Switch (and to a greater extent Switch 2) is brilliant hardware, don't get me wrong. I like it. It's well built, great screen, suspend works great, docking is awesome, etc.

But I don't like that it killed (or at least marked the end of) the old handheld gaming paradigm. Some of this is undoubtedly nostalgia, but I think there's things that were objectively better about the old way.

Around the time of 3DS launching smartphone gaming was taking off, and for a moment it looked promising which really hindered sales of handheld consoles. There were tons of innovative, fun experiences available at low prices. This pushed companies away from handhelds. It's a lot tougher sell when people have smartphones now.

But then smartphone gaming turned into a barren hellscape of ads and fremium mtx ridden slop. I don't know about you, but despite owning high end smartphones I have literally no games on my phone. Not to say that no good smartphone games exist... But they have such a huge uphill battle - nobody buys mobile games because they assume they're trash, and they don't have the necessary advertising budget to fight the big names in mobile gaming. So the selection is small and hard to find.

Then there's the ports like Minecraft and Fortnite/etc, which are also loaded with mtx nowadays. But smartphones seem like the absolute last choice platform for these titles. Nothing I hate more than playing a game designed for a controller on a touchscreen.

So say I go to pick a friend up from the airport and I have 20 minutes to wait because their flight was a bit late. What to do? I could play a game on my Switch. Totally a feasible option. Except, I almost certainly didn't bring it. Why would I? It's a fairly large device. And with the big exposed screen and analog sticks I'd have to case it up too. I'm not grabbing that thing "just in case". So I grab my phone and doomscrool. Not because I want to, but because... What else am I gonna do?

But let's say I had a 3DS.... Pocketable (or easily fitting into a modest sized purse). I can take it without thinking. No case needed, it's a clamshell. May as well keep it on me. Plus I can grab some Streetpass passes (when that was a thing) which basically gamifies the action of taking it everywhere. I'd probably spend those 20 minutes playing something on the 3DS.

That's the thing. Tablet sized portables like Switch/2, Steam Deck, etc are technically portable, but I have to plan it. If I'm going on a road trip yeah awesome those consoles are insanely good. But in my day to day life they never leave the house. The extent of portability really means I might play them in bed instead of the living room. The Switch Lite is definitely an improvement, but it's still not the size it would need to be to become effortless to bring around.

And the games. Switch/Switch 2 games are mostly just home console games that can be played on a handheld. We don't get nearly as many of those smaller games designed for 10-30 minute play sessions. The type of games that used to be developed for handhelds. This is 10x as true on PC handhelds. I mean, such games do exist no doubt they're just a lot smaller part of the market. We don't see big studios putting money into them like we'd see them do for dedicated handhelds of the past. That's not to say there weren't big epic stories meant for long sessions on old handhelds, but they weren't the main type of games on them.

I understand why things are the way they are. I get it. But I don't like it. Some might ask why I don't just carry an old handheld - I have been! With the modern modding scene the 3DS is insanely good. I've had a blast with it and have been playing a ton of games from the library I never got around to back in the day plus emulators for older consoles etc. You can even play online again with community servers. But it would be really sweet to have new games to look forward to, and an active community and support.

Then there's new like, boutique handhelds out there like the Ayn Thor etc. They look awesome and I'll probably pick one up one day, but honestly it has the same problem as my 3DS. No new exciting stuff coming. No big community.

I don't forsee things changing anytime soon... But I feel like if things were just a bit different they could. Like, graphics have kinda plateaued in the past 2 generations of consoles. Developers can't really say their games are held back by graphical limitations much anymore. Let's say the Switch 2 has an 8 year lifecycle - the Switch 3 could be a dockable handheld clamshell the size of a 3DS XL. Skip the 2 screen thing. With advances in processing/battery tech, I think in 8 years they could do that and still have graphics marginally better than S2 (but maybe not as big of a leap as S1 -> S2) and with a lot more RAM/vRAM assuming the RAMpocalypse ends by then. It could be a pocketable handheld that can still do 1080p gaming on TV while docked, keeping the single device benefit for development cost savings that the Switch brings.

I don't actually think that'll happen, but a person can dream eh?

Anyway thanks for reading my rant.

