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Post by Ex on May 23, 2022 9:45:14 GMT -5
The "neatest" thing about the Retroid Pocket 2 to me, is that it supports HDMI output and Bluetooth input. Meaning one could hook an HDMI cable from it to their HDTV, use a wireless controller with it, and power the device using a USB cable (as opposed to battery). Effectively turning the retro portable into a retro console. I agree the Steam Deck is even more ideal as a portable retro gaming device. Though I'm waiting for the inevitable next revision. This is one of the more balanced reviews of the device I've read: www.theverge.com/22950371/valve-steam-deck-review Don't get me wrong, I think what Valve has done so far is outstanding. But I think they can do even better next time. The HRG effect still works occasionally.  |
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Post by paulofthewest on May 23, 2022 17:51:35 GMT -5
There's a chance I may cave later this year and buy a Switch Lite to support the Front Mission remakes legitimately. I know you know, but the OLED screen is significantly better than the others.
That said, I do wonder if the next Swich will be backwards compatible.
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Post by Ex on May 23, 2022 20:33:45 GMT -5
I know you know, but the OLED screen is significantly better than the others. As a Vita early adopter, indeed I am aware of how great OLED screens are in a portable. I'm not sure how much of a performance hit the Switch Lite has versus a docked Switch though. I mean in regards to frame rate. That's something I'm mulling. |
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Post by Sarge on May 24, 2022 0:47:48 GMT -5
Switch Lite basically runs like the Switch undocked. It's going to take a hit, but it's usually not a hit you notice when it's not blown up on a big screen.
I feel like the next Switch almost has to be BC. I'd be really surprised if it isn't.
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Post by Ex on May 24, 2022 9:39:16 GMT -5
It's going to take a hit, but it's usually not a hit you notice when it's not blown up on a big screen. I read up on it some more and you are right. Switch docked ups its processing speed to handle larger HDTV resolutions. Switch in handheld lowers the processing speed (mainly to save battery life) but that's mitigated by the lower native resolution of the handheld screen. So it's basically a wash. I would be very surprised if it wasn't. |
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Post by Sarge on May 24, 2022 10:49:50 GMT -5
I said that, but there are games you'll notice it in, like Xenoblade 2. They get really aggressive with the dynamic resolution scaling, and they use a pretty awful sharpening filter on top of it. It's a problem in both modes, but it really rears its head undocked. But most handle it pretty well, reducing some lighting effects or draw distance or environmental details like shrubs and whatnot, and unless someone showed it side by side, you probably wouldn't have even caught it.
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Post by anayo on May 24, 2022 12:39:24 GMT -5
Do you still play games on portable(s) lately?
When I was younger I was really into portable gaming. Lately not so much.
If you used to play them often, but not as much (or at all) now, why?
When I was grade school age and too young to be left at home, my Mom would take me along when she would run errands. Handheld gaming made a lot of sense for me in those days.
Also back in those days online gaming wasn't as ubiquitous as it is now, so handheld gaming was also appealing in that I wanted to meet up with other kids and link our Gameboys or DSes or whatever together. Sometimes we got to do this, although not as often as I'd have liked.
In my late teens and early twenties I spent a lot of time on a community college campus, then later in semi-transient living conditions as an enlisted person. There, handheld gaming made more sense for my lifestyle.
My life isn't like that so much anymore, so now gaming on hardware continuously plugged into the wall is more logical for me. If my lifestyle changed again I'd probably game in handheld form more often.
Which portable(s) do you play most often?
Nintendo Switch
Where do you prefer to play portable games if at home?
In bed, on the couch, wherever.
Do you play portable games outside the home (where)?
When I go visit family I take my Nintendo Switch with me. Although I play in the car while my Mom or brother are driving, I also connect it to my Mom's 60 inch TV. So the Switch's ease of setup might matter more than playing it on-the-go.
What do you like and not like about portable games compared to console games?
I love old games which average people consider to be out of date, like MS-DOS, Sega Genesis, NES, etc. But I have trouble going back to pre-Nintendo DS and PSP handheld gaming. There's a few reasons for this.
One reason is that the screens tend to be blurry. The individual pixels have trouble refreshing as quickly as your character can move around the screen. Sometimes companies in the 90's would even slow the games down to minimize screen blur. So the limited tech of the time actually influenced the underlying game design, and not in an endearing way.
A similar problem is that while the Gameboy Advance didn't blur, its colors were quite dull. So, game designers would crank up the saturation, making them look gaudy when emulated on modern displays.
Portable screens tended to have lower resolution than consoles, hindering how much could fit in the display area. As a result the play space was cramped, further influencing the underlying game design. To me, it makes it feel like a second class experience compared to consoles from the same time.
Battery life was terrible for everything other than Gameboy. I never want to go back to the Game Gear or Sega Nomad's 2 hours of playtime on 6 double A's.
Form factor was prohibitively huge for anything but Gameboy. I guess that problem is back now with the Switch and the Steam Deck, but back in the 90's I'm not sure that what you got in return was worth it.
Do you think the golden age of portable gaming has passed us?
No, if anything I think modern handheld gaming has made many portable experiences obsolete for me.
I still think Tetris and Pokemon Pinball are magical. But I'll never do a 21st century play through of Faceball 2000 or Men in Black, both of which held my attention in the 90's.
I tried getting into Game Gear and mostly felt like it was like Sega Genesis with its arms and legs chopped off.
I used to own a Sega Nomad, then realized I preferred emulating Genesis games on my PSP. So, I sold my Nomad and used the money to get a Turbo Grafx-16.
Something tells me people are going to look back on Nintendo DS as a very special time in handheld gaming, though. The hardware is really zany and different, and there was a willingness to think outside the box and use its capabilities in unforeseen ways.
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Post by paulofthewest on May 24, 2022 15:59:30 GMT -5
For what it is worth, I found the normal sized Switch easier to hold and play than the lite. It seems the lite is designed for kids. anayo I agree the 3DS does have a unique feel. Especially when they had games that made you do things that "broke the 4th wall". Like actually blowing on the screen to blow out the candle in Zelda. |
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Post by toei on May 24, 2022 19:14:40 GMT -5
By "portable" I mean any kind of electronic portable gaming device.
Do you still play games on portable(s) lately?
No. But I did play some DS games through emulation lately.
If you used to play them often, but not as much (or at all) now, why?
Never did much.
Which portable(s) do you play most often? The ones I've played most are the PSP and DS. But that's because they had exclusives I was interested in, in an era where consoles didn't seem very interesting. Basically, I bought into the idea that the old school RPG had moved to handhelds. That was mostly false - most originals weren't very good - but I did get to play Growlanser IV that way (which is a PS2 port, but still an exclusive in America). Where do you prefer to play portable games if at home? I used to play in bed. That was the one advantage of portable gaming, though I don't know if encouraging my lazy tendencies is really a positive. Do you play portable games outside the home (where)? No. The only times I did were during a few long car trips as a child, but even that was rare because we didn't own a car.
What do you like and not like about portable games compared to console games? I dislike their lack of ambition. I like their straightforwardness. These are often two ways to see the same thing, though.
Do you think the golden age of portable gaming has passed us?
It morphed into the age of the Switch. If a console can be a portable at the same time, there is no need for dedicated portables. |
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Post by Ex on May 26, 2022 11:16:56 GMT -5
Something tells me people are going to look back on Nintendo DS as a very special time in handheld gaming, though. The hardware is really zany and different, and there was a willingness to think outside the box and use its capabilities in unforeseen ways. I 100% agree with this statement, and it is an example of why I disagree with toei saying handheld games have a "lack of ambition". On the DS alone there were many daring and innovative games, in no small part due to the dual-screen format and touchscreen input. I'm thinking of such wonders as Hotel Dusk/ Last Window, Trauma Center, Ghost Trick, Henry Hatsworth, and Kirby: Canvas Curse. All of those were highly original, I'd say ambitious game designs not seen before on any console. But even going back to the original Game Boy, I could name titles with unique gameplay concepts that were implicit to the emergent portable mindset. Going all the way forward to the Vita, games like Killzone: Mercenary and Uncharted: Golden Abyss were accomplished from a controls and graphical standpoint, largely portraying the AAA console game experience on a handheld. Throughout the lexicon of handheld gaming, there are many examples of innovative game designs and clever graphical accomplishments, which would not have been realized if not for ambitious efforts. |
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