The lights are on
A long time ago I had planned to write out two blogs regarding dedicated gaming handheld systems and mobile phones. In the end I only ended up writing one those blogs which can be found here. The reason being is mainly because I was busy and secondly because I was lazy… sorta. I had started writing the blog but then decided to scrap it because I just didn’t like it. It had sounded void lacking any memorable and recent personal experience.
Anyways personally story aside I have finally decide to rewrite the blog having almost nothing to due with the original story. The reason I decided to rewrite the blog is because now I feel like I have a recent personal experience. To clarify that personal experience, I just finished the Ocarina of Time 3D on the Nintendo 3DS. Having completed this game remastered for a dedicated gaming handheld I now have a clear view for how I want this blog to be read. That said before getting to the topic proper a little glossary first.
**Handhelds: I am using handhelds in this blog in the same way as I used it in the last blog which is to refer to what is technically considered to be dedicated gaming handhelds. In other words Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita).
Mobile: Basically any smartphone or tablet capable of playing games.**
And yes let’s get this out of the way now, Ocarina of Time 3D was an amazing game. The first release was considered good and it still is good (big surprise). It looked and felt like playing a great console game which is a great achievement for Nintendo on the hardware front. This experience is entirely different from what I have had with my iPhone. Angry Birds, is fun and addicting but I wouldn’t say that it ranks on the level of Ocarina of Time 3D, which I hold in the same respect as some of the great franchises of this generation like Uncharted and Bioshock. The power of our current handhelds like the PlayStation Vita is actually becoming stronger than the previous generation of home consoles. With that being the case it only makes sense for developers to tap into that power and create more complex games. I see a potential topic here for a new blog but I don’t wanna get off on a tangent so for now I digress on this issue… let’s look at something else.
Yup its Good!
The goal of this blog was originally to take a different stance from my last blog and see what handhelds could do in order to remain relevant. The most obvious solution is for handhelds to do the same thing that home consoles have done and that is offer a number of different entertainment options on a single device. Essentially handhelds and mobile devices could just merge into one item. That idea stuck with me for a couple of seconds. While I would love to be able to carry around my 3DS or possibly the PS Vita and have all the abilities of my iPhone I realize that this isn’t going to happen. The price of these hardware devices is already decently high and adding the necessary components (like antennas and and a nice user interface) is only going to increase the cost. Mobile devices are rather expensive unless they are subsidize and even then your going to spend a shinny penny on a contract.
Scrapping that horrible idea aside I figured I might as well look at my recent personal experience for ideas. I took me a couple of days to beat Ocarina of Time 3D and I most played the game in the confront of my own house. I want to take a look as to what the point of having a handheld system I mean conceptually. It seems that the whole reason to have a handheld system would be so that you could play games when you don’t have the luxury of being in your own home.It’s a simple concept but I think we can take it a bit further.
My daily lifestyle usually consists of usually involves time spent at home, work, commute, and free time not necessarily in that order. During the school year I the time spent at home changes to time spent at the dorm and classes are also added to the point. I’m guessing many of you (or rather many of the adults) on this website have a similar lifestyle. Like do some basic analyzing! Most people really don’t have much to time sit down and play games when they are out in their day. You might have a couple of minutes in the day during the morning and afternoon commute. During work you might have a couple minutes to yourself during your break/lunch.
Most people don’t have a lot of time in their day to play games (outside of their house) when they are juggling their work and social life. This is were the recent spike in mobile gaming really starts to make sense. The morning commute might take you a couple of minutes on the bus or train but that really isn’t sufficient for a core console experience. That five to ten minute wait for the bus to show up is perfect for a completing a couple of stages in Angry Birds or Cut the Rope but it isn’t enough time for you to beat the Water Temple. The mobile market is designed with games for simple games that can be played quickly with easy to use controls. This might not be what everyone wants but it definitely makes sense in the context of the situation.
