History of Handheld Consoles

  • Game & Watch

    Game & Watch
    Nintendo released the first Game & Watch series of games that keep track of the time as you play. The game used in the image is called "Ball". The most recent one is the Super Mario 35th anniversary which can play the original Super Mario Bros..
  • Gameboy

    Gameboy
    Nintendo's next handheld console the Gameboy, it can play games in shades of green or in black and white.It stopped being manufactured in 2003. Pokemon Red and Blue are the highest selling games on it.
  • Atari Lynx I

    Atari Lynx I
    The Atari Lynx was the first handheld system that could play games in color. It stopped being manufactured in 1995. A game that released for it was Ms. Pac-man.
  • Game Gear

    Game Gear
    A handheld console made by SEGA. It was primarily made to compete with the Gameboy and could play games in color , but this caused the batteries to drain faster only lasting around 5 hours. Sega Sonic Triple Trouble came out for this.
  • TurboExpress

    TurboExