Support NeoGAF

[64bitmodels]

in 2020-2021, it was emulation handhelds..
in 2022, it was the Steam Deck
in 2023, it's handheld PCs.
in 2024, it will be the Switch 2, and the Iphone. Hopefully Android too.

We are seeing rapid and insane advancement in the field of portable gaming. While consoles have sort of lagged thanks to cross gen and covid fucking up a lot of development cycles, portable gaming has been on an upward trajectory over the past 3 years. From near full speed PS2 emulation on Android, to AAA CP2077 in the palm of your hand, to now Resident Evil 4 Remake on the slab inside your pocket. This insane announcement admittedly makes the rumors of the Switch 2 being an absolute beast seem far more plausible in my opinion.

Maybe I'm being overly optimistic and hyped here, but it seems like all the biggest advancements of this gen are going towards the devices we take around with us and I'm loving every single second of it.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Only GAF doesn't know that the 2010's were already the decade of the handheld gamer

The 2020's are just continuing the dominance of mobile gaming but the hardware is catching up rapidly to the aging hardware in home consoles because phones are updated every year but consoles are updated only once a decade

 

[feynoob]

Not really. Without the push from MS and Sony, it will be meaningless.
The only one that matters from that push is Nintendo and weak steam deck userbase.

The majority of people aren't going to get in to this market, if either Xbox or PS don't make any move.

Even Sony new deck is laughable as it only targets small minority of userbase.

You need PSP like push for that to matter.

 

[64bitmodels]

Not really. Without the push from MS and Sony, it will be meaningless.

Microsoft and Sony are already porting their console exclusive games to PC. Whose to say they won't just slap it on an Iphone as well for extra money from that userbase? Nintendo did it.

 

[Punished Miku]

I think its a play anywhere future. All of the above.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

And I'm all for it!

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

No, not really, these games aren't made for mobile gaming, and I don't mean anything like graphics or controls, but the way they are structured doesn't fit mobile.
Unless they change these games so you can save literally at any moment, it's just going to be a dreadful experience all around.

 

[64bitmodels]

Unless they change these games so you can save literally at any moment, it's just going to be a dreadful experience all around.

Many games have that feature already. Autosaves are a thing as well as saving from any point. Half Life had it in 1998

 

[feynoob]

Microsoft and Sony are already porting their console exclusive games to PC. Whose to say they won't just slap it on an Iphone as well for extra money from that userbase? Nintendo did it.

That is just small minority.
You need a dedicate Xbox/PS handheld that can actually download games and play them offline like the switch.

Do that and the market will explode with handheld devices.

Right now, the existing ones are eating the small market from each other, which makes it hard for 1 company to do better.

The only I can see having relevance from that market is steam deck. But knowing valve, it's future is like flipping a coin.

 

[Sleepwalker]

Love handhelds but not interested in an apple made one or playing on my phone. I like looking at my phone and checking out stuff while playing, one of the things I could never get over with gaming on phones is having chat notifications, phone calls and what not interrupting your game.

But sure I guess.

More excited by whatever follows up the steam deck like devices.

 

[Robb]

I don’t see it. The vast majority of people don’t buy phones for gaming in the first place and unless they get these on a service no one is going to be paying $70 for them on a phone. Not to mention the hurdles with controllers etc. that aren’t included with the base purchase.

I use my iPhone daily and I love it, but I have zero interest in this, or what it currently offers for gaming. Feels like I should be their target audience.

 

[amigastar]

I won't deny that the RE4 REmake news on an Iphone surprised me a little bit and i'm even more curious and hyped about a Switch 2.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Many games have that feature already. Autosaves are a thing as well as saving from any point. Half Life had it in 1998

No really they don't, Rem4ke and RE8 certainly don't have it, starfield is the last game in a long while that I can remember having instant saving whenever you want, most modern games are beholden by checkpoint saving; doesn't work for mobile gaming.

 

[feynoob]

No really they don't, Rem4ke and RE8 certainly don't have it, starfield is the last game in a long while that I can remember having instant saving whenever you want, most modern games are beholden by checkpoint saving; doesn't work for mobile gaming.

Mobile gamers don't have that much attention span for these games. It defeats the purpose of mobile gaming.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Genshin Impact with raytracing. Those Waifu's will be glowing.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Only GAF doesn't know that the 2010's were already the decade of the handheld gamer

The 2020's are just continuing the dominance of mobile gaming but the hardware is catching up rapidly to the aging hardware in home consoles because phones are updated every year but consoles are updated only once a decade

Yeah, this is not going to continue into perpetuity. Mobile chips at the bleeding edge are on what? The 3nm node? There really isn't much more room for further transistor scaling beyond that.

So mobile will never fully catch up, but home consoles and PC with much larger power budgets can at least explore 2.5D and 3D chip stacking with advanced packaging technologies to push further advancements in performance.

 

[rofif]

 

[64bitmodels]

Yeah, this is not going to continue into perpetuity

It isn't but we're at a state in the game where it's "good enough".

We've surpassed PS4 Pro power with some of the best handheld PCs out there and that's the perfect amount of power for a handheld system, not as good as the home systems but can put up some great visuals nonetheless. And when the Switch 2 comes out with the Nvidia tech powering it it's going to be a sight to behold.

It's so fucking cool for me because back in the 2010s i had dreamed about being able to play many games on a handheld system, Switch was the closest we had gotten to that before the new decade. And now we're seeing systems that outperform that 10x over.

 

[RoboFu]

The pro has 8 gigs of ram? That’s pretty awesome if true.

 

[Fbh]

Maybe, but I don't anticipate phones being where "normal" gaming is done.

Partially because the vast majority of the phone audience is used to games being F2P, and I don't see a traditional strategy of $70 raleases being very successful.
Partially because the types of games which are popular on phones are grindy autopilot shit or multiplayer games and not traditional console/Pc games
Partially because I think people are too addicted to their phones and playing something like R4R or like Elden Ring while being constantly interrupted with notifications and texts

 

[Spyxos]

Maybe, but I don't anticipate phones being where "normal" gaming is done.

Partially because the vast majority of the phone audience is used to games being F2P, and I don't see a traditional strategy of $70 raleases being very successful.
Partially because the types of games which are popular on phones are grindy autopilot shit or multiplayer games and not traditional console/Pc games
Partially because I think people are too addicted to their phones and playing something like R4R or like Elden Ring while being constantly interrupted with notifications and texts

Didn't this one Mario mobile game fail because Nintendo charged 10 dollars for it? If 10 dollars is too much for mobile players, 70 can only fail.

 

[64bitmodels]

Didn't this one Mario mobile game fail because Nintendo charged 10 dollars for it? If 10 dollars is too much for mobile players, 70 can only fail.

Well there's Apple Arcade, which is basically gamepass but on an Iphone. 70 dollars might seem ridiculous but when it's on a 5 dollar sub more people are inclined to buy in. I can imagine exposing an Iphone casual gamer to RE4 would blow their mind.

But this isn't JUST about phones. Phones getting AAA games now are just a result of the insane jumps in strength mobile tech has gotten. Which is why i was careful to specify handheld in the title and not mobile gaming, though i think that will get a significant glow up as well

 

[Fbh]

Didn't this one Mario mobile game fail because Nintendo charged 10 dollars for it? If 10 dollars is too much for mobile players, 70 can only fail.

Yes.
Lots of indie devs have also talked about having to price their games way lower on mobile because charging like $10 is the equivalent of trying to sell a SX/PS5 game for $200.

 

[RoboFu]

If Apple Arcade shares games across Mac, iPad, and iPhone .. that could be big.

 

[Elder Legend]

Not really. Without the push from MS and Sony, it will be meaningless.
The only one that matters from that push is Nintendo and weak steam deck userbase.

The majority of people aren't going to get in to this market, if either Xbox or PS don't make any move.

Even Sony new deck is laughable as it only targets small minority of userbase.

You need PSP like push for that to matter.

 

[Banjo64]

The gains in mobile power have been leaps and bounds over console gains.

 

[Thirty7ven]

I imagine playing on your phone could be a good option if your wife owns the tv.

 

[KXVXII9X]

For a big handheld gaming enthusiast since the Gameboy Pocket, this announcement made me very excited. I have been waiting for phones to get to this point. This really bodes well for smaller handhelds that can run modern games. That is wild. Quick advancements in handheld gaming in such a short time. It is wild. I just wonder how the cooling and battery life will be.

 

[64bitmodels]

For a big handheld gaming enthusiast since the Gameboy Pocket, this announcement made me very excited. I have been waiting for phones to get to this point. This really bodes well for smaller handhelds that can run modern games. That is wild. Quick advancements in handheld gaming in such a short time. It is wild. I just wonder how the cooling and battery life will be.

Haven't been around that long but ever since seeing the GPD Win 2 and the Alienware UFO i have been nothing but stoked for a console equivalent experience on handheld systems. Not only did we get more than we bargained for with the Deck but we're now gonna get AAA games on Iphone thanks to Apple's recent obsession with gaming. These upcoming years for portable gaming with this announcement and the Switch 2 on the horizon are going to go down in history.

 

[Black_Stride]

P.S Why are we counting phones only in this decade..........hasnt mobile gaming been the lead gaming platform for eons?

 

[A.Romero]

Handheld gaming is not for me (and I've tried) but I hope people keep getting what they like.

I can't imagine a traditional console game on mobile but when docking is an option I'd say it would be very possible. I mean, I know kids are all about PUBG, Fortnite, Genshin Impact and other mobile games so it is not that crazy to imagine.

 

[Last Hearth]

I eagerly await the day when mobile is the default way of "gaming" for 99% of the population, and real gaming can return to being the niche enthusiast hobby it used to be.

 

[kazuyamishima]

Apple offers Apple one with music, Apple TV, cloud and Gamepass like with Apple Arcade. If they start buying AAA gaming studios, their proposition will get better and better.
So, you basically will have everything in one device, clever bastards.

Gaming on this will be nice whilst taking a big and long dump.

 

[Banjo64]

"iPhone 15 Pro brings true-to-life gaming to the palm of users’ hands with console titles never before seen on a smartphone, like Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil 4, Death Stranding, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage."

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/09/apple-unveils-iphone-15-pro-and-iphone-15-pro-max/

 

[64bitmodels]

P.S Why are we counting phones only in this decade..........hasnt mobile gaming been the lead gaming platform for eons?

What's the image of the DS for?

Mobile gaming has been the leading platform for a while yes. But this thread isn't just about mobile. It's about portables as a whole. The age of smaller scale games made specifically for handheld is over. We're now entering an era where handheld systems have close to what the consoles can offer while being portable. The Switch started this, the Deck kicked it into high gear, and the Iphone is going to make it mainstream.

This thread is about mobile gaming finally not being a joke of a platform where 90% of the games nickel and dime you, an actual platform where people can genuinely play and enjoy AAA quality, Indie, all sorts of games on. It's about handheld gaming systems finally getting the 'real thing', not having stripped down console ports or completely different games anymore.

I eagerly await the day when mobile is the default way of "gaming" for 99% of the population, and real gaming can return to being the niche enthusiast hobby it used to be.

If mobile gets true AAA games then it is "real gaming" lol. phones get the games the "real" systems have.

 

[Dream-Knife]

This thread is about mobile gaming finally not being a joke of a platform where 90% of the games nickel and dime you, an actual platform where people can genuinely play and enjoy AAA quality, Indie, all sorts of games on. It's about handheld gaming systems finally getting the 'real thing', not having stripped down console ports or completely different games anymore.

Or will it go the other way and everyone gets trash mobile games?


I don't get mobile gaming. Playing on a touch screen is so awful. If you're going to ghetto rig a controller to a phone, then why not just use something else?
I can see this eventually killing home consoles for casual gamers though.

 

[Azelover]

I realized we were in mobile heaven when I got my first DS in 2007.

We have been here for a while..

 

[CamHostage]

The new iPhone and other devices are just erasing the boundaries of how portable devices which play general games can be. You no longer have to thing about where to play your games; every device you own will essentially be able to play a selection of popular games. Nobody needs to say anymore, "This is a portable gaming device", because your fridge and car and smartphone and game console and l33t PC can all play lots of the same games. It's not the beginning of a great era for portable gaming; it's the end of there being a difference.

In the Game Boy or PSP/DS or better days of mobile, that distinction mattered (even if a lot of games got ported around.) These were devices with games made especially for them and their fanbases, and they were sometimes even able to take advantage of their handheld form factor to play games impossible on console/PC platforms. That era is pretty much behind us now, and the convergence IMO is not creating a new something. It's burying the old something.

...Not that I don't appreciate being able to play No Man's Sky absentmindedly in bed while somebody else in the house is watching the TV. I love portables, and I love not having to compromise on the games I enjoy on my portable or not having to be confined to the living room for games I don't need 7.1 4K sensory overload to enjoy... but as a handheld game system fan, I do lament that there's nothing special about these devices anymore. They simply add yet another option of how to play

 

[poodaddy]

I would never buy an Apple product for anything whatsoever, doesn't matter what the fuck it can do, so it's irrelevant to me. That being said, I love tiny, efficient tech, so the advances are always welcome as they propel the entire industry forward.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Not really. Without the push from MS and Sony, it will be meaningless.
The only one that matters from that push is Nintendo and weak steam deck userbase.

The majority of people aren't going to get in to this market, if either Xbox or PS don't make any move.

Even Sony new deck is laughable as it only targets small minority of userbase.

You need PSP like push for that to matter.

Soooo

Switch 2 DOA?

Apple offers Apple one with music, Apple TV, cloud and Gamepass like with Apple Arcade. If they start buying AAA gaming studios, their proposition will get better and better.
So, you basically will have everything in one device, clever bastards.

Gaming on this will be nice whilst taking a big and long dump.

Don't forget a bigger gaming entry platform for their VR

Peoples laugh at Vision pro prices, rightfully so, but they miss the big picture. When that thing falls into iPhone price, who can even compete? Who has the integration for their own OS at laptop/desktop level, TV programs, sport events with their own augmented reality cameras, music, etc etc ? They're bonkers.

 

[64bitmodels]

The new iPhone and other devices are just erasing the boundaries of how portable devices which play general games can be. You no longer have to thing about where to play your games; every device you own will essentially be able to play a selection of popular games. Nobody needs to say anymore, "This is a portable gaming device", because your fridge and car and smartphone and game console and l33t PC can all play lots of the same games. It's not the beginning of a great era for portable gaming; it's the end of there being a difference.

In the Game Boy or PSP/DS or better days of mobile, that distinction mattered (even if a lot of games got ported around.) These were devices with games made especially for them and their fanbases, and they were sometimes even able to take advantage of their handheld form factor to play games impossible on console/PC platforms. That era is pretty much behind us now, and the convergence IMO is not creating a new something. It's burying the old something.

...Not that I don't appreciate being able to play No Man's Sky absentmindedly in bed while somebody else in the house is watching the TV. I love portables, and I love not having to compromise on the games I enjoy on my portable or not having to be confined to the living room for games I don't need 7.1 4K sensory overload to enjoy... but as a handheld game system fan, I do lament that there's nothing special about these devices anymore. They simply add yet another option of how to play

This is a fair criticism. We are going to lose all the unique experiences dedicated console handhelds provided. The same limitations Iphone is overcoming now are what drove games like Angry Birds, Temple Run, and Plants Vs Zombies to exist. Same for DS and the many unique games on that system like Rhythm Heaven, Brain Age, and Flipnote Studio.

But at the same time, (in my opinion) the tradeoff is just too good and too enticing to me. We're not losing the old interesting and fun games that were already made, (even if there will be less of them now) but we get to play them alongside the AAA titles that were previously locked to your living room or your monitor. Plus, many of these console only AAA titles lend themselves to handhelds a lot better than you might imagine especially when you've got a sleep function.

 

[simpatico]

One more gen of traditional consoles at most. Then we'll be hooking our phones up to the TV with a Switch style dock. I'm all for it. Saves me money.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

This is a fair criticism. We are going to lose all the unique experiences dedicated console handhelds provided. The same limitations Iphone is overcoming now are what drove games like Angry Birds, Temple Run, and Plants Vs Zombies to exist. Same for DS and the many unique games on that system like Rhythm Heaven, Brain Age, and Flipnote Studio.

But at the same time, (in my opinion) the tradeoff is just too good and too enticing to me. We're not losing the old interesting and fun games that were already made, (even if there will be less of them now) but we get to play them alongside the AAA titles that were previously locked to your living room or your monitor. Plus, many of these console only AAA titles lend themselves to handhelds a lot better than you might imagine especially when you've got a sleep function.

The main issue has always been how to control the gameplay but now that you can just pair your Dualsense to your iPhone that isn't really a big deal anymore. I think a lot of console AAA titles will port fine to phones as long as you're willing to carry a controller around and people drag their Switches everywhere so we know they are.

 

[Dream-Knife]

Soooo

Switch 2 DOA?



Don't forget a bigger gaming entry platform for their VR

Peoples laugh at Vision pro prices, rightfully so, but they miss the big picture. When that thing falls into iPhone price, who can even compete? Who has the integration for their own OS at laptop/desktop level, TV programs, sport events with their own augmented reality cameras, music, etc etc ? They're bonkers.

Why would you want to use iOS apps in VR though?

Their VR set will really be the test. It might take off as a status thing, or it might kill the VR market for good.

 

[Dream-Knife]

This is a fair criticism. We are going to lose all the unique experiences dedicated console handhelds provided. The same limitations Iphone is overcoming now are what drove games like Angry Birds, Temple Run, and Plants Vs Zombies to exist. Same for DS and the many unique games on that system like Rhythm Heaven, Brain Age, and Flipnote Studio.

But at the same time, (in my opinion) the tradeoff is just too good and too enticing to me. We're not losing the old interesting and fun games that were already made, (even if there will be less of them now) but we get to play them alongside the AAA titles that were previously locked to your living room or your monitor. Plus, many of these console only AAA titles lend themselves to handhelds a lot better than you might imagine especially when you've got a sleep function.

If the devs don't update their games for each new version of iOS, then you won't be able to play those games.

 

[KXVXII9X]

P.S Why are we counting phones only in this decade..........hasnt mobile gaming been the lead gaming platform for eons?

My favorite console/handheld of all time. Nintendogs is still one of the biggest "holy shit!" moments I ever had in gaming. The novelty eventually did fade some, but it was the best near launch game experiences I had. It was the best use of the NDS features, imo.

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

Barely anyone will care to play this kind of game on an iPhone. It's a platform built around distraction, notifications, and perpetual spamming from ads that keeps anyone sane from even caring about apps on the store... not gaming.

There will be more people in one week watching youtube in an overlay while playing candy crush, and hopping apps to respond to messages, than there will be downloading RE4 mobile in its entire time on the store.

Damn, beat me to it.

So I'll have to post another David Lynch gem, still better than games on iPhones.

Spoiler: ...

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Yeah, this is not going to continue into perpetuity. Mobile chips at the bleeding edge are on what? The 3nm node? There really isn't much more room for further transistor scaling beyond that.

So mobile will never fully catch up, but home consoles and PC with much larger power budgets can at least explore 2.5D and 3D chip stacking with advanced packaging technologies to push further advancements in performance.

The main difference between mobile/handheld and home consoles has never been about process nodes or anything else related to hardware advancements.

Instead, the difference is that a phone needs to fit the SoC into a 5W envelope, the Switch and Steam Deck need to fit into a 15W envelope, but the PS5 and XSeX can be out there blasting out 200W in power draw (and commensurate waste heat output). Of course a gaming PC has effectively no limit, which is why my 5800X3D with 3090 is out here pulling around 400W running full tilt.

That said, the phone is the one that gets updated every year, whereas the home console is updated once a decade. So mobile is able to advance at a more steady pace and if the home console is a weak generation (which the PS5 and XSeX absolutely are) then the mobile can quickly catch up with the home console even with the severe limitations in power draw imposed by the form factor.

In terms of future developments, everyone has a game plan for new lithography and substrates past doing EUV on silicon which is what current 3 nm is. Intel's 20A is an example of this. We will see the end of silicon substrates but whether we have a new substrate or just go to quantum computing first is unknown. It's a pretty exciting time in semiconductor research though!

 

[64bitmodels]

Barely anyone will care to play this kind of game on an iPhone. It's a platform built around distraction, notifications, and perpetual spamming from ads that keeps anyone sane from even caring about apps on the store... not gaming.

There will be more people in one week watching youtube in an overlay while playing candy crush, and hopping apps to respond to messages, than there will be downloading RE4 mobile in its entire time on the store.


Damn, beat me to it.

So I'll have to post another David Lynch gem, still better than games on iPhones.

Spoiler: ...

This is a pretty cool opinion! But i have to remind you...

Mobile gaming has been the leading platform for a while yes. But this thread isn't just about mobile. It's about portables as a whole. The age of smaller scale games made specifically for handheld is over. We're now entering an era where handheld systems have close to what the consoles can offer while being portable. The Switch started this, the Deck kicked it into high gear, and the Iphone is going to make it mainstream.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Yeah, this is not going to continue into perpetuity. Mobile chips at the bleeding edge are on what? The 3nm node? There really isn't much more room for further transistor scaling beyond that.

So mobile will never fully catch up, but home consoles and PC with much larger power budgets can at least explore 2.5D and 3D chip stacking with advanced packaging technologies to push further advancements in performance.

Devs aren't even catching up with what is presented to them as "next gen"

The costs of producing these games is insane. The studios that can (after years) leverage the console advantage can be counted on one hand.

That's mainly why mobile seems to be catching up. It's not the TFlops, it's the diminishing returns of graphics, hitting HARD.