A few years ago, one could easily say that the market for handheld consoles was pretty much finished. Remember when kids swapped Pokémon cartridges on the bus or got lost in Final Fantasy Tactics on those bulky little consoles? That feels like ages ago. The smartphones arrived, offering a plethora of free or inexpensive games. Suddenly, dedicated handheld devices seemed like a thing of the past. Many people believed the market was dead. Some thought that the future of mobile gaming was in smartphones, but that didn’t happen.
Despite all the marketing towards gaming phones, this is a different market with a different focus. The old-school handhelds were devices made to deliver a console-like gaming experience while on the go. We could experience deep stories, interesting games, rather than just playing competitively with friends on a smartphone. Despite all the constraints, the handheld gaming did not just survive; it is making a big comeback with new devices and companies jumping back in.
Nintendo: The Last Torchbearer
If we are about to name a company that never gave up the market of handheld consoles, it was Nintendo. The company was a visionary in this field with the first Game Boy; it expanded the experience with the Game Boy Color and brought a legendary device in the form of the Game Boy Advance. The success continued in 2004 with the launch of the bold dual-screen Nintendo DS in 2004. In the range of games, Nintendo kept releasing hit after hit. The Japanese giant really made its mark with portable gaming. It quickly awakened other brands that tried to thrive in this segment. Sony was a notable name with the first PSP offering a great experience and a vast catalog of good games.
Despite the competition, Nintendo focused on unique games you couldn’t find anywhere else. Titles like Pokémon, Animal Crossing, and Brain Age gave people a real reason to carry their Nintendo device wherever they went. Curiously, this is one of the reasons that still makes the Switch sell. If we are to find big N games on other consoles, or even PC, what would be the point of paying for the device?
Nintendo Doubled Down on Its Game
The rise of smartphones might have caused other companies to retreat, but Nintendo doubled down. The Nintendo 3DS was a hit and has a place in the hearts of many players. However, it didn’t break sales records like its predecessors. Despite this, it kept the market alive. Then came 2017 and the arrival of the Nintendo Switch. Part home console, part handheld, it lets you dock it for a big-screen session or pull it out to keep playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on a train. It went on to become one of the best-selling systems of all time, proving beyond doubt that handheld gaming still had huge potential.
Nintendo was the last torchbearer in the segment of portable devices segment. Curiously, the brand never gave up on the segment, and this segment saved its business after the Wii U fiasco. The giant’s expertise in the portable field allowed it to build a hybrid console and make it one of the most successful gaming devices to date.
The Decline of the Competition
While Nintendo kept going, others fell away. Sony’s PSP had a great run in the mid-2000s, but its follow-up, the PS Vita, stumbled after launching in 2011. Poor sales and weak third-party support meant Sony quietly left the handheld market a few years later. Sega, long gone from making hardware, never came back to portables. Smaller names like the Neo Geo Pocket and Gizmondo faded into obscurity. By the mid-2010s, Nintendo was the last major player standing in what used to be a competitive category.
The Switch Sparks a Revival
The Switch was a huge success for Nintendo, that’s true, but it goes beyond that. Its runaway popularity lit a fire under the whole handheld segment. Developers, PC hardware companies, and even traditional console fans began to take portable gaming seriously again. If a hybrid could sell over 100 million units, there was room for new approaches.
That’s where Valve stepped in. In 2022, it launched the Steam Deck, a portable PC designed to run the vast Steam library on the go. This wasn’t a direct challenge to the Switch. Instead, it targeted PC players who wanted their full game collection in a device they could carry. It was big, it was power-hungry, but it worked. And most of the gamers loved it.
A New Wave of Devices
Valve’s success in this particular field certainly attracted more players wanting a stake. Shortly after the launch of the Steam Deck, ASUS rolled out the ROG Ally, Lenovo launched the Legion Go, and smaller companies started producing Windows- and Linux-based handhelds with fast SSDs, sharp high-refresh displays, and enough power to run modern AAA titles. Some of these devices even outperformed the Switch in pure performance.
Cloud gaming and remote play pushed things further, letting players stream games from their home PCs or next-gen consoles to a handheld from anywhere. The rise of solid cloud gaming services like Xbox Cloud Gaming allowed some companies with fewer resources to also launch handhelds focused on cloud gaming. What used to be a niche interest turned into a growing segment of the gaming industry, attracting fresh investment and ideas from both PC and console worlds.
Now, with the undeniable success of devices like the Steam Deck, major console makers want a stake! This year, Xbox announced the ROG Xbox Ally, which happens to be an alternative variant of the ROG Ally with a focus on Xbox Store and Gaming services. It wasn’t what some have been expecting; Xbox didn’t launch a dedicated handheld to bring an alternative experience. However, it certainly stepped in the field.
Sony had a huge success with the PSP, but then the PS Vita was a failure. For that reason, the handheld market has been discarded by the firm in the years. But with the success, rumors now state that Sony could launch a new handheld in the future – And we are not considering the PS Portal here.
Looking Ahead at Handheld Consoles
The return of handheld gaming isn’t simply about nostalgia. Smartphones dominate the casual space, but dedicated portables now cater to players who want full-scale gaming experiences without being tied to a desk or TV. Nintendo still leads, yet Valve and others have proven there’s room for more than one winner.
From the slow fade of the PS Vita to playing Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, or Baldur’s Gate 3 on a portable system, the change has been remarkable. What once looked like the end of an era has turned into perhaps its most exciting chapter. And if the last few years are any indication, handheld gaming’s brightest days might still be ahead.
The Price is Still a Big Challenge for Premium Handheld Consoles
Perhaps, the only barrier that keeps some players away from this segment is the price. The Steam Deck might be accessible in some markets like the US, but for other regions where VAT applies, its price can push away some casual players. The same goes for the ROG Ally, which is even more expensive, and why not… the Switch 2.
Nintendo’s Switch 2 isn’t cheap as either – the console costs about $449, which easily rivals the price of traditional and more powerful consoles like the Xbox Series X or the PS5. Nintendo’s games are also more expensive, costing about $80. However, the device is still selling like hot cakes, and the reason is the strong portfolio of exclusives that Nintendo has built in the past years. While other devices have great potential, the Switch should continue selling more due to the power of its exclusives for those who appreciate them. If you want to play the next Zelda, you won’t enjoy it via conventional methods unless you get a Switch 2. The same applies to other powerful titles like Smash Bros, Super Mario, Metroid, Pokémon, etc.
While the new portable devices have huge potential, the price still keeps some players away. Those who can’t invest in devices like these will keep playing casually on smartphones. Some will prefer to invest in more powerful consoles. If that changes in the future, then we may see a boost in popularity.
