Top Ten Handhelds That Didn't Make It?

Decaffeinated Jedi writes "Over at GameSpy, they're running a feature looking at the top ten handhelds that never made it. Included on the list are such 'favorites' as the Atari Lynx and the more recent Nokia N-Gage, as well as commentary by the GameSpy editors on why these portables failed to set the gaming world on fire."

Comments

The Turbo Express

[BFedRec]

I have two of these and a TV tuner for each. The Turbo express was bar none the best portable video game machine until the GBA SP. It's ONLY drawback was the power consumption. The games were great on it and the screen is amazing. Not much can beat Blazing Lazers on that thing, good classic schmup action.

Granted I may be biased because I loved my TG-16, having purchased it myself in 8th grade (I think it was 8th grade). I was begging for one, as I was in the know and knew all about how good the PC Engine was doing in Japan. My mom sarcastically remarked that if I could pay for it myself I could have one... which of course sounded like a challenge to me. So I took my allowance money and bought cheap candy and snacks to sell from my desk at school for a profit and after about 3 months I managed to pull together the $200 needed. The TG-16 is one of the most under-rated systems of all times I think. There were some crappy games for it, but there were also some incredibly GOOD games for it as well (Bonk, Blazing Lazers, Legendary Axe, Chew-Man-Fu, etc), AND it was the first video game system to offer a CDRom drive.... ahh the good old days.

CharlesP

Another name for the article could be

[lightspawn]

"Top Ten non-Nintendo handhelds".

It's just that there are very few (multi-game) handhelds, so most of them are in there.

In summary: battery life is much, much more important that anybody would think. Nintendo got lucky with its B/W (actually green/gray) display that required relatively little battery life and the popular franchises didn't hurt any.

Oh, and the Lynx's ultrathick design gives me cramps after playing certain games for only a few minutes.

Maybe this is a market with only enough room for one mainstream system?

Re:Another name for the article could be

[funny-jack]

lightspawn said:

Maybe this is a market with only enough room for one mainstream system?

I rather doubt that. Considering that the market is (arguably) supporting three home consoles, whose prices are all more than the GBA, I would say that the market is there for another great handheld. The problem is just that no company has released a great handheld to compete with Nintendo's GameBoy. I think it takes a number of factors for a handheld to be great. Long battery life, comfort, compactness, and great games are probably the most important. The problem with many of these other handhelds is that they have focused on flashy graphics and sound to the detriment of some of the more important factors. That's what I think, anyway.

Game Gear

[swat_r2]

I have a special place in my heart for two handhelds in particular, the Game Gear and the Turbo Express.

When I was younger and without a steady source of income I would always dream about owning the Holy Grail of handhelds, the Turbo Express. Running on the same cards as the TG16, being able to play Bonk's Adventure and Splatter House wherever you went, and on top of it all, a bright beautiful color screen and TV tuner add-on? Pure Bliss. I think I still have the drool marks on my old copies of Gamepro.

With the Game Gear, I ended up buying one cheap at a Thrift Store last year. Even with the grainy, dated screen and lack of saving games it provided some great, cheap entertainment. Very underrated, and it's next to impossible to find the games around town, but I managed to find some great ones for around $5-$7. Battery power was another issue :)

There's something about being young and owning a portable system. It's almost a sense of freedom from the parents, saying I can play this however and wherever I want, you can't kick me off the TV! I look at my son with his GBA and can't help sensing the familiarity, and how he'd rather play his GBA with the dated SNES-Era graphics than with the Xbox or PS2. Because "he's" in control.

And with the systems mentioned in the article, it's hard to imagine how Nintendo cornered the market. Being underpowered and going head to head with Color-LCD back in the day was quite a feat, and I give the companies credit for trying to steal some market share from the Big 'N'. I think Sony will have a viable chance with the PSP and for the first time in a long time I have been excited about owning a handheld again, let's just hope the price is decent :)

I somehow found this really sad

[falcon5768]

It's almost funny to think of it now, but in the early 1990s, Sega was an extremely aggressive competitor to Nintendo

Am I really THAT old to have not found it that funny... I mean it was a huge pissing contest between which you had, a sega or a nintendo and which was better.... how is it shocking that Sega used to be a competitor??? Because they dont exist as a system maker???? Using that logic is like saying its hysterical that Atari owned the marked untill 81!!!!

Im 23 and I remeber getting a 2600, Nintendo and Super NES for christmas... I even remeber when the Playstation came out, do young people REALLY not know the history of video games???? :-\

PSP

[pudge_lightyear]

Of course, the PSP and whatever's next will be in the same boat.
Here's why I think this:
Home gaming seems to be for adults and older kids. Supposedly, the average age of a gamer is over 20, etc. etc. etc. This is, as far as I know, with consoles (home) not portables.
The only people I see with gameboys are kids. They carry them in there backpacks, pockets, whatever... they play them in backseats (because they don't drive), they play them in school, church, wherever.

Adults (save a few... I actually have a gba -- but rarely play it) don't fit in well to the portable market for the following reasons:

1. They drive
2. They listen when they go to meetings, classes for work, church, etc.
3. They go home after work and CAN take over the tv set
4. Because of 3, would rather play on a 50" tv than a 3" LCD Screen.
5. Why buy something for the same price on one of these when I'd rather play a better one on a bigger screen at my only disposable time (which is at home)
6. These are always going to be a generation behind the at-home model... even with the PSP.
7. Because they are a generation behind, the games are fine, but not as good.
8. more reasons, but am supposed to be working...

The price point is aimed at adults. The games will be aimed at adults. But, I THINK, adults aren't as interested as they think they are...

Nintendo owns this market because they're cheap, the batteries last long, and they KNOW kids.

Early entry

[Torgo's Pizza]

Is it too early to just go ahead and put the Nintendo DS on the list? Hey, I'm just trying to save us all some time.