6 Reasons Handhelds Are the Future of Gaming

With the Nintendo Change being the clear winner of this technology of gaming consoles, the rise of handheld gaming PCs, and youthful generations’ inclination in the direction of cellular and handheld gaming, it’s clear that handhelds are the way forward for gaming. Let me clarify why.

Gen Z and Gen Alpha are Handheld Natives

Gen Z is the primary technology to embrace cellular gaming from a younger age, with Gen Alpha becoming a member of Gen Z in desire in the direction of mobile gaming. More than 80% of Gen Z and Gen Alpha gamers play video games on telephones and tablets, that are technically handheld gaming units.

Even after we take away smartphones from the image we discover that, amongst youthful avid gamers, PC and Nintendo Switch are the gaming platforms of alternative. After we have a look at Zoomers as a complete, we are able to see that their second-favorite gaming platform is the Change, with almost 40% of Zoomer avid gamers proudly owning Nintendo’s hybrid console.

Japanese Zoomers have all but abandoned residence consoles (PS5 and Xbox) and as an alternative choose gaming on smartphones, Nintendo Change, and PC. As for Gen Alpha, 30% of them own a handheld gaming device, and virtually half personal a pill.

Contemplating that 94% of Gen Alpha and 90% of Gen Z consider themselves game enthusiasts, it’s clear that these two cohorts (which can quickly make up nearly all of the gaming viewers) choose gaming on the go. For individuals who grew up enjoying cellular video games, graduating to a handheld similar to a Nintendo Change or a PC gaming handheld similar to Steam Deck or ROG Ally looks like the following logical step.

Nintendo Is Now a Handheld Gaming Firm

After Nintendo hit a low level with the Wii U, Nintendo struck gold with the Change, a hybrid console that sold 143.42 million units as of August 2024, making it the third best-selling console ever.

The huge recognition of the Change means that Nintendo will keep on with its tried-and-true system. Each report and rumor on the market suggests the company’s next console will be Switch 2, which can observe the identical handheld and residential console hybrid design as its predecessor.

I don’t suppose Nintendo will launch a non-hybrid console ever once more. The Change is so in style and Nintendo has turn out to be an organization that has given up on chasing photorealistic graphics. AAA video games have ceaselessly skipped the Change, and it hasn’t slowed the console down.

Nintendo has had a robust handheld presence ever because the authentic Game Boy, however the Change has remodeled it right into a handheld gaming firm. 2015 was considered the year that handhelds died, however lower than a decade later, gaming handhelds (excluding smartphones) are extra in style than ever. Present tendencies in gaming point out they are going to solely get extra in style sooner or later.

Microsoft May Be Engaged on a Handheld Xbox

Nintendo isn’t the one main console participant that appears to be engaged on a handheld gaming machine. Whereas solely a streaming machine, the PlayStation Portal has proven that many avid gamers crave a conveyable PlayStation expertise.

Then we now have Microsoft, which seems to be working on a handheld Xbox console. Whether or not the hand-held Xbox will find yourself as a Recreation Go machine that makes a speciality of streaming or a full-fledged handheld gaming console highly effective sufficient to run video games natively stays to be seen

If one of many world’s largest gaming firms is on this market, it’s as a result of there’s some huge cash to be made there. In different phrases, handheld gaming may be stylish sufficient to pique Microsoft’s curiosity, which is important contemplating the corporate hasn’t set foot into handheld territory earlier than.

PC Gaming Handhelds Will Solely Get Extra Highly effective

PC gaming handhelds have been round for nearly a decade, with the primary correct handheld gaming PC, the GPD Win, introduced in October 2015. The machine was underpowered and had points operating AAA video games from the late 2000s.

Virtually a decade later, PC gaming handhelds are one of many fastest-growing gaming markets, and the present technology of units has no points operating most of 2023’s AAA titles.

From left to proper: Lenovo Legion Go, AYANEO 2021 Professional, Valve Steam Deck, GPD Win3, Logitech G Cloud, Asus ROG Ally, OneXPlayer 1

The scenario with 2024’s high-end video games isn’t as rosy. Whereas the present crop of PC gaming handhelds is getting a bit previous within the tooth hardware-wise, struggling to run the newest and biggest AAA video games at playable body charges, the following technology of handheld APUs is simply across the nook.

AMD will debut the Z2 Excessive in early January 2025, and the Intel Lunar Lake cellular lineup is already right here, displaying spectacular gaming efficiency and much more spectacular energy effectivity. In response to rumors, the Change 2 will characteristic a comparatively highly effective chip—in comparison with the one discovered within the first Change—made by NVIDIA, with DLSS help which can outsource among the work to machine studying upscaler.

Intel’s XeSS can also be right here, and AMD has introduced that its FSR 4 upscaling technology will even be machine learning-based. One of many main causes for switching to AI-based upscaling is battery life enhancements on PC gaming handhelds.

In response to Jack Huynh, AMD senior vice chairman and common supervisor of the Computing and Graphics Enterprise Group (via Tom’s Hardware): “On the hand-held facet, my primary precedence is battery life. In the event you have a look at the ASUS ROG Ally or the Lenovo Legion Go, it’s simply that the battery life just isn’t there. I want a number of hours. I have to play Wukong for 3 hours, not 60 minutes. That is the place body technology and interpolation [come in], so that is the FSR4 that we’re including.”

That is all to say that I’m assured that the following technology of PC gaming handhelds, in addition to the Nintendo Change 2, shall be massively extra highly effective than what we now have proper now. Trying past these machines, future {hardware} can solely get extra highly effective.

Whereas I don’t imagine we’re going to get a handheld console that’s on par with residence consoles and mid-range gaming PCs anytime quickly, I do imagine that when the PC handheld gaming market turns into worthwhile sufficient, we’ll see much more semi-custom handheld APUs just like the one present in Steam Deck.

AAA Video games Play Nice on Handhelds

I love playing PC games on my ROG Ally, and nearly all of the video games I play are controller-friendly and nice on handhelds, which is particularly true for AAA titles.

In video games that miss some useful button mappings on controllers, similar to devoted fast save and fast load buttons or buttons that open your stock or the map, I can simply remap rear paddle buttons or assign secondary capabilities to face buttons or bumpers and get a lot of the freedom I’ve on PC.

However AAA video games additionally play nice on different handhelds since, typically, they’re initially designed round controllers.

Cloud Gaming Can Solely Get Higher

Prefer it or not, cloud gaming is right here to remain. And whereas it isn’t fairly in style as we speak and suffers from a variety of issues, it can most certainly see wholesome progress sooner or later. In spite of everything, Gen Z and Gen Alpha wish to sport on smartphones, and there are many retro and streaming handhelds out there which might be excellent cloud gaming units.

Microsoft

The Steam Deck related units are wonderful cloud gaming vessels, particularly in the event you personal one and need to play the newest and biggest AAA video games at increased body charges with higher element.

GeForce Now, no less than its RTX 4080 tier, is already there quality-wise. The latency’s low sufficient for each sport, sans twitch shooters, to really feel such as you’re enjoying it on an area machine, the picture high quality is greater than spectacular, and the efficiency is ridiculously good. The service’s sole challenge is proscribed sport help.

Xbox and PlayStation choices are getting there, with the latter having a clear edge over the previous regardless of Microsoft tooting its Xbox Recreation Streaming horn for years now. However I imagine Microsoft will come to their senses and enhance their service in time for the discharge of the Xbox handheld or a cloud-only Xbox Game Pass tier.

As soon as we now have extra cloud gaming decisions, handhelds will match their residence console and desktop counterparts relating to the constancy of the gaming expertise. We gained’t need to personal a gaming PC anymore to get that degree of constancy by domestically streaming our video games with Sunshine and Moonlight. We’ll be capable of play our favourite video games anyplace and anytime with out sacrificing visuals.

Youngsters who grew up with smartphones and tablets of their palms will make up nearly all of avid gamers in a decade or so. They already present a robust inclination to the Change and different gaming handhelds, and I’m positive those that choose PC will embrace PC gaming handhelds. These handhelds will solely get extra in style and highly effective, and if Microsoft’s gamble pays out, future Change units and handheld Xbox consoles may turn out to be the go-to alternative of many up-and-coming avid gamers.

Positive, residence consoles and desktop PCs gained’t go anyplace, however personally, I don’t see any cause for handhelds to not turn out to be the way forward for gaming.