10 years ago, handheld gaming for me was the coolest thing ever. How could it not? It kept me sane from boring family gatherings, school outings, and therapy. Now, I and other people have considered the smartphone to be the most convenient handheld gaming platform nowadays. “Convenient” doesn’t necessarily mean “the best”. 7-Eleven is a convenient place for fried chicken but that doesn’t mean it overshadows KFC or Bon Chon (shoutout to you South Korean chicken lovers). 10 years ago, cellphones were still dominated by Blackberries and Nokias instead of the sleek iPhones and Samsungs of today so gaming was out of the question mostly. The best handheld experiences have come from dedicated gaming consoles instead of phones that happen to play video games. Handheld consoles were always going to be a step better with their dedicated hardware controls and gimmicks.
When I was a little boy rather than the actual big boy I am today, the PSP was something I wished for. Instead of buying a PSP though, I bought a Gameboy Micro for my birthday because it was the more familiar choice. Even if the Gameboy Micro was fun, the PSP was revolutionary for my untrained mind because the idea of 3D gaming with PlayStation or PlayStation 2 levels of graphics on the go was an awesome thing to have. My rich classmates had it and seeing a full 3D Dynasty Warriors game on the go was awesome at the time.
Shall we talk about the PSP? We should, otherwise I wouldn’t have used that oh so clever title. High five, Ralph! Yeah! Big boys!