Portables vs consoles

[noiseredux]

<3 my portables.

this is why we get along.

[Hatta]

My DS and PSP do get played, but not as often as I had thought. There just aren't that many 10 minute gaps in my day where I can sit and game, unless I'm at home. Anything less than 10 minutes and it's not worth switching focus. And when I'm at home, I'd rather play on the big screen. So mainly it's relegated to when I go to the laundromat, or go out of town.

I'd like to play them more, there are definitely games worth playing. But I feel silly sitting on the couch in front of a rack of consoles and playing on a tiny screen. Getting the GB player has helped, and I'm going to get at cable for my PSP. It's a shame there's no such device for the DS.

[RCBH928]

I just want to update this post by saying,
more and more I find amazing games on the iPad
I feel I am slowly quitting on console gaming

Consoles are larger,
need a tv and constant electricity
games are expensive
too much hardware(console,controller,wires,tv, sensors, electric bricks)
Games are usually to complex to drop in and just play, usually you need sometime
to adjust to controls, and learn the whole maps.

The convenience of the iPad is amazing
Games are just as much fun
as a retro gamer, a lot of remakes and ports are available
Discounts and sales are constant, and while some people think
that developers aren't making money, I hear a lot of 1m downloads

This is coming from some one who didn't accept portable gaming and thought it was a relic of the early 90's.

Maybe I haven't played consoles in a long time I forgot how good it was,
but for now I feel consoles are a lot of hassle to deal with

[noiseredux]

I really can't see myself gaming on an iPad. The lack of an actual controller is crap to me. I tried to play Mega Man 2 on a friend's and I could barely move.

[Ivo]

I love handhelds - the first I owned myself was a GBA and I never went back. The time spent on my DS lite is probably starting to rival the total time spent playing on the Amiga or even the PC, and those were the only platforms I had.
Something I find particular great on the DS is some excellent games that just wouldn't have been done elsewhere - Under the Knife is perhaps a prime example.

With that said, playing on a bigger screen is nice... But more than that the huge advantage for non-handhelds is controllers that do not have to compromise to size constraints. That goes for actual mouse / trackball, keyboards and joysticks / gamepads. I think the way you control games is really important and the best games are often just not as good if not using the best controls. Controls can really matter.

Ivo.

[Bradtemple87]

I do love both but I dont think I could put my handhelds before my dreamcast or ps1 collection, sorry

[RCBH928]

I really can't see myself gaming on an iPad. The lack of an actual controller is crap to me. I tried to play Mega Man 2 on a friend's and I could barely move.

I understand
The controls are not perfect
it won't be good for the hardcore Call of Duty online multiplayer who wants to kill everyone and with response moves in the split of milliseconds matter

But you want to have fun and enjoy your time, trust me it works
*I tried Settlers HD, and the controls are great for a hand held device, I expected less
*I played PLants vs Zombies, Fantastic all that I can say
*Babylonian Twins, 2D platformer and I wasn't bothered by the controls,it was smooth
*Vampire Origins, a 3D action game kind of like RE series, very simple , the game controls are bad but I can see if they programed it in a better way it can work fabulous
*Monkey Island, I think its almost perfect touch controls

I had a problem with one game called Age of Zombies where your fingers were always on the screen because you are in constant action, and it won't response will with slight movement.

Also the iPad is too large for motion sensor controls, driving while using the iPad as the steering wheel or shaking the iPad to drop a bomb is not good, it works much better on the iPhone because its smaller and more manageable .

For the most part, I found it depends on the developer how much thought they put into controls. If they put enough thought into it controls can be very good to great, on the other hand sometimes they can be very confusing , very inconvenient.

[ZeroAX]

Handhelds cause they still use cartridges and still have 2D games.

I hope the 3DS gets 2D games and developers don't rush to take advantage of the 3D gimmick.

[Bradtemple87]

Handhelds cause they still use cartridges and still have 2D games.

I hope the 3DS gets 2D games and developers don't rush to take advantage of the 3D gimmick.

I wouldnt count on that, look at what happened to the movie industry. Every damn movie is 3d now and I hate it!

[neilencio]

I play more on my DS nowadays, but one very specific concern I have when it comes to portables over consoles is durability and accessibility of parts. On my PS2, if I play too many button mashers that I wore down the controllers, I can easily get a replacement and hook it up within seconds.

On the other hand, if I wore down my DS's buttons, the replacement parts are not as easy to come by, and me being able to install them easily is highly unlikely, considering the fact that I don't even have a triwing on hand.

(It's quite similar to my concerns RE PC vs Laptops. I can easily swap out broken parts on my desktop, as opposed to the lappie.)