So in what situation does it make sense to have a full console experience on the go? Well to be honest I don’t really think there is one major reason. I dorm during the school year and don’t like having to bring a television and a game console. That’s why when I head over to my dorm I usually just bring my DS and PSP for games and use my computer for Netflix. In this situation it makes sense to be able to have a light product that provides a full console experience. There are some others that I can think of as well such as if you constantly take long trips to other countries (which I also used to do during the summer). That said there probably aren’t that many people that fit into the “lazy college student that dorms” or people that fit into the “regularly make long trips” too really justify high sales.
All of this really makes me seem like I’m constantly taking jabs at Nintendo. And you could very well pin me as some typical Nintendo hater…
For maximum redemption smack until cheek turns bright red!
… but then you’d have to smack yourself across the face.
I love my new 3DS there are some great games to play on the system and as it matures I am sure there will be even more. It’s not like I regret the purchase if I really did I could have easily returned the system (I’ve only had it for a little over a week). The same can said about my PSP Go and can also probably be said about the PS Vita. Having a miniature home console has its perks at times. I really hope those two handhelds turn out to be a huge success for their respective companies.
But there are doubts...
And this is were this blog has taken me. I simple (and yet awkward) realization that even though I may love handhelds, and think that with the amazing leap in technology they can produce amazing games there really isn’t and reason for them to exist. Mobile games have established themselves as a much cheaper and easier to use alternative to kill those few minutes while waiting for the bus. I guess that is the strange thing is that while I really want these things to be successful I wouldn’t be surprise if they fail.
Or perhaps I am missing something that will allow these two handhelds to flourish. If so feel free to try and build some optimism for me.
I completely agree with you tenzen, as far as I'm concerned there really is no functionalist purpose for handhelds. But, like you said, they are still great consoles to have and enjoy. I love playing Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Chrono Trigger on the DS, but I often do it while sitting next to my Xbox. I plan on bringing my system to college, and not my Xbox, just because of the sheer simplicity of it. I can remember walking around my local grocery store, Staples, or Best Buy when I was younger always playing Pokemon on my gameboy color. Nowadays I couldn't even imagine walking through a store while trying to play my DS because, well, the stylus ruined that. A lot of DS games requite precise controls and touches due to the high presence of plat-formers and the touch screen, both ruining the concept of gaming on the go. As far as I'm concerned I'll always support the handhelds, but if others will, and if they will still be around down the road, is hard to tell.
Interesting post.
This is just me, and I honestly don't know if it's true for anyone else... but when I was in college (didn't live in a dorm, and still had consoles at home) I worked at a restaurant, and the gaps between classes, or between class and work, or between day and night shifts at work, often left me with between one and 5 hours to kill. Because I worked and went to school downtown, and lived on the outskirts of the suburbs, going home during those breaks didn't make sense, and would cost a fortune in gasoline. So, I often brought my PSP or DS. I was more than happy to play, for example, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, during these breaks. Whether I did one quest, or played for five hours, it was a fun way to kill time and make progress in the game. Can you imagine playing Angry Birds for five hours straight? I doubt my phone's battery would last more than two hours. Of course, I didn't have my HTC Evo 4G until after I graduated, but that's not the point.
I guess my point is that everyone's daily routine is different, and whether or not any other person has a similar routine to the one I described, clearly there are enough people buying handhelds that Sony and Nintendo see manufacturing them as profitable, and enough people buying the games that the developers and publishers are making games for them.
Also, there are probably a lot of people who buy handhelds because of the ability to play some games with their friends. The social properties of handhelds is impossible to ignore.
To sum things up, I don't think devoted gaming handhelds with be disappearing anytime soon.
I have no doubt in my mind that there are instances in which handhelds could be useful. Like in your situation or in mine. The idea is that I don't think that there are many people who have those instances to justify a purchase. The recent NDP sales show that the Nintendo 3DS didn't sell as many copies at it should considering that there was the release of a major game.
Yeah I think that some people buy handhelds so that they can play certain exclusive games. However, is there really a reason for those exclusive handheld games to exist. I am pretty sure they would sell probably sell a lot more if they are console games.