Portable gaming consoles have been an integral part of video game history, and for many, they are synonymous with the gaming experience rather than computers or stationary consoles. The ability to enjoy games anywhere and anytime has proven more important than graphics quality, making “portables” extremely popular. They have evolved from primitive devices to powerful modern gadgets with hardware comparable to gaming laptops. Let’s explore the key stages of portable gaming consoles, the best models, their features, and their impact on the gaming industry.
Early Period (1970s – Early 1980s)
Microelectronics in the late 1970s was in its early stages, and the top computers of the time lacked a graphical user interface. Portable devices faced even greater challenges, not only due to technological limitations but also because of the need for autonomy.
Microvision
The first portable gaming console, which can be considered the prototype of modern devices, appeared in 1979. The Microvision portable console from Milton Bradley featured interchangeable cartridges, allowing users to play different games on a single device. The console had a monochrome LCD display with a resolution of 16×16 pixels and was powered by a nine-volt battery.
Despite its innovative design, Microvision had numerous issues, including a small game library, poor screen quality, and high cost. Additionally, the console lacked its own processor; each game contained a processor on the cartridge, not just memory. This significantly affected the price. In the early 1980s, Microvision was a luxury item, not a mass-market product.
At the time, the console cost $50, equivalent to $210 in 2024. While this may not seem like much, the device itself was useless without video games. Cartridges were expensive, rare, and the variety of video games was not impressive.
Nintendo Game & Watch
Another significant step in development was made by Nintendo, which released the Game & Watch series in 1980. These consoles had built-in games and LCD displays that combined a clock with gaming functions. The Game & Watch series became very popular and laid the foundation for Nintendo’s future success in portable gaming.
Over the series’ lifespan, more than 60 different models were released, featuring various built-in games, shapes, screen sizes, and more. In the Soviet Union, copies of this console were known for a game featuring a wolf collecting eggs.
This console inspired the development of the incredibly popular Tamagotchi and Tetris (which included not just Tetris but many other games), which could be purchased in Ukraine in the early 2000s for 10 hryvnias.
Although Nintendo Game & Watch offered only one game, the console became popular due to its affordable price. Of course, this could not be the peak of evolution, as a new game required purchasing another Game & Watch. Despite this, over 40 million units were sold, motivating the creation of the next hit, the Game Boy, which will be discussed below.
Golden Era (Mid-1980s – 1990s)
The market for stationary gaming consoles was booming, while arcade machines were experiencing tough times. Nintendo was swimming in money thanks to the incredible sales of the NES, making the release of another portable console with interchangeable cartridges inevitable.
Nintendo Game Boy
In 1989, Nintendo released the Game Boy, which forever changed the portable gaming console market. Thanks to interchangeable cartridges, long battery life, and excellent ergonomics, the Game Boy became an absolute hit, tripling the sales of its predecessor.
Technologically, the console was the best on the market. The Game Boy featured a monochrome display with a resolution of 160×144 pixels and ran on four AA batteries. With good batteries, you could play for 15-20 hours.
At the heart of the device was a Sharp SM83 processor running at 4 MHz, 8 KB of RAM, and 8 KB of video memory. The display used transreflective technology, making it best to play on a sunny day outdoors. Later versions included backlighting, but this directly affected autonomy.
A large screen, a massive library of video games, convenient controls, and compact size were enough for the Game Boy’s success, selling 120 million units over its lifetime. It continued to sell well even 10 years after its release, until the advent of new-generation portable consoles.
Over the next decade, several improved versions were released, including the Game Boy Pocket (1996) and the Game Boy Color (1998), which added a color display. The core design remained largely unchanged. Importantly, all games from the original Game Boy were fully compatible with the Game Boy Color, as the console automatically added colors to monochrome video games.
Sega Game Gear
During this period, other companies also attempted to capture a share of the market. Sega released the Game Gear in 1990, which had a color screen and was more powerful than the Game Boy, but this came with its own drawbacks.
The device had a 3.2-inch screen with a resolution of 160×144 pixels. However, its high power consumption (the console required six AA batteries, which quickly drained) and higher price made it less popular.
In addition to poor autonomy and high battery costs, the Game Gear had considerable dimensions: 210x113x38 mm. After the small “Game Boy,” carrying such a giant was inconvenient.
The Sega Game Gear achieved some success in Japan but had lower-than-expected sales in other regions, with nearly 11 million units sold, ten times less than its competitor. Nevertheless, this console left a significant mark in history as a worthy attempt by Sega to compete with the giant Nintendo.
Atari Lynx
Another notable attempt to create a successful portable console was made by Atari, which released the Atari Lynx in 1989. The Lynx was the first portable console with a color display and support for multiplayer via special cables.
