The Handheld Revolution: The History Of Video Gaming On The Go

By: Lucas Maldonado

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Before the console wars for the living room ever ended, a different conflict was being waged for control of the pocket. This is the four-decade story of that war, beginning with the simple beeps of Nintendo's Game & Watch and the revolutionary philosophy of its creator, Gunpei Yokoi. It chronicles the first great clash of titans in 1989, as the humble, monochrome Game Boy faced two technically superior, full-color rivals in the Atari Lynx and NEC TurboExpress.

The outcome of that initial battle would set the rules for a generation, proving that raw power was no match for battery life, durability, and a single killer app like Tetris. Sega would challenge this new reality with its color-screened Game Gear and the audacious Nomad, while Sony, having conquered the home console market, would later enter the fray with the mighty PlayStation Portable. This set the stage for the ultimate showdown between the PSP and the bizarre, dual-screened Nintendo DS, a battle fought not with graphical horsepower, but with touch screens and virtual puppies.

Just as this titanic struggle raged, a new, existential threat emerged from Silicon Valley that would change the rules forever. The rise of the smartphone and the App Store unleashed an apocalypse of cheap, convenient mobile games, consuming the casual market and forcing the entire dedicated handheld industry into a desperate fight for survival. This new reality led to the troubled launch of the Nintendo 3DS and the tragic failure of the beautiful PlayStation Vita, pushing Nintendo to make its most radical gamble yet.

This book is the definitive chronicle of this entire journey, culminating in Nintendo's decision to end the war by unifying its kingdoms with the hybrid Nintendo Switch. It explores the rise of a new frontier with powerful PC-based handhelds like the Steam Deck, telling a story of brilliant engineers, visionary designers, corporate hubris, and the enduring quest to put a world of entertainment into the palm of your hand.

A worthy effort.

If you have interest in the history of the portable gaming market this is a pretty succinct book. A nice mix of history and technical. The author pays attention to a couple of interesting periods in handheld gaming that I think are largely historically underserved in other video game history books. The book uses virtual voice so you do get some of the idiosyncrasies of that particular program especially fun when it's trying to say words like Nintendo 3DS.