Do people feel the end is approaching for dedicated handhelds?

It has already reached that stage for me but I am only a casual gamer. I wanted a device that does 'everything' as I only carry one device on me at all times, and I decided the Galaxy Note did the job best. It has a monster screen at 5.3" and I got to compare it to my cousins PSP this week. My screen was bigger, GTA3 ran smoother on mine and even the gfx looked better. For a quick fix here and there, the Note more then does the job!

Also for touch screen controls it is the best I have tried up to now, the huge screen allow the controls to stay out of your way but physical buttons are still much better for games, in which case I can use my PS3 pad.

With devices like the Note available, I feel no need whatsoever to get a handheld console and phones are only getting faster and better, quad core is just around the corner...
 
Everybody was doomsaying the 3DS when it came out but since the price drop and the release of MK7 and SM3DL the sales have sky rocketed, in fact recently the 3DS broke the record in Japan for the "highest selling single-month hardware sales ever" and both MK7 and SM3DL also topped out in the charts selling over a million each in Japan alone, and have sold 4 and 5 million worldwide retrospectively.

The Vita came out of the gate at around 320,000 which was far from bad but had quite a drop down to just 72,000 on the second week, that was a little worrying as the PSP that week sold 100,000, that being said though the Vita was considerably more expensive than the competition, also the software line-up for the Vita really isn't a Japanese friendly one imo, Monster Hunter helped keep the PSP selling in Japan and being that that title has now moved onto the 3DS that really doesn't help, it's hard for me to judge if the Vita will be sustainable or not until it hits the western hemisphere, we're have a much better picture then.

Regardless though there is no denying that the market is a lot different compared to that of the last generation with tablets and smart-phones offering some great gaming experiences but I'm not sure that means there isn't still room for a dedicated gaming hand-held for at least a few more generations yet, I just think that that Sony and Nintendo will just have to be much more clever about the tech they use in their deceives to try and keep the prices down, atm the 3DS is a great price and although the Vita in terms of it's tech is undoubtedly worth it's asking price I'm still not sure it's low enough to stop people choosing an iTouch over it.
 
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Picked up an ipad2, have about 30 games on it yet the only one I play is poker. Will be picking up a vita even though I don't travel I will be using the vita when the wife wants to watch tv which is most evenings.
I want console gaming with the flexibility of being able play it anywhere rather than being tied to the tv.
 
Robert1986 said:
Its already happening. The Vita looks too powerful for a hand held. Its like a full on console in your hands. Might be a turn off if you just want to jump in and out of games during your lunch break. I think the vita will fail big time judging by how the 3ds did.

I just want to carry around one device in my pocket that can do everything that I need it to do when away from home.
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The 3DS started poorly but has shifted 12 million units in its first year beating the DS in launch aligned sales. It's costing Nintendo to do it but people clearly still want the device, just not with few games and what was seen by many as a high price for what was being offered.

And could you clarify for me why a powerful portable console prevents you playing for short periods of time or prevents games being designed with short play periods in mind? Because that makes no sense to me.

People still want dedicated portables, sales in the last year of the DS and 3DS and in Japan the psp bear that out. The question is is the market now smaller because people are getting a casual fix on their phone? The answer is almost certainly yes.
 
I consider myself a 'real' gamer regardless of the fact that any portable gaming I want to do, I'm happy to do so on my iPhone 3GS playing 'Jetpack' with coincidentally a nice forum member here gave to me for free :D

22 hours clocked up on the game so far, seems like quite a lot for a handheld game :S

When I'm on the move, no time to carry around a whole other device solely for the cause, for these reasons I could never justify buying a 3DS/Vita/nexthandhelddevice
 
I think it's safe to say Sony attempted to kill off the dedicated gaming handheld (Lets just say Nintendo's offerings as they're the big hitters here) a few years back with the original PSP.

Yet, despite the PSP's wealth of tech features it failed to sell as well as what Nintendo had on offer.

I think devs need to invest more time and money into the handheld market. I dont know about you guys but I'd just like some great quality games to play whilst I'm on the move. I dont care about being about to watch movies or listen to music.

Now the Vita is on the way to basically pick up from where the PSP left off. I have no doubt it'll be a good Multimedia product. I just hope it'll be a much greater gaming console than it's brothers who came before it.... If not then it'll just be remembered for the handheld gaming console which was great for watching stuff on, surfing the net, listening to music and exploiting!

I think the likes of Nintendo will always be around.
 
Personally I am still happy with my DSi and have no interest in 3DS nor Vita.

It is interesting to see Square/Enix ports (FFI, II, III and Secret of Mana) coming to phones - I think this changes things more toward the serious gamer looking for a proper gaming experience on their phones. These games sell for considerably less, too. However they are ports of old snes games. If big companies like Square look to create new phone-specific software then I think the handheld as we know it will start to fade out.

Why have a handheld when you already have a phone that can do it just as well? We are a ways off that yet but I do think it is coming. Phones have progressed so fast over the last 5-10 years and I have no doubt that they will continue to do so.
 
Dr_Doom said:
I'd say yes! I own a 3DS but only because I'm a Nintendo fan & I wanted to play games such as Mario land, Zelda, Mario kart etc.. There aren't any Vita games that are making me want to part with my cash!

I downloaded GTA3 for my iPhone 4S the other day and I can't believe how good it is! Graphics / controls etc are excellent and it was only £1.99. Give it another year or so and there'll be very little need for stand alone handhelds.
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I disagree, I think the controls on GTA3 for the iphone are horrible. Police chases are impossible! Give me tactile buttons/analogue stick any day.

Do you honesty think the controls are excellent? Granted it is £1.99 but that shouldn't excuse poor controls.
 
It's hard to say where it will lead. Mainstream tablets are still in their infancy and it's only the last 3-4 years phones have become a viable option for gaming. Not just in terms of hardware but the market place/app store. I still think the 3DS's slow start is down to the naming of it. It's amazing how many people think it's a DS ..... now with 3D and nothing more. and I suppose looking at TVs and cinemas, that's how 3D is everywhere else. You can have the 2D version or get the same product but with added 3D. I even know a girl who bought her boyriend a 3DS game to play on his DSi-XL. When I pointed out that he doesn't have a 3DS, she just said well he can play them "on normal" then can't he.

I'll probably get a Vita at some point
 
lakitu said:
I disagree, I think the controls on GTA3 for the iphone are horrible. Police chases are impossible! Give me tactile buttons/analogue stick any day.

Do you honesty think the controls are excellent? Granted it is £1.99 but that shouldn't excuse poor controls.
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Ok, maybe ‘excellent’ was meant more for the graphics than the controls but its certainly playable. I’ve tried quite a few phone games before and hated them but I thought the GTA controls were ok after a short learning curve.

It can’t take much to produce a Bluetooth control pad that pairs to the smart phone? You can already get keyboards.
 
Dr_Doom said:
Ok, maybe ‘excellent’ was meant more for the graphics than the controls but its certainly playable. I’ve tried quite a few phone games before and hated them but I thought the GTA controls were ok after a short learning curve.

It can’t take much to produce a Bluetooth control pad that pairs to the smart phone? You can already get keyboards.
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I might give it another shot, I'd love to be able to enjoy gaming on my phone.

With regards to the bluetooth controllers, I believe it's already been done. I think it would be awesome if the controller fitted around the phone similar to the circle pad add on for the 3DS.

edit: this controller looks awesome! I think i'll order one, GTA would be great using this, would it be compatible?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-HA74MwVug&feature=related
 
i cant stand touch screen controlls as i hate the fact you cover the screen.

i love gaming though so for me i have the Xperia Play and its the best portable gaming machine for me, its a decent android phone and has been promised ICS.

although may not have the power of the vita as a retro (psx and pre) gaming handheld i dont think it can be improved, i use lower left and right of the screen for L2+R2 and it works brilliantly.... also with onlive support added a few more tweaks and it will be there (just dissapointing there are no onlive touchscreen RPG's)

all we need is a few psp games porting and a decent football manager and im very happy

as for the vita and 3DS, I want a vita as its essentially a portable PS3 (and with FFX HD it can only be good) on 3DS, as a 2D handheld its great but i cant get on with the 3D on it
 
Looking at those figures, I cannot believe how big handhelds are in Japan. i'm also surprised the Wii's total sales were beaten by the PS3. Also the Vita beat the total sales for the 360 in just 10 days! How are microsoft coping with that?
 
lakitu said:
Looking at those figures, I cannot believe how big handhelds are in Japan. i'm also surprised the Wii's total sales were beaten by the PS3. Also the Vita beat the total sales for the 360 in just 10 days! How are microsoft coping with that?
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Europe and the US are much bigger than Japan.
 
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