Talk:Comparison of handheld game consoles

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Cover all the bases[edit]

..not just the consoles that still have new games coming out. I also feel that they should either be listed in alphabetical order or in order of the date on which they came out. Yes? No? By the way, great work so far, that table is really "sharp" looking! :) --Naha|(talk) 15:11, July 25, 2005 (UTC)

I added some pictures to the gallery of most handheld consoles that have come out (and are not completely unknown systems), I may do some other work on the other sections of the article for adding additional information on these systems. Any help would greatly be appreciated. Xizer 22:30, 25 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Glad you guys like it. I think listing it alphabetical would be best. Btw, do you guys think that there is something missing from the article, some tables, info what not that we could make another section below spec? Also, I think the name "gaming consoles" is better then "gaming systems" so let's keep this. Havok 00:20, 26 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]
This is starting to shape up nicely! Its a good article. I hope I have time to work on it soon, my wikitime has been minimal the last 3 or 4 days, hope to be back in "full force" soon. Good work on all the photos. I don't know what is missing yet, I'm sure there are more things that can be added, I just can't think of what they would be right now. As far as changing the name of the article, it needs to happen, but we need to drop the "Comparison of" in my opinion, and just let it be "Handheld Gaming Consoles" (or systems). --Naha|(talk) 02:54, July 26, 2005 (UTC)

Specs table[edit]

I think we should split Specs in two, one for the actual CPU, memory and such, and create a whole new section for memory storage, gaming cartridges etc. The section is beginning to become a little "full", and words are starting to bleed into the cells next to it. Havok 10:11, 26 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure what you mean in reagards to words bleeding into adjacent cells. This does not happen in my browser at all, there is ample room. I'm using IE6 though. Wouldn't mind seeing a screenshot lol. I'd have to see the two seperate sections before I could make a judgement call on that ..right now it looks pretty clean looking, sharp and cut and dry /shrug. --Naha|(talk) 20:37, July 26, 2005 (UTC)
It looks fine to me. If you are not using Mozilla Firefox you should download it and use it as the primary browser - i have not seen any compatibility errors yet.--Zxcvbnm 21:41, 26 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Ok I still don't see the above problem, BUT now I have to scroll sideways to get to the last two colums on the Specs table. Some of the colums have too much extra white spaced, if it could be condensed, that problem could be solved, I think. --Naha|(talk) 22:52, July 26, 2005 (UTC)
Same thing just happened to me. It messes the article border up. There needs to be another table under that one.--Zxcvbnm 23:33, 26 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah I guess so, poo =/ --Naha|(talk) 00:23, July 27, 2005 (UTC)

It dosn't bleed anymore. But horizontal scrolling is unforgiving, and should not happen. Havok 20:23, 27 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure if there was reasoning behind having just two columns in the second specs table, and seven in the first; but I just moved three columns from the first, making it five and five. -shuri 11:38, 9 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Price[edit]

I really don't think it should say discontinued if the system is no longer being produced, I think it should say the price that the system cost when it initially came out on the market because that is much more informative. Or at LEAST the price next to "discontinued" in parenthesis. --Naha|(talk) 12:25, July 27, 2005 (UTC)

Ok I see someone took my suggestion, thats great! But I would like to know where you guys are getting your pricing info from, because I think some of them might be wrong. Nintendo.com stated one suggsted retail price for the Gameboy color ($79.95) and our wiki article says $100. Scroll down to the bottom of this link for the price reference: " With a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of just $79.95, Game Boy Color will have a good relationship with your pocket in more ways than one." --Naha|(talk) 05:34, July 28, 2005 (UTC)

Will this ever be complete?[edit]

I'm gonna slap whoever keeps on adding pictures of games consoles @ the bottom without adding them to the tables. Will we have to keep adding them every time someone discovers some obscure console? Trip: The Light Fantastic 17:30, 27 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Encyclopedias are supposed to have everything. Leaving some consoles out would be like the Encyclopedia Brittanica having an entry for the African Elephant but not the Indian Elephant.--Zxcvbnm 17:44, 27 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Wikipedia will NEVER be complete. It is constantly evolving. And yes, this article will continue to evolve with it as more consoles are discovered and new ones are produced. We wouldn't be doing anyone any favors by leaving one out here and there. Furthermore, there is nothing wrong with adding the pictures in the table and not adding them to the chart. Granted it would be nice, but some people might be confused by the code of the chart and think it best to leave that job to someone more experienced. I was in that boat when I first started contributing. Over time, people's contributions become larger, more detailed and more efficient. Or the might simply not have time to do both the pictures and the table editing. Its not a big deal, someone else will come along and make everything match. The goal is to make every article as complete as it can possibly get. Every contribution (that is not vandalism etc.) is usually helpful. --Naha|(talk) 22:39, July 27, 2005 (UTC)

