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[onQ123]

On one side there is mobile games made for phones & tablets then there is Console & PC games but no longer a focus on making games for handheld devices with buttons.

Of course we have the best of both worlds now being able to play the full-size PC/Console games on the go but it would be nice to have a sub-section on the store fronts dedicated to handheld gaming.

 

[StereoVsn]

On one side there is mobile games made for phones & tablets then there is Console & PC games but no longer a focus on making games for handheld devices with buttons.

Of course we have the best of both worlds now being able to play the full-size PC/Console games on the go but it would be nice to have a sub-section on the store fronts dedicated to handheld gaming.

There are a ton of games that work well in handheld format. From farming sims to turn based RPGs to Visual Novels and Adventure games and more.

On PC side especially, handhelds are great for playing older titles from say 2005 - 2019 (and of course earlier).

 

[kunluncat]

Except Nintendo, handhelds are just accessories to play PC/mobile/emu games.

 

[Kacho]

I don't understand. What makes a handheld game that we could classify them in their own section on the store?

 

[digital_ghost]

We already have dedicated sections for steam deck games on steam.

Great on Deck

Great on Deck

store.steampowered.com

 

[onQ123]

There are a ton of games that work well in handheld format. From farming sims to turn based RPGs to Visual Novels and Adventure games and more.

On PC side especially, handhelds are great for playing older titles from say 2005 - 2019 (and of course earlier).

Yes I know there is lots of games that are made for PC/ home consoles that are great on handhelds especially the older games which is why I think there should be a sub section to make them easy to find & also encourage devs to make games that are good for on the go gaming.

 

[LectureMaster]

Well, because everything is an Xbox.

"This is an Xbox." I wish I'd waited for this Black Friday deal before buying my favorite PC gaming handheld, which Microsoft says is actually an Xbox.

The Lenovo Legion Go is enjoying a huge sale, knocking an impressive $200 off the typical ask. Here's what you need to know about buying it.

www.windowscentral.com

 

[StereoVsn]

Yes I know there is lots of games that are made for PC/ home consoles that are great on handhelds especially the other games which is why I think there should be a sub section to make them easy to find & also encourage devs to make games that are good for on the go gaming.

That’s fair, but check out the “Great on Deck” link above. It has some of that. Not quite 100% correct if you look at the results but a good start.

 

[bender]

On PC side especially, handhelds are great for playing older titles from say 2005 - 2019 (and of course earlier).

The farther back you go, the more wonky gamepad support is going to be.

 

[StereoVsn]

The farther back you go, the more wonky gamepad support is going to be.

Yes, but that’s customized controls and usefulness of trackpads comes in. A lot of older games work just fine with some tinkering with the controls.

Between gyro and trackpad’s customization vast majority of titles will play just fine. Well, with some common sense as playing say RTS aren’t going to be amazing whatever you do, lol.

 

[bender]

Yes, but that’s customized controls and usefulness of trackpads comes in. A lot of older games work just fine with some tinkering with the controls.

Between gyro and trackpad’s customization vast majority of titles will play just fine. Well, with some common sense as playing say RTS aren’t going to be amazing whatever you do, lol.

Custom controls help but if you are playing games without native controller support you can run into issues (like no auto-aim in an FPS) or in the case of the Deck, playing non-Steam games in SteamOS can be cumbersome.

 

[StereoVsn]

Custom controls help but if you are playing games without native controller support you can run into issues (like no auto-aim in an FPS) or in the case of the Deck, playing non-Steam games in SteamOS can be cumbersome.

I mean sure, not everything works 100%, but in general most games I have tried played fine after some tinkering. And for some games there are community control setups already created.

 

[ADiTAR]

Sony develops a lot of those.

EDIT: Sorry, I read that as handhold.

 

[Zannegan]

I don't understand. What makes a handheld game that we could classify them in their own section on the store?

There was a lot of talk around this point in the 3DS/PSVita generation, where people said the Vita was great and all, but it's games didn't feel enough like handheld games. Always seemed a little silly to me, but some people feel there's a clear distinction.

 

[Spukc]

Indie games?

 

[Magic Carpet]

I play games on my iPhone all the time.

 

[chakadave]

I’d say it just doesn’t matter much. With things like save states and fast loading you don’t need to design it for a mobile platform.

Run based games that take a few minutes exist but with instant save you just shut the thing off and it resumes right where you are

 

[EDMIX]

Those days are done regarding dedicated devices having that and tbh you already have developer actually dedicated to doing that, they literally do that in the mobile market...

 

[Sorcerer]

We already have dedicated sections for steam deck games on steam.

Great on Deck

Great on Deck

store.steampowered.com

But those games still run on Windows, with the possibility of Mac, Linux, and it looks like they are aiming for Android/Chrome now also. Nothing as far as I am aware is made strictly for the Deck. Not even games made by Valve. (They will never do that).

One anomaly, years ago during the Steam Machine era, there was a game on Steam that only ran on Linux initially. Something that never happened before or since. I think it took a year or two, but it eventually got a Windows port.

 

[Puscifer]

There are a ton of games that work well in handheld format. From farming sims to turn based RPGs to Visual Novels and Adventure games and more.

On PC side especially, handhelds are great for playing older titles from say 2005 - 2019 (and of course earlier).

Seriously. Dead Rising as a series never clicked for me until the Steam Deck and I've tried them all but gave up a few hours into each one.

Sitting at a desk or couch puts you into a different mindset vs casually on the bed or wherever you stop for a moment is such a great experience.

 

[Deerock71]

I'm happy with the Steam Deck, which beautifully straddles being a handheld and gaming laptop. I haven't even dived into the deep end of the mods and shit; I've just been playing it like a Switch with customizable graphics settings.

 

[simpatico]

The hybrid experience reaches a much larger audience. This doesn't make sense unless you're a platform holder. The screens are so big and controls so similar that a hybrid experience is much easier achieve than it used to be. What does a modern handheld game even look like when developed with the power that some of these things have? I think the lines naturally get blurry with the tech evolution. DS games were the way they were out of necessity. You could argue that a lot of indie stuff in handheld focused. New Prince of Persia etc.

 

[Rentahamster]

Nintendo is though