Musings of a Gamer: I’m a Portable Gamer and I Don’t Care

Editor’s note: Mike loves his handhelds, and he’s not ashamed to admit it. I think he’s right that there’s more variety on portable systems, but I’m not ready to toss out my consoles just yet — I’m too attached to those fancy HD visuals and online play. How much of your gaming do you do on handhelds? -Brett


For most of the time that I’ve been playing video games, people have looked at portable gaming as merely a sideshow to the main circus, console gaming. My first system, however, was an original Game Boy. My parents were convinced that console gaming would consume my entire being, but for some reason this belief did not extend to the portable world.

Today, portable gaming is a huge part of the financial well-being of video game companies. Nintendo can do the Scrooge McDuck money swim on money made off the Nintendo DS line alone, and the system is home to a number of great games. The PlayStation brand that extends to the PSP is finally becoming viable in North America and is making a grab for the portable market.

The stigma attached to portable games is rapidly fading, especially with the advent of smart phones like the iPhone as viable gaming platforms. Yet a lot of the “hardcore” audience still disdains handhelds because their little sisters, mothers, grandmothers, etc. may play and enjoy portable games.

They couldn’t be more wrong.

 

In my opinion, portable gaming right now offers the greatest wealth of experiences, both old and new. Most console games on PS3 and Xbox 360 feature spectacular graphics but offer little in variety. People will undoubtedly argue with me on this point, but I feel most console games are just a variation on the shooter genre. Murdering highly realistic looking people and creatures is commonplace, and that’s not really interesting to me.

Not so with portable gaming.

To me, portable gaming is the last bastion for the elements of video gaming that I grew up with. I enjoy 2D games a great deal, and most 2D games these days are either downloadable titles or handheld titles. I really think that, unlike the two “hardcore” consoles, portable gaming really offers a variety of titles that span many genres, ages, and tastes.

What do you think? Are you also a proud portable gamer? Or perhaps am I too harsh on consoles? As always, let’s have a discussion.