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."

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

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 :)

Game Boy Light

[Psykechan]

One handheld gaming system that should have been listed was the Game Boy Light [vidgame.net]. It was basically a Game Boy Pocket with a built in backlight. It failed because Nintendo released it around the same time as they released the Game Boy Color. The GBL was not capable of playing the newer "Color" games and gamers were forced to chose between being able to play the newer games or being able to easily see their older games.

Nintendo wisely decided to not release the GBL outside of Japan. Unfortunately, this blunder may have made them think that the public wasn't willing to spend money on a backlit portable; something that they held fast on until their release of the Gameboy Advance SP.

Offtopic... when the Gameboy and the Lynx were released, I chose the Lynx camp and still have three of the systems: A Lynx, a Lynx II, and my self-modified Turbo Lynx which is overclocked to 1.5 times normal speed. (playing Stun Runner on it is a blast) Personally, I've always believed that the Gameboy prevailed simply due to the Tetris license and Nintendo's foresight to include it as a pack-in. The Lynx had an early lineup that was wonderful (Blue Lightning, Chip's Challenge, Gates of Zendocon) and put the Gameboy's games to shame but it did not have Tetris. The rest is history.

Re:I somehow found this really sad

[k_187]

Sadly no they don't. There have been a huge influx of gamers since the playstation generation, and in a lot of ways, I think they're the reason that games just aren't as good anymore. How many people are buying PS2s or xboxes (xboxen?) for games like Disgaea, or Ico or all the other games that are great yet don't sell like they should. The gaming market is Madden and anything that's a sequel right now. Flash and marketing are what rules the roost. They don't have the history that older gamers have. Sigh, some people just don't remember what it was like to get a game every 6 months and like it, even when you slave away for your allowance to buy "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" for the NES. God, I sound crotchety, and I'm only 22!

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.

Re:The Turbo Express

[jpmoney]

A friend of mine had a Turbo Duo back in the day that he worked his arse off for... and it was definately worth it. The TG-16 was a great system and its too bad it didn't do well.

And now they're bringing back Bonk [ign.com]!

Re:The Turbo Express

[feed_those_kitties]

I also have one with the TV tuner. I use it more as a portable TV than as a portable game system. The TV picture is really quite good for such a small screen!

My opinions

[M3wThr33]

Game.Com:
I kinda liked the device. It was a pity my favorite game was Lights Out. ;) The pocket pro has nice design. I loved the backlight and touchscreen, but unfortunately the refresh rate was far too low to enjoy games for too long.

Lynx:
I purchased one off of eBay some years back with a whole bunch of games and accessories (All new). Not too bad, great games, especially Chip's Challenge and the Mahjongg one, but unfortunately the cards lacked memory and ate batteries.

Game Gear: It was ok, but everytime I saw someone playing it, they were using an AC adapter to play it. It defeats the purpose, plus it didn't fit in your pocket. Although the Disney games were some of the best.

Nomad:
Battery WHORE.

Turbo Express:
THICK, bright screen.

GP32:
I like SM cards, but the community is built off of pirated roms and emulators. Plus the Zodiac2 blows it away now.

NGPC:
Got one at Fry's with 6 games for $70. Great deal. I love it all around. There's a reason it was #1.

N-Gage:
I own an MDM game that works in PPC, PalmOS and N-Gage. I hate the N-Gage.

Microvision:
A collector's item I'd like to have.

Wonderswan:
I never really had a chance to see one. Some games intrigued me, especially the MMBN on it.