Handheld gaming has come a long way since its origins in the 1970s. Today, it is a major player in the gaming industry, with companies like Nintendo and Steam offering devices proving popular with gamers who want to access titles on the go.

Below, we’ll explore the origins of early handheld devices and how they became the sophisticated modern consoles of today.

The Dawn of Portable Play

Handheld gaming began in 1976 with Mattel’s “Auto Race”, which saw players control a car on a three-lane track. The simple device paved the way for companies like Colecto and Milton Bradley to create lightweight, handheld devices.

By 1978, the Merlin console had achieved commercial success, but the launch of Nintendo’s Game & Watch range in 1980 cemented the popularity of handheld gaming. In 1989, Nintendo introduced the Game Boy, which offered more complex gameplay than previous handhelds, allowing gamers to play similar titles to the NES console in a portable, battery-operated device.

The Rise of Colour and Connectivity

The Atari Lynx and Sega Game Gear had more advanced graphics with colour displays, but came with the drawbacks of bulkier frames and much shorter battery lives. Nintendo finally made the transition to colour gaming in 1998 with the Game Boy Colour, outperforming rivals like the SNK Neo Geo Pocket and Bandai Wonderswan.

Nintendo continued to dominate the handheld market, releasing new console versions that modernised the format. The Game Boy Advance, released in 2001, had a 32-bit microprocessor, allowing more advanced graphics processing, which saw titles favourably compared to the 16-bit SNES. The Advance could also connect to the Nintendo GameCube via the Game Boy Player, allowing gamers to enjoy handheld titles on large screens at home.

Smartphones and the Casual Gaming Boom

The rise of smartphones following the 2007 release of the iPhone transformed handheld gaming by providing a universal platform for casual games. Apple’s App Store and Android’s Play Store soon offered thousands of unique titles, from puzzle games to platformers. 

Today, phones are powerful enough to play a vast range of games, with many developers like Square Enix releasing mobile versions of their console hits. Gamers can emulate titles released from the 1980s to the 2000s on their phones, or play realistic simulations of physical games like pool with people on the other side of the world. They can even emulate the feeling of being on popular shows and movies with classics like a Deal or No Deal free game.

The Future of Handheld Gaming

Handheld consoles are expected to continue growing in popularity, with companies introducing devices to compete with the popularity of the Nintendo Switch and its upcoming successor. Microsoft is reportedly releasing an Xbox-branded handheld codenamed “Project Kennan” in the coming months to enter the market.

AI is widely predicted to play a larger role in the handheld market, with AI-powered NPCS and generated game worlds making gaming experiences more immersive and personalised. Cloud gaming services are moving to allow players to access their PC games on handhelds with sharper visuals and longer battery lives to reduce the need for local storage.

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