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What are the best portable game consoles?

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The Best 1 of 7 OptionsWhy?

7 Options ConsideredPriceLast Updated
Excellent
Nintendo Switch
Mar 1, 2018
PlayStation Vita
Mar 23, 2018
New Nintendo 3DS
Nov 30, 2017
Nintendo 2DS
Nov 25, 2017
New Nintendo 3DS XL
Dec 8, 2017
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Excellent

Nintendo Switch

WhiteLilac
Top Pro

Very flexible

•••
You can use it as a stationary console with your TV or transform it into a portable gaming device in literally seconds. You will keep all the data and can continue your game on the go.
ExuberantAscalaphus
Top Pro

It has great graphics and controllers and games

•••
WhiteLilac
Top Pro

Comfortable to hold

•••
Nitendo Switch is light and feels comfortable in hand. It doesn't cause any wrist strain. It also has a kickstand that folds out from the back of the console, so you can put it on the table.
PerceptiveClementia
Top Con

Hard to find, product trolls selling it for 175% MSRP

•••
Nintendo did a terrible job launching this product and managing their supply chain!
WhiteLilac
Top Con

Problems with screen glare

•••
It's difficult to play with a lot of light falling on the screen due to glare issues. For example, you probably will not be able to play outside in the sun, since the game is simply not visible.
WhiteLilac
Top Con

Poor battery life

•••
If you're playing for example Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, you can expect 3.5 hours of gaming before you have to charge the console. Many other portable consoles last longer.
WhiteLilac
Top Con

Doesn't have a wide variety of popular games yet

•••
If you are not into playing Zelda, there's not that much for you to do with this console right now. The game lineup is not comparable to Xbox One or PS4. The console is not backwards compatible, so you will not be able to play your old games on it either.
See 1 more ConSee 5 more Pros & Cons
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6 Other Options Considered

PlayStation Vita

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thermoplastics
Top Pro

Succeeds as a niche indie game device

•••
There are few dedicated handheld gaming systems out there with the 3DS being the main competition to the Vita. What is nice that neither has much overlap on their content making for a good device to own even if you own a 3DS due to the library consisting of many great indie games not to be found on...
Kristaps
CharmingCoatlicue
Top Pro

Best screen resolution

•••
Kristaps
Top Pro

Two sticks

•••
Kirlovon
Top Con

Console is Dead

•••
Sony is not trying to improve PS Vita.
thermoplastics
Top Con

Lack of AAA games

•••
Sony, since the release of the Vita has published or produced very few AA games for the Vita, with most newer releases coming from third parties and mainly indie developers. For what is supposed to be a premium handheld Sony's announcement of no AA games to come is very concerning as to what t...
thermoplastics
Top Con

Rear touchpad has too many accidental clicks

•••
While not all the games for the Vita use the rear touchpad, those that do have issue with imprecise input and random touches. This can complicate games that rely on the virtual button presses as a tap may be altogether missed or accidentally done when not wanted, thus messing up ones play session.
See 4 more Pros & ConsSee 4 more Pros & Cons

New Nintendo 3DS

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Patricia Q
Andris Pelcbergs
Top Pro

Improved glasses-free 3D

•••
The New 3DS has an improvement over the regular 3DS model when it comes to the 3D, there is now an infrared sensor that allows for eye tracking, which keeps the 3D focused, even when the device moves. The older model had trouble with the 3D focusing when moving the device around, that is now fixed...
Patricia Q
Top Pro

Customize look with interchangeable faceplates

•••
The New Nntendo 3DS (not the XL) is the only 3DS with support for interchangeable faceplates. This allows one to purchase new plates to customize the look of their device to their liking.
Patricia Q
Andris Pelcbergs
Top Pro

Has microSD support

•••
Users can use their own micro SD cards for expanded storage with support for up to 32GB cards (though there are users using 64GB or 128GB cards).
Patricia Q
Andris Pelcbergs
Top Pro

Has built-in NFC

•••
This means Amiibo and Amiibo card support for scanning in figures and cards with a tap to then use as addons in certain games. Previous models did not have this function.
Patricia Q
Top Con

Poor battery life

•••
The battery life is not really improved over the previous models and will last between 3.5-6 hours, which is not really that long for a handheld.
Patricia Q
Top Con

No charger included

•••
In order to keep the price down on the unit Nintendo has chosen to not include a charger with the device, meaning that if you do not have one already or purchase one you will not be able to use the device past the half charge that it has out of the box.
Tyler
Top Con

Low resolution screen

•••
Technically the resolution of the main screen is 800 x 240, but each eye gets half that making it functionally 400 x 240. A 1080p screen has more than 10 times the pixels.
thermoplastics
Top Con

Only available a white themed bundles in the US

•••
So far the only model available in the US is the white one and it can only be purchased as an Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer bundle or the Pokémon 20th Anniversary Bundle. This raises the price of the unit as each bundle comes with a game.
See 6 more Pros & ConsSee 6 more Pros & Cons

Nintendo 2DS

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White Fox
Top Pro

Half the price/Comparable features

•••
The Nintendo 2DS retails for $99.00, but can be purchased for slightly less in various retailers. As for features, the only real difference between the 2DS and the 3DS XL is the screen size and 3D display. Almost all other features are identical, with the 2DS even able to play older DS games.
thermoplastics
Top Con

Missing some features

•••
The top screen of the device is not able to display any of the 3DS games in 3D (hence the 2DS name) which may make some games that heavily rely on 3D such as Super Mario 3D Land difficult to play. There is also only a mono speaker built into the device (though the headphone jack is stereo) as well...

New Nintendo 3DS XL

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Patricia Q
Top Pro

Has built-in NFC

•••
This means Amiibo and Amiibo card support for scanning in figures and cards with a tap to then use as addons in certain games. Previous models did not have this function.
Patricia Q
Top Pro

Improved glasses-free 3D

•••
The New 3DS XL has an improvement over the regular 3DS XL model when it comes to the 3D, there is now an infrared sensor that allows for eye tracking, which keeps the 3D focused, even when the device moves. The older model had trouble with the 3D focusing when moving the device around, that is now...
Patricia Q
Top Con

No charger included

•••
In order to keep the price down on the unit Nintendo has chosen to not include a charger with the device, meaning that if you do not have one already or purchase one you will not be able to use the device past the half charge that it has out of the box.
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Shield Tablet K1

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thermoplastics
Tyler
Top Pro

Good deal

•••
$200 for one of the best Android gaming tablets out there makes for a cheap option for a device with a high end GPU.
thermoplastics
Tyler
Top Pro

Powerful portable graphics

•••
Graphics close to last-gen consoles using the Tegra K1 GPU. There are ports of current AA games such as Borderlands 2 as well as Portal. These are high quality games that run well on the device due to the powerful GPU.
thermoplastics
Tyler
Top Pro

HDMI output

•••
Has a mini-HDMI port so you can connect it to your TV or monitor. This allows one to play games on a larger screen while powering them with the tablet, much like a console.
thermoplastics
Tyler
Top Con

No physical controls built in

•••
Need to get a controller or use touchscreen controls. While the old model used to come with a stylus that has been removed on the new device. There is also a game controller made by Nvidia that works specifically with this tablet but it is an extra cost since it does not come with it.
thermoplastics
Tyler
Top Con

Game selection

•••
A few Shield exclusives, but mostly mobile games, which mainly work with touch controls rather than a gamepad.
thermoplastics
Tyler
Top Con

Not great battery life

•••
Maybe 3 hours of gaming battery life, or about 10 hours of web browsing. For what is a gaming centric device the screen time while gaming is quite low.
See 4 more Pros & ConsSee 4 more Pros & Cons

Nvidia Shield Portable

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thermoplastics
Andris Pelcbergs
Top Pro

Can be turned into a stationary console with 1080p

•••
Console mode allows the user to use a USB cable in order to output 1080p video to a TV or monitor, making for an easy way to play ones games on a larger screen just as they would with a console.
thermoplastics
Andris Pelcbergs
Top Pro

Has a 5-hour battery life

•••
With the size of the device a large capacity battery is able to be used internally which will give up to 5 hours of playtime with even the most demanding of games.
thermoplastics
Andris Pelcbergs
Top Pro

Very good speakers for a portable device

•••
Louder than a 3DS or Vita handheld the speakers in the Nvidia Shield makes for a pleasant listening experience that does not require any strain the hear what is going on.
thermoplastics
Andris Pelcbergs
Top Pro

Can wirelessly stream to a Chromecast

•••
Since the OS 5.1 update the device can stream to any Chromecast compliant device making for an easy way to stream ones games or other content to a bigger screen.
thermoplastics
Andris Pelcbergs
Top Pro

Huge selection of games to choose from

•••
Since this is an Android device the selection of games is quite large.
thermoplastics
Andris Pelcbergs
Top Con

A relatively small subset of Android games available are optimized for controller use

•••
Out of the majority of games available for Android most only have touch controls. There are a few that utilize HID controls and even fewer that utilize the nVidia controller. This makes for a very limited selection of native games to play on the device.
thermoplastics
Andris Pelcbergs
Top Con

Navigating is cumbersome

•••
Users can use the dual analog sticks to maneuver around the OS but sadly t is time consuming and not as accurate as touch controls. Users can of course use touch controls but now holding the device is difficult due to how it was designed to be held, with two hands.
thermoplastics
Andris Pelcbergs
Top Con

Somewhat large and heavy for a portable device

•••
At 1.5 pounds the device is quite heavy, which cuts down on the portability. What is worse is the size though as it is quite bulky and will not be fitting inside of anyone's pockets. Taking both of these into consideration reveals that this is not that portable of a device.
See 6 more Pros & ConsSee 6 more Pros & Cons

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MellowHapantali
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Nintendo Switch
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