With 64 KB of memory, it could handle significantly better graphics, and a separate processor handled sound. However, despite its innovative design and technical specifications, the Atari Lynx could not compete with the Game Boy due to its high price and limited game library.
At the time, the console cost $180, equivalent to $440 in 2024. Another issue was its autonomy, which at best was four hours with six AA batteries.
The Atari Lynx, along with the Game Gear, demonstrated that hardware power did not have as much impact as ergonomics and autonomy, preventing them from successfully competing with the Nintendo Game Boy.
Portable Consoles of the New Generation (2000s)
The rapid development of microelectronics allowed the level of graphics in portable gaming consoles to reach a new level. Sony joined the competition for gamers’ wallets, intensifying the situation with serious competition.
Nintendo Game Boy Advance
Nintendo also continued to develop the Game Boy line, releasing the Game Boy Advance (GBA) in 2001. The console, designed from scratch, featured a powerful 32-bit processor and a color display with a resolution of 240×160 pixels.
Its low cost (equivalent to $170) and good hardware balance made the Game Boy Advance another hit, although it sold “only” 82 million units compared to the original Game Boy’s 120 million.
Graphically, the games were on par with the PlayStation 1, except for the limited memory capacity of the cartridges. Thanks to excellent ergonomics and 15 hours of autonomy, the Game Boy Advance became the ideal portable gaming device of its time. Importantly, now only two AA batteries were needed to power the device.
The console supported multiplayer games via special cables and had a vast library of games. In 2003, the Game Boy Advance SP was released in a clamshell design. It featured a built-in screen backlight and a rechargeable battery.
Nintendo DS
In 2004, Nintendo introduced the unique Nintendo DS console, which had two screens, one of which was touch-sensitive. This completely new approach to development allowed for the creation of new types of games with innovative gameplay.
In addition to significantly more powerful hardware, the Nintendo DS offered a unique gaming experience using two screens for play. Some video games displayed additional information on the lower screen, such as the character’s inventory, while others combined the screen space into a single game field (Contra IV).
The Nintendo DS also supported wireless connectivity for multiplayer games and had a slot for Game Boy Advance cartridges, making it backward-compatible. This move was crucial as it allowed the preservation of the vast library of video games from the previous generation console.
It’s no surprise that the Nintendo DS became the most successful gaming device of the 2000s, selling over 150 million units worldwide. Gamers and the company itself liked the concept of two screens, leading to the subsequent releases of the 3DS and several new versions of the Nintendo DS Lite, DSi, and DSi XL.
Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP)
The Japanese giant Sony confidently dominated the stationary console market, pushing Nintendo 64 to second place, so it could afford to develop a portable device, which it did for several years.
The Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP), released in 2004, ushered in a new era of mobile video games, offering the best hardware of its time. The PSP had a 4.3-inch screen with a resolution of 480×272 pixels and the ability to play multimedia content such as movies and music.
It also supported wireless connectivity and had a powerful (by 2004 standards) processor, allowing it to run graphically advanced games. This was facilitated by support for large-capacity memory cards and UMD discs.
The situation was analogous to the battle between the Nintendo 64 and Sony PlayStation 1. Developers were limited by the 64 MB capacity of cartridges, while Sony had the freedom of up to 700 MB (the capacity of a CD). As a result, the graphics on the PlayStation Portable were significantly better, with large, expansive, and lengthy games featuring high-quality textures and cutscenes.
Although the PSP did not achieve the same level of sales as the Nintendo DS, it gained significant popularity and created a strong fan base for gamers who valued graphics over gameplay on two separate screens.
The Sony PlayStation Portable was released in several modifications until 2014. In addition to the classic PSP 1000, 2000, and 3000, the PSP GO in a horizontal slider form factor and the Android smartphone Sony Ericsson Xperia Play with the same form factor and built-in PS1 emulator are worth mentioning.
Current Trends (2010s – Present)
Companies’ opinions diverged, so Nintendo continued to develop the already popular model with two screens, while Sony released an updated version of the popular PSP. However, Nintendo’s strategy proved to be the winning one. People eagerly bought casual video games with interesting gameplay rather than AAA titles with impressive graphics for the PS Vita.
Nintendo 3DS
In 2011, Nintendo released the 3DS console, which could display 3D graphics without the need for special glasses. The design remained similar to its predecessor, the DS, but the 3DS had additional features such as cameras, an accelerometer, Wi-Fi, and a gyroscope.
The new console also supported backward compatibility with DS games, expanding the library of games. The start of sales was challenging, as the console was more expensive than its predecessor, and games on smartphones were rapidly gaining popularity.
At the time, it seemed that smartphones would soon be running AAA titles like computers, but the industry took the path of casual projects. Similarly, games for the Nintendo 3DS were oriented towards gameplay rather than high-quality graphics.
The concept of two screens gathered too many fans, so over its lifetime, 76 million units of the Nintendo 3DS were sold, including the Nintendo 3DS XL and Nintendo 3DS LL versions. Interestingly, they were only discontinued in 2020, meaning they were produced in parallel with the Switch.
Currently, the Nintendo 3DS has an incredibly large library of games, making it a relevant console for fans of classics. Although its successor, the Nintendo Switch, adopted a different ergonomic design with a single screen, it inherited the formula for success from the 3DS, which says that people do not need games with beautiful graphics; instead, they prefer interesting casual projects with engaging mechanics.
Sony PlayStation Vita
Sony released the PlayStation Vita in 2011 as a direct continuation of the legendary PSP, but this model became the last in the series despite its good hardware and excellent ergonomics.
The PlayStation Vita featured a high-quality OLED display with a resolution of 960×544 pixels and powerful technical specifications that allowed it to run AAA games at the level of contemporary stationary consoles with slightly simpler graphics.
For example, Mortal Kombat 9 is identical to the PS3 version but is displayed at a lower resolution. The console has a touch screen, a rear touch panel, two analog sticks, wireless connectivity, a media player, a browser, and supports large-capacity memory cards.
Despite its excellent technical specifications, the Sony PlayStation Vita did not achieve significant commercial success due to a lack of support from game developers and strong competition from smartphones and tablets. Smartphones, which became the go-to devices for gaming on the go, were the main reason for the Vita’s failure, along with competition from the Nintendo 3DS with its casual games.
However, the console had a handful of loyal fans and some exclusive games. The PlayStation Vita is still considered the portable console with the best ergonomics, as it has a relatively large screen with a thin design and compact size, which cannot be said for modern consoles like the Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck.
In current realities, a continuation of the PlayStation Vita would have little chance of success, as mobile gaming on smartphones has shifted towards hyper-casuality, and the niche for AAA games is being gradually taken over by companies like Valve, Asus, Lenovo, and MSI with their portable consoles based on x86 processors.
Nintendo Switch
The best console of the present, which has eclipsed the success of the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation. The Nintendo Switch showed that portability, convenience, control elements, casualness, and simplicity have significantly more value than technical specifications and the number of pixels on the screen.
The Switch has a 6.2-inch touch screen with a resolution of 1280×720 pixels and supports HD graphics when connected to a TV. The Nintendo Switch can be used as both a home console and a portable device, but the main feature of this model is its detachable gamepads.
The gaming console allows for two-player gaming by detaching the Joy-Con controllers, and the games themselves are ideally optimized for local multiplayer. As it turned out, virtually milking a cow for speed using an accelerometer is more interesting than completing another AAA game with a typical open world.
In total, over 141 million Nintendo Switch units have been sold, and this is far from the end. The company has no plans to stop production, as despite the outdated hardware, this console is still being purchased eagerly. A significant role was played by exclusive video games from well-known series that cannot be played on other platforms.
The console became extremely popular due to its versatility and large library of games, including hits like “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” “Super Mario Odyssey,” and “Animal Crossing: New Horizons.”
The company also released the compact Nintendo Switch Lite (2019), which is exclusively oriented towards portable use, and later the Nintendo Switch OLED with a better screen.
With the upcoming release of a new Nintendo console (which is not far off), it is unlikely that anything will fundamentally change, as gamers worldwide have proven that the company understands them and releases exactly what they need: a minimum of AAA titles and a maximum of casual exclusives with simple graphics but interesting mechanics.
Steam Deck and Other Modern Portables
Powerful yet bulky and non-compact gaming consoles like the Steam Deck have been gaining significant popularity recently. Valve has demonstrated that laptop-like devices with seven-inch screens and good optimization can allow users to play modern AAA games on a portable device.
Asus Rog Ally, MSI Claw, and Lenovo Legion Go have emerged as Windows 11-based alternatives, and they have been quite successful. Companies continue to develop this direction because these consoles have achieved decent sales.
Although they do not fit in a pocket, they are currently the only way to comfortably play modern console-level video games on the go. Despite their poor battery life and ergonomic issues, these devices have garnered a sufficient number of fans.
It seems that the Sega Game Gear was simply ahead of its time, even though it was a technologically advanced product. Modern x86 portable consoles have ultra-budget hardware compared to gaming laptops.
In its time, the Game Gear with a similar concept (powerful hardware, poor battery life, large size) failed, but so far, the Steam Deck and its analogs are maintaining good sales.
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