TheGeneration Game...Handheld consoles

[Lee]

Gameboy

-v-

Atari Lynx

-v-

Sega Game Gear

-v-

Game Boy Advance

-v-

PSP

-v-

Nintendo DS
​

(Also would be NeoGeo pocket, but that didn't get a UK release, and the Nokia N-gage, but I am not sure of the releases of that)

GameBoy = 118.69Million
DS = 96.22 Million +
GBA = 81.44Million
PSP = 50million+
Gamegear = 11 Million
Lynx = Under 500K

(All figures include all incarnations, for example GBA would also include the SP, GB would include the color, DS would include lite and DSi and PSP would include the 3000.

All hail the kings of handheld gaming, Nintendo. many have tried to break onto the market and many have been destroyed. Sony putting up the best fight with their PSP but recently their game library in the UK has been lacking (incidentally they have a much better US/JP game library).

So which do I pick? 2008's bigegst selling console in the DS? The breakthrough in handheld with the GBa or my trusty old friend the GameBoy? I shall go with the Game Boy, it's simple graphics brought hours and hours of fun, ranging from Tetris, to Zelda, to Mario Land without the pile of crap that the DS has. Nintendo, I applaud you.

Let the debate commence!

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I remember the original Gameboy's, growing up. They were kinda bulky and if I recall, badly lit. But they had some very good games, including Tetris. I don't recall much though, as I was never a personal fan of overall Handhelds.

Sega Game Gear made Mega Man and Sonic, I do believe. And it had brighter colors than Gameboy, and better lighting.

Gameboy Advance was, to my knowledge, the first handheld that broke the mold to the point of being able to hook up to your Television through a special adaptor of some kind.

My only handheld though, is the PSP.

I bought it for it's ability to A.) Play movies (UMDs) B.) Have LCD HD quality picture C.) Be fully capable of downloading *cough* illegally *cough* regular NES and Super NES games, such as FF3.

I bought the PSP for travels only, and doctor's visits for those long dreaded waiting room moments. It's turned into something my Daughter typically views Stuart Little on, right before she goes to bed. (she'll lay in bed, watching it to fall asleep) I bought Madden (sucked on it) and Bowling. (love it.)

In the end though, you can't escape the original monster of Handhelds, and that's Gameboy.

 

[klunderbunker]

Gameboy. There's something insanely charming about the yellow and green colors on the screen and having to squint to read almost everything on the screen. The games were fun and challenging and they even managed to get a Zelda game on it. What's better than being able to take a game with you? Gameboy did that better than anything ever did and to me, nothing will ever top it.

 

[Marquis]

For me the PSP takes this one. I'm sure I'll be in the minority choosing the PSP over any nintendo hand held, but i can't deny the level of enjoyment i have with my PSP.

When i think nintendo handhelds i think Pokemon. Why? Because it's the game i enjoyed the most on the nintendo, and clearly i am not the only one to think so since the most recent pokemon game is the fastest selling DS game to date, but Pokemon is the only game i have enjoyed on the DS so far. Castlevania games on the DS deserve a mention, but nothing spectacular in my opinion.

The GBA definitely has the better game library then the DS. From Pokemon to the Final Fantasy remakes and Zelda, i would definitely rank the GBA my 2nd favorite handheld to date.

Now for the PSP. I'm sorry to hear that PSP library is lacking in the UK, but here its great and the fact that it has no region restriction makes it even better since you can import games from japan. The PSP is obviously the better machine, but that shouldn't matter too much. In my opinion it has the more solid game library. Sure nintendo handhelds have the bigger library, but i think the PSP has the more quality library. An example i give is FF: Dissidia. It has easily become one my top 5 favorite games of all time. I can't remember enjoying a hand held game so much as i did Dissida, and I'm sure once released state side many will think the same. Overall i find the PSP the most enjoyable handheld to date.

 

[Lee]

Gameboy Advance was, to my knowledge, the first handheld that broke the mold to the point of being able to hook up to your Television through a special adaptor of some kind.

nah, that was the gameboy, it had something called the super Gameboy for the SNES. I know far too mucha bout Nintendo.

I bought it for it's ability to A.) Play movies (UMDs)

UMDs do not sell, I remember seeing hundreds of these when the PSP came out, but the vast majority of games places don't sell these anymore.

B.) Have LCD HD quality picture

I'll give you that, but the DSi screen is pretty much the same

C.) Be fully capable of downloading *cough* illegally *cough* regular NES and Super NES games, such as FF3.

Wait, you chose the PSP to download Nintendo games? Why not do it on a DS, the games are easier to, if you're into illegal downloading of games.

I bought the PSP for travels only, and doctor's visits for those long dreaded waiting room moments.

And from a 100% gaming standpoint, do you really want a full blown God of War for final fantasy type game to play on your travels? I don't, I want a game I can pick up and put down. That's where the DS wins in that area, you have your Brain trainings (NOT for me), New Super Mario Bros, Mario Kart DS and then for those that do you have Fire Emblems, Final Fantasy's, Dragon Quests and Zelda. Add to that the GBA back catalogue = FTW

 

[a0161613]

For me this is dominated by the DS. For every piece of crap like the Imagine *shudders* series, there is a game of real quality that is lacking on its only other rival, the PSP, which suffers the same problem as the Wii (too many ports that are not done properly).

The GameBoy was good and it got me into gaming, so it is pretty memorable for me, whilst the Lynx and Game Gear are non factors because they were crap (ie, not many truly memorable games and were horrifically overpriced at launch).

The GBA is a classic console but this is mainly thanks to the SP IMO, which made it a must buy console.

I like the PSP but the games are truly lacking in real quality. Sony could save it mind you but it needs a lot of work. I still find it quite unergonomic and impractical compared to the DS. The point about the games library do not need repeating but are another real issue.

The DS dominates. The classic Nintendo machine (Will they top it? At the moment, I'm not sure how) and all three designs (Regular, Lite and DSi) are all viable purchases which I would recommend to anyone. While the game quality dramatically varies, when it is good, it's as good and fun as most console games.