Is handheld gaming primed for a comeback?

ASUS ROG Ally (Photo from ASUS ROG)

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The Game Boy, the DS and the PSP… these are some of the most iconic handheld gaming devices we’ve come to know. Nothing could quite compare to the feeling of gaming on-the-go with your little device, whether you were trying catch ‘em all on Pokemon Emerald on your Gameboy or going fully unhinged on the Grand Theft Auto PSP titles. 

Handheld gaming at that time was undoubtedly a great source for entertainment, but we all knew that it couldn’t quite capture the experience of gaming on a console or a PC especially when it came to performance and more importantly, the ability to play modern titles. 

The technology has truly come so far. Back in 2017, Nintendo released the Switch which was a portable gaming device that could also be used as a more traditional console, thus classifying it as a hybrid console. This was a significant step in bridging the gap between console-level gaming and handheld gaming devices. 

Fast forward to 2023, and now we have a decent selection of handheld devices that are more akin to portable gaming PC’s. These devices give you the chance to play your favorite AAA titles literally at the palm of your hand. The Ayaneo 2S (nope, not THE ARENEYOW as in the school), Valve’s Steam Deck and the ASUS ROG Ally are some of the more popular and better performing devices that offer a PC-level gaming experience in a handheld form factor. 

Want to game at home instead? That’s no problem for these devices. You can hook them up to your monitor, and even use your mouse and keyboard, essentially giving you the traditional PC gaming experience. That makes these handhelds such versatile machines in the sense that they are portable, but can also compete with your cheaper gaming PC’s. 

The Nintendo Switch changed the game for handheld gaming devices. But with the PC gaming boom during the pandemic, it seems like more and more brands are deciding to invest in portable gaming devices that perform more like a PC. We can expect more brands to release their own versions of these devices, and brands that currently sell these handhelds to continue to innovate and release better iterations of their current lineup. 

This type of technology is something we could only dream of two decades ago. Who knows what other innovations we can expect for the next five to ten years or so? We have truly entered the hybrid era. Hybrid work and learning were at the forefront during the pandemic. And now that the pandemic is behind us (hopefully), we can now make way for the return of the handhelds.