For many years, the portable games console never truly took off. Nowadays, with both smartphones and tablets capable of handling games of varying sizes, you’d think that the market for a portable games console has closed. However, Nintendo successfully managed to silence the doubters when they released their Switch back in 2017.
Throughout recent history, it isn’t just the Switch that has been both a commercial and critical success. There have been many portable consoles released over the years, and here are our top five.
Nintendo Switch
While we’re rattling on about the Nintendo Switch, we may as well continue in the same vain. The console has been an incredible success story since launching in 2017. It has sold over 114 million units worldwide and is considered one of the leading consoles in the market today, six years on from its initial release.
It features a 6.2-inch touchscreen display with a custom processor, 4GB RAM, 32GB internal storage, and a 4310mAh battery life. The Nintendo Switch also supports both physical and digital game discs as well as wireless controllers. Some of its best titles include Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Animal Crossing New Horizons, and The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild.
The Switch’s unique selling point is that it doesn’t have to just be a portable device. You can even connect the console to your TV via an HDMI cable and it acts as a regular fully-fledged games console. The best of both worlds!
PlayStation Portable (PSP)
Sony’s PlayStation Portable (PSP) was released back in 2004 and became an instant hit amongst gamers around the world. Over 80 million PSPs were sold before its discontinuation in 2014 making it one of the most popular handheld gaming devices ever released.
It featured a 4.3-inch TFT LCD screen with a 333 MHz CPU, 64MB RAM, and 32 MB Graphics memory storage capacity with a 3300 mAh battery life. Some classic titles available on this device include Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories, Wipeout Pure & Pulse, Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker, and God Of War Chains Of Olympus among others.
Game Boy Advance
Some may say that Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance, walked so that the Switch could run. The device was released back in 2001 and was a revelation, selling over 81 million units during its lifespan, making it one of the most successful handheld consoles ever made. It featured a 3-inch TFT color LCD screen with a 16 MHz processor along with 32KB RAM and 256KB VRAM storage capacity plus a 1050 mAh battery life for up to 10 hours of playtime depending on use conditions.
This console became home to some legendary classics such as Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire, Mario Kart Super Circuit, Metroid Fusion, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario 3, Metroid Zero Mission & Fire Emblem. It was the aforementioned Pokemon series that truly catapulted the console to unexpected highs.
In fact, the console was such a success that Nintendo released a successor, the GameBoy Advance SP. The SP was a folding device, allowing it to fit into one’s pocket, and featured a backlight so that the screen was visible at all times, amongst many other upgrades. The SP alone sold a further 43 million units.
Nintendo DS
Nintendo’s dual-screened handheld console was launched in 2004 selling over 154 million units worldwide until 2013 when it was replaced by its successor – the Nintendo 3DS.
It featured two 3-inch TFT LCD screens with ARM9 66 MHz processor along with 4MB system RAM plus 2MB VRAM storage capacity plus a 1000 mAh battery life that could last up to 19 hours depending on the usage condition. Popular titles available on this device included Brain Training Series, New Super Mario Brothers, Animal Crossing Wild World, Mario Kart DS, Nintendogs + Cats, Professor Layton Series & Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars among others.
Game Gear
Sega’s Game Gear was released in 1990 selling over 11 million units worldwide before its discontinuation in 1997 due to technical limitations compared to other gaming systems at that time. It featured an 8-bit Zilog Z80 processor along with 8KB system RAM plus 8KB VRAM storage capacity plus a 900 mAh battery life which could last up to 10 hours depending upon usage conditions. This console played host to some memorable classics, such as Sonic The Hedgehog 2 & Triple Trouble, Shining Force II: The Sword Of Hajya, Wonder Boy In Monster Land & Castle Of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse among others.
