and painted in bright colors but touchscreens and I just aren't friends.

I know that I'll be happy if the next Nintendo handheld has a second control nub.

I doubt Nintendo will ever stop handheld gaming, especially since right now the 3DS is more lucrative than the Wii U that no one is buying. But to survive in a market of Console gaming and Phone games it's gonna have to evolve to some degree. I know the archaic Friend Code system is severely getting on my nerves when they could just implement a system that uses their Nintendo Network for internet gaming. I do hope that that's the goal with Nintendo Network, but we'll have to wait and see.

Going to get a lot of ♥♥♥♥ for saying this, but in 5 maybe 10 years it's pretty much all going to be on smartphones. By that time there should be a good standard for smartphone gamepads, and Nintendo could integrate there 3DS follow up with a smartphone (sadly unlikely). I see sony trying out a Xperia PSP for a PSV follow up as well. Mobile phones managed to replace the mp3 player market, and I suspect that portable consoles will be next.

Azure Rathalδs said:

Mobile phones managed to replace the mp3 player market, and I suspect that portable consoles will be next.

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What happened to quality?

My phone will never replace my Cowon S9. Even as outdated as it is, I'd rather have the open-source, flash-based mp3 player that plays flac in stunning quality.. than use my phone just because it can play music.

The same goes for my games. Am I the only one who would rather have several devices dedicated to individual tasks, rather than one device that tries to do everything and does none of it particularly well?

Totally not trying to give you ♥♥♥♥, dude. Not you specifically. Just the market. :/

Sgt.Dustmop said:

What happened to quality?

My phone will never replace my Cowon S9. Even as outdated as it is, I'd rather have the open-source, flash-based mp3 player that plays flac in stunning quality.. than use my phone just because it can play music.

The same goes for my games. Am I the only one who would rather have several devices dedicated to individual tasks, rather than one device that tries to do everything and does none of it particularly well?

Totally not trying to give you ♥♥♥♥, dude. Not you specifically. Just the market. :/

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What?? It's the exact same thing. The quality of digital file reproduction isn't down to the player; your phone is just as capable of reproducing that FLAC as your MP3 player. Completely baseless argument. Most people just use their phones nowadays.

Dragon said:

Mmm, what I mean by this is that, what do you think Handheld gaming will go from here? Will they continue to expand the technology from, say, the Nintendo 3DS, or the PS Vita? Or do you think that they will continue to produce the systems?

Hypothetically speaking, if they do continue to make handheld systems, what would you like to see from them? For example, would you like them to be more visually appealing? More functions? More games that you can see from consoles?

Any thoughts? Feel free to share!

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Maybe they will have a holographic one? I mean they do have a 3D one, so what is stopping them? Wouldn't it be cool though?

Azure Rathalδs said:

Going to get a lot of ♥♥♥♥ for saying this, but in 5 maybe 10 years it's pretty much all going to be on smartphones. By that time there should be a good standard for smartphone gamepads, and Nintendo could integrate there 3DS follow up with a smartphone (sadly unlikely). I see sony trying out a Xperia PSP for a PSV follow up as well. Mobile phones managed to replace the mp3 player market, and I suspect that portable consoles will be next.

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Hmm...this is interesting. Considering that 3DS games only take up about .5GB-1GB in memory, the issue of it filling up too much space on a phone would be nonexistant. The gamepads for the phone though would have to be external as I don't believe everyone would be too happy to play with touch controls (I personally am not a big fan of them.) The biggest issue though I believe would be the size of the screen; a lot of smartphone's screens wouldn't exactly be video game friendly in my opinion.

Interesting concept. Overall I have mixed feelings about that, as I'd rather these two mediums stay separate.

wakachamo said:

What?? It's the exact same thing. The quality of digital file reproduction isn't down to the player; your phone is just as capable of reproducing that FLAC as your MP3 player. Completely baseless argument. Most people just use their phones nowadays.

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Sure it's as capable of playing it. But it doesn't sound as good. Especially not with my headphones<3. And I do realize that with music, a lot of your quality control is in the headphones (and the lossless audio files). But even with my really nice headphones there's an audible difference in quality between the two. Even between an iPod and a Cowon, there's a difference. Anyone who owns a Cowon/JetAudio or Hifiman product knows what I'm talking about. Scratch that. Any other audiophile knows.

Before I ramble off too far:
I'm aware that these devices are capable of doing other things, but it's typically sub-par. I don't settle for sub-par.
In the end, I would want my phone to become my mp3 player as much as I'd want my phone to become my new gaming device.
I want them to be separate things that just do the thing they were designed to do.

That was all I was trying to convey. I'm sorry if it was misleading. It's been a long week.

Honestly I think that they will keep improving their hardware, with the possibility of adding new features. I honestly wouldn't like it if they started being more "Cell Phone like." I mean when I buy a handheld console I want a console, not a phone. If I wanted the expirience of an Iphone I would buy an Iphone, not a 3DS.

elheroeoscuro said:

Hmm...this is interesting. Considering that 3DS games only take up about .5GB-1GB in memory, the issue of it filling up too much space on a phone would be nonexistant. The gamepads for the phone though would have to be external as I don't believe everyone would be too happy to play with touch controls (I personally am not a big fan of them.) The biggest issue though I believe would be the size of the screen; a lot of smartphone's screens wouldn't exactly be video game friendly in my opinion.

Interesting concept. Overall I have mixed feelings about that, as I'd rather these two mediums stay separate.

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This I would hate for smartphones to take over myself

Sgt.Dustmop said:

But even with my really nice headphones there's an audible difference in quality between the two. Even between an iPod and a Cowon, there's a difference.

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People that care about high quality audio (music players) or physical controls (cell phones, consoles) on portable devices are a small minority. (Reference: Walkman vs iPod, Blackberry vs iPhone, 3DS vs iPad sales)

The 3DS was the best-selling console recently, but it has an uninspiring rival and we're in a home console generation shift, which always has a slow start.

Also...