But then smartphone gaming turned into a barren hellscape of ads and fremium mtx ridden slop. I don’t know about you, but despite owning high end smartphones I have literally no games on my phone.

this is the real shame imo. I don't want another pocketable device, I just want decent games on the thing I already have.

The Vita rest mod is godly. Two weeks later, you’ve maybe lost a quarter of charge. Switch will have been dead for a while.

I think the other problem is I'm not a fan of touchscreen as a primary gaming interface

JNCO Jeans enters the chat

I recently bought a retroid pocket because I really wanted a pocketable handheld device for when I’m traveling for work.
It’s great. Emulates almost everything (including switch) and even plays a lot of PC games (if they’re not too power hungry). It’s like a steam deck lite.
Great for exactly the type of games that you can just pick up n play for a little bit.

There are still plenty of pocketable handhelds out there.

Get bigger pockets

1. be the change you want to see, how much did you spend on portable games back in the day, why aren't you spending the same amount on devs that make ad free no micro transactions games? Don't shy away from that game because it's 10 bucks, that's a quarter the price you used to pay for gbc games.

2. get yourself a Bluetooth controller, or physical controller adapter for your phone, they have buttons you can stick on your phone, and then you'll appreciate how nice the screen interfaces are these days.

sure but there is a wide variety of grips, clips, and controllers out there. You'd lose some of the portability advantage having to carry something like that around, but it would still be less expensive, redundant, and wasteful than a completely separate gaming device.

There are pocket-sized controllers intended for mobile device use with varying degrees of tradeoff

There’s a whole market of pocketable handhelds where you can carry around 40 years of retro gaming. Retroid, Miyoo, AYANEO.

There are others that run Android, giving you access newer mobile games on a dedicated device with physical buttons.

I’d argue that, in 2026, pocketable mobile gaming is better than it has ever been.

Yeah I address this.

They're like museums though. As cool as they are they'll never capture that "current, supported console" energy with a large community. No no exciting big new releases. I'll never have a spontaneous local multiplayer session.

They do look super cool though and I'm sure I'll get one eventually.

Yeah I address this.

They're like museums though. As cool as they are they'll never capture that "current, supported console" energy with a large community. No exciting big new releases. I'll never have a spontaneous local multiplayer session.

They do look super cool though and I'm sure I'll get one eventually.

The panic playdate is probably the best handheld out there right now imo.

My bad lol, I ADHD’d my way in and out of reading your post and seems like I skipped the latter half

Good point

I think the sooner thing that will happen is that handhelds like the Ayn Odin will come with Linux instead of Android, and then Proton will work, giving you all the Steam games (where there's a very active community.)
Some people have gotten it working, but I'm hoping this becomes the norm.
https://retrogamecorps.com/2025/03/03/linux-on-the-odin-2-rocknix-guide/

Nothing will ever beat the feeling of having mario kart ds, then beaming the game over to other people who did not have their own copy of the game and playing quick multiplayer rounds with them. We didn’t realize how good we had it

GameBoy SP was the perfect handheld. It fit easily in your pocket. It had color. It had a backlight. Everything after is just chasing screen size.

I agree with you completely on the phones. Ergonomic nightmares on top of all the mtx and game quality issues.

But i think the retro handheld community deserves a bit more consideration than dismissed as museums. They allow portable access to decades of games. Most of which are far more suited to the 20-30 minutes sessions you describe than any games of more recent days.
The blast you have on a 3ds? You can build on that. Either by jailbreaking other platforms (PSP?) or get a newly built device of similar size which adds greater convenience (battery life, usb-C, etc) and add the ability to emulate most consoles. Up to say, Ps3 era and you have decades of options in any genre.

Not sure you are going to find any answers if that isnt going to scratch your itch.

Ive personally never had the multiplayer itch i think you ae referring to and havent played a fraction of the games that habe intrigued me over the years.

Agreed and I’d make an argument that Nintendo could change this in a heart beat. Switch 2 lite mini would go a long way. Even the Switch 1 lite only half way does the job. Much smaller but you lose some game operability and still kind of to big. I’d love a clamshell NS 2 with an 6.7 inch screen.

I think the audience is far to small and likely the chipset changes from the existing structure might be to costly .. if possible at all ..

But this one particular idiot (me) on Lemmy can dream..

Yo they exist, android based handhelds that can run steam games and are more portable, I very much considered dropshipping them (never did it in my life, just seemed like a good pick) pretarrif because of how cheap they were for the performanxe.

Yup. Retroid Pocket 6 is perfect for this. Can even run PC games with Steam save game sync. Plays all Switch emulated games.

But this is not for normies. The amount of setup and fiddling these consoles take make them a very very niche enthusiast device. But still a device I would strongly recommend for people who are willing and who want a budget device in this current hardware climate.

sbcgaming reddit

some dude's collection

If you get one with a Snapdragon chip (Adreno GPU), you can run most Switch and Steam games, so you will be able to play new releases, within reason.

my steamdeck fits in one of the inside pockets of my punk vest lmao. it's nice

once you can run steam games on phone-level cpus, it's game over.

I think you're simply nostalgic. Not in a bad way. In an understandable way.

Even though we have a switch, steam deck, bazzite machine, wife remote plays her steam cozy simulators on pocket flip 2 and she's fairly happy with it

Locally she installed gameNative (emulator of steam on android) and uses it for lighter visual novels

All is to say, maybe the day you finally get the old school style console, you'll change your mind.

Phone app stores don't gave good games. They just don't. Not free, not paid; they just don't.

Unless you get into Foss shit. Which you donate not pay for. Mindustry goes pretty hard.

They didn't stop being pocketable, there's still plenty of (and i say this with much reservation) retro consoles out there in the second hand market for a decent price and the modding,/cfw/homebrew communities are thriving. I bought a 3ds not long ago and a psp a whole back to replace my stolen one, they fit in my purse or of I'm wearing the right skirt/pants they are pocketable.

how do you play steam games on it?

I had the red/gold Micro and I'm still kicking myself for not holding onto it.

Look up FEX and the wrappers that let you run Steam through it. There's github projects for it

Download Play was the shit. Nintendo added something similar back (GameShare) but it's just display streaming instead of sharing a binary. Can give a similar experience, though.

We really need to recreate the same thing. I wanted game devs to do local multiplayer on Android using WiFi Direct for over a decade and yet NOBODY HAS EVEN TOUCHED IT, at most a few does Bluetooth, it's just a handful of applications even using it at all and the single most notable program is a printer manager (Mopria) so not even something multi user oriented.

I use the app Gamenative. Works fairly well for steam, gog and epic and has a nice UI

I mean, I’m eating well on my phone.

My pockets are big enough to carry a Steam Deck 🤷‍♂️

Suggestion: Wear bigger pants. 😌

This is my phone with my magnetic controller attached. I can detach the magnet and screen and set it on a kickstand to play at a table or hotel desk or such. I
My phone is my main gaming device when I’m on the road; lots and lots to play.

When it’s closed up and the controller is still attached, it’s this big:

However, it’s still not pocketable, but that’s because I’m a woman and pockets aren’t easy to come by. Fits in my bag quite well though.

I love the new crop of boutique handhelds, but I too will always miss being able to trade Pokémon with other kids on the bus and not having to worry about anything except who’s got a link cable. As well the ecosystem of magazines and parts and accessories that came with these things. It is the community and adoption level that made it special.

And to those who say this is nostalgia talking this was true back then as well, just look at things like the Supervision. Lack of support and community is part of why it failed and I fear that many of these new handhelds will meet a similar fate.

There's no way that's comfy lol

It's an inanimate object; I don't care if it's comfortable. 🤷‍♂️

That controller looks awesome! Can I get a link or a name or something to identify it, please?

I went out of my way to avoid doing that because I didn’t want to advertise in a federated space.

What's mtx?

Micro-transactions

My guess, money transactions (like dlc, cosmetics, tokens, shark cards, etc)

Big time agree. I still have 3 N3DS XL's, a PSP (all jailbroken), and an Anbernic. I never take my Steam Deck or any of my Switches with me, but sometimes I just throw a 3DS in my pocket. Sucks that there are no more streetpass relays, but somebody at the japanese market near me keeps their 3DS at the register, and I like to think there's a subculture of people like me who bring their 3DS's to streetpass each other there.