Loose Threads: Which handheld has the brightest future?

Though the pocket gaming crowd are a generally placid bunch, never more content than when idling away hours in Harvest Moon DS or floating blissfully through the hazy hues of fl0w, there is one topic that tends to get them a little more animated.


Granted there are plenty of handheld agnostics out there, but for a significant chunk of the handheld gaming populace, the question of which console is set to prosper divides people more than politics, religion and Marmite combined. Seemingly mild mannered Electroplankton fans turn into snarling attack dogs for their hardware of choice at the slightest mention of its future decline.

Undeterred by such reactions, last week we bravely asked you, 'Which handheld has the brightest future?' and this is what you had to say. First to the topic was DS champion danskmacabre:

"It seems that Nintendo just keeps getting it right over the last few years. So I'm betting whilst the DSi won't be as successful as the DS lite, it will still knock the socks off the PSP. Strange really, as I feel the PSP appeals to a different gaming audience, but maybe it's because the DS has such a wide audience.

"It comes back to the same thing, the Game Boy's success was its simplicity and battery life and lots of games. Sure it was technically inferior to other handhelds, but the price was right, the batteries lasted for ages and the games were okay. Sony however went for really nice technical specs and as a result higher prices, but that shrinks your audience to those who are willing to fork out more money.

"I think even though in many ways the PSP is better (although no touchscreen is a real drawback for me) the DS, Gameboy, well they were just more accessible, convenient and affordable and that's what it's all about really for handhelds.

"As to the iPhone, well if I was gonna spend lots of money on a contract or phone and wanted to test, I suppose I'd get an iPhone, but I wouldn't be getting it for the games. I think the iPhone and DS can coexist quite happily, they are quite different markets. I reckon the PSP is stuck out in the cold though."

Countering danskmacabre's DS love, PSP die-hard hunter_alien waded in next:

"...most systems get their biggest bangs during their first 4-5 years, so in my opinion, both the DS and PSP will reach their popularity peak next year, and I'm not talking about hardware sales, because those will more then likely drop (if a price drop doesn't come).

"Which has the most still going for it? Well the DS will no doubt get tons more games, then the PSP, but to be honest I don't want those types of games for myself (read: shovelware). So it will be a close race.

"For me the PSP can have a great year even if it only has just three great exclusives like Patapon, God of War etc. So if along with of Resistance: Retribution, Patapon 2 and LocoRoco 2 we can get two or three other higher quality games for the PSP, then for me it has a much brighter future."

The PSP has made a little go a long way line-up wise over the last year, but is it a trick it can pull off again in 2009? Moving on, the rest of the debate was all about the Jesus phone with Accelorata Jengold leading the charge:

"I'm going to go out on a limb and plump for the iPhone. Why? Because the device is selling by the truck load, it's cheap to develop for and the App Store might be one of the most ground-breaking quiet revolutions in gaming's history. If you think about it (the iPhone), it's a direct cross between the PSP and the DS, it's super sexy, pushes great visuals and has a touchscreen - what more could we want?"

Much of what you say is true Accelorata, but surely there's more to success than that? SetsFireToPoshHammer certainly knows the missing ingredient:

"I'll tell you what I want. Some triple A games please! Okay, the iPhone is great in many ways and plenty of the games for it are decent but where's the iPhone's New Super Mario Bros or WipEout Pure? Apple's lack of gaming focus is telling on the iPhone front and though the third-party companies are doing a good job of holding their own on the platform, a leading light for development has not emerged yet.

"That said, I reckon when the DS coughs its last, within eighteen months or so, the iPhone could be set to swoop in and gobble up some market. Then again, by that time the next gen-handhelds from Sony and Nintendo should be well on their way and the iPhone might end up being simply an appendix to this generation of hardware. Mind you, Apple might think about updating its hardware around that time too, so who knows.

"You're getting nothing concrete out of me today."

Always with the extra questions SetsFireToPoshHammer, but that's why we love you. We reckon there's still plenty to play for this generation of hardware, with at least another couple of years worth of pocket gaming set to be delivered by the DS and the PSP in their current forms. Not to mention formats conspicuously absent from this debate, such as N-Gage and Android gaming.

But for now we'll let this one stew for a bit longer, we're sure there's plenty more for you to add.

And so, it's time to move onto next week's topic:


Which genres are lacking on handhelds?

We can think of loads, but we want you to tell us where the gaps are in your pocket gaming library. As ever, there are more details in the forum.

Until next week, remember to click 'Track It!' to be sure not to miss the next Loose Threads and happy posting pocket heros!