Units[edit]

Why are the units (MB, MHz) right next to the numbers (64, 128)? shouldn't there be a space between them? I agree that in some cases it looks cleaner, but in others it looks too closely packed. What's the deal with this? -mysekurity 04:25, 31 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Spaces added, looks better now. -shuri 11:45, 9 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Featured list[edit]

Once this article is exhaustive, I think it would be a good Featured list candidate. I just nominated List of commercial failures in computer and video gaming there, please comment on that too. Jacoplane 17:17, 2 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

What about the Game & Watch?[edit]

I think the Game & Watch should be recognized in this list, as was essentially one of the first "portable" gaming machines.

Technically, it's not a handheld gaming console, as defined by that parent page. Each G&W only plays the game built into it, instead of playing multiple games. - A Man In Black (Talk | Contribs) 18:12, 7 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Organization of tables?[edit]

How are the tables currently organized? It looks like Nintendo's consoles are listed first; I can't make sense of the rest. Should they be organized by release date? Joshfist 04:22, 2005 August 8 (UTC)

If someone wants the daunting task of rearranging the tables according to release date, go right ahead. Havok 07:33, 8 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Done -shuri 13:28, 8 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Great work. Havok 18:04, 8 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Names[edit]

What has determined, if anything, the form of the names used? Some have manufacturers (Atari Lynx, Nokia N-Gage), others not. -shuri 11:35, 9 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Pocket Famicom[edit]

I was wondering if the Pocket Famicom counts as a handheld console, despite being a handheld hardware clone of the Famicom, and being illegal (becuase it was an unliscensed Nintendo product). Just wanted to make sure; if it belongs in the list I'll add it. --gakon5 (talk) 21:48, August 10, 2005 (UTC)

According to the article Nintendo sued the company that makes this product and lost, so I don't think it's illegal. So if that's true, I see no problem in adding it to the list. Perhaps you should wait for more feedback though. Jacoplane 22:44, 10 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

more than tables[edit]

would it be logical at all to include objective comparisons of the popularity, both in the past and present of these systems? Lockeownzj00 16:12, 11 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

If anyone wants to write objective about the different handhelds, they should go right a head. Would be cool to see what people can come up with. ;) Havok 17:43, 11 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

What about Virtual Boy?[edit]

Should we include the Nintendo Virtual Boy. I know it isn't technically "handheld" or even "portable," but it is pretty important. It caused Gunpei Yokoi, the inventor of the Game Boy, the D-pad and the Virtual Boy, to get fired. -Hyad 07:41, August 12, 2005 (UTC)

He wasn't fired, he left because of the desgrace he felt the VB gave Nintendo. :P And I wouldn't consider VB a "handheld". ;) Havok 07:55, 12 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Any particular reason why this isn't a handheld? It's not a home console system is it? Perhaps we should just include it for completeness. I'm not sure the game & watch shouldn't be included either. It seems to have been a pioneer system in this category of gaming systems. Jacoplane 01:19, 13 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Then we must first find out what defines a "handheld". The VB was markedet as a handheld, but you didn't hold it in your hand, you put it on a table and held a controller, much like any console. When it comes to the G&W, it is a handheld, but it only playes one game, so should it be considered a true gaming handheld? Havok 07:09, 13 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]
But, you can't categorize it anywhere else (the G&W), and the fact it only plays one game doesn't keep it from being a video game console, or handheld, IMO. And the Virtual Boy, I'd call it portable, but it's not the play-wherever-you-want sort of portable, more like a... take-it-with-you-wherever-you-want-and-set-it-up-and-play-it-when-possible sort of handheld. That pretty much puts it in a league of it's own, no? --gakon5 (talk) 14:26, August 13, 2005 (UTC)
Then we should add G&W then, but not VB. Since it's in a league of it's own. Havok 16:17, 13 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Launch Prices[edit]

What are the sources for these launch prices? Why are some of them ranges? The Launch price should be the MSRP for the product on the launch date. Also, I have a source that says that the Gameboy launched at 169, not 109 [1]. Can someone confirm/deny this? --DropDeadGorgias (talk) 19:41, August 29, 2005 (UTC)

Also, shouldn't we include the launch prices for currently sold systems? This info is useful for comparing newer system launches, and also, when the systems themselves are decomissioned, we'll want to have the launch price handy. For example, The DS is listed as 130, but it launched at 149.99. Ohh... one last point, I'm pretty sure that almost all of these launch prices should have ".99" appended to them. It seems silly to truncate the .99, rather than perform an actual rounding up, which is more accurate. --DropDeadGorgias (talk) 19:49, August 29, 2005 (UTC)
And last (sorry for all this), what do people think of having a column for the price of a cartridge at launch? We can use the price of the most popular launch title, or something. Many people criticize comparisons of this nature as they fail to appreciate that game manufacturers usually sell the unit at a loss, planning on recouping the loss through game sales. --DropDeadGorgias (talk) 19:53, August 29, 2005 (UTC)
Some systems sell for multiple price points: the Gizmondo, for instance, has 2 different prices, one with ads before you play; and some systems have different power levels, the Zodiac for instance Kertrats 22:03, 29 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]
Most review sites (Cnet, etc.) reviewed the Zodiac1 and Zodiac2 as separate products. Either way, I would expect that both are reflected in the price comparison somehow. --DropDeadGorgias (talk) 22:14, August 29, 2005 (UTC)

Errors[edit]

The page presents an error and then loads with the error in the background at the top:

"Warning: rename(/mnt/upload/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ad/120px-390px-Gp32-flu.jpg,/mnt/upload/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1e/390px-Gp32-flu.jpg/120px-390px-Gp32-flu.jpg): Not a directory in /usr/local/apache/common-local/php-1.5/includes/Image.php on line 970"

Sombody will want to have a look at that. I don't know enough to really understand what it means, but I'm assuming it has to do with a gallery picture. Just for reference, I'm running Mozilla Firefox 1.0.6 on Ubuntu Linux 5.04 (Hoary Hedgehog Release). --Matt 09:15, 15 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Does "public release date" mean "American release date"?[edit]

I note that the Gizmondo is listed as having a release date in the future (as I write this), yet it has been on sale in the UK for several months. I can only assume that the date given is the U.S. release date, but that's hardly the first public release.

This makes we wonder how many of the other public release dates are U.S.-centric.

I suggest that either the dates be amended to the actual public release (i.e., first availability to the public anywhere), or some more detailed scheme be used. At the very least, I suggest that the country or region that the date applies to be stated, along with information about whether that specific date was also the first release anywhere.

Fcw 18:00, 20 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

One possibility might be to list the first English-language release, whereever in the world it is. I think listing every regional release might be impractical, and non-English-language release dates could be misleading. - A Man In Black (Talk | Contribs) 00:17, 21 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

It's the first time it was/is publicly available, be it in Japan, USA, Europe, Australia etc. Havok (T/C) 21:04, 21 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Inconsistency[edit]

Please look on your page, where is stated (about GBA [SP]) that it has Z80 processor running with speed about 4-5 MHz, but on page about GBA is stated that it's 8-9 MHz CPU!

I've heard about two of these speeds but I don't know which was used in this console. If it has to be 100% compatible I would be almost sure that it has identical parameters like one originally used in GB - and then (I'm sure in about 99,9%) there were available only slower ones!

83.24.214.188 21:26, 28 April 2006 (UTC) Konrad[reply]

Proposed merge and extra section[edit]

See Talk:Comparison of video game controllers#Handhelds. -- Consumed Crustacean | Talk | 00:03, 6 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The data is currently at Comparison of handheld gaming consoles/temp now, until it's in proper working condition to move into this article. -- Consumed Crustacean | Talk | 21:48, 14 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

More Errors[edit]

Release date for GP32 (specified as "June 2004") is incorrect. It has been around since at least 2001. And its discontinued.

Also this chart --->

is misleading. Gamepark and Gamepark Holdings are seperate companies and should be treated as such.

I don't know how to modify chart templates :( Spacecoyote17 07:52, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

iPod Touch (iPhone)[edit]

The iPod Touch mainly, but by proxy including the iPhone are now considered "Handheld Game Devices" I believe they should be added into the comparison .

http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/what-is/ipod.html


To get to a template, just go to Template:dedicated video game handheld consoles and edit it like any other page. Koweja 16:13, 11 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

There are some very interesting statistics about sale numbers that show how the iPhone is eating into the handheld market over here: http://mashable.com/2010/03/23/ipad-psp-ds-games/

I'm not sure where to put this, so I'm just leaving the link. Esn (talk) 11:43, 20 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Up to Date and Future[edit]

PS Vita is out — Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.91.108.217 (talk) 17:44, 6 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

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Article Deletion[edit]

I personally found this article very interesting, comparing all the technical stats from the various handhelds. But I can appreciate it was under cited. ShadyCrack (talk) 15:54, 28 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Indeed, but everything must be sourced on Wikipedia and sooooo much of this is not sourced. It's a common problem on Wikipedia, because reliable sources (in the Wikipedia definition) rarely goes into hard tech info like this. A lot if what was able to be sourced is covered at the current redirect target, albeit in a different organizational format. Sergecross73 msg me 20:00, 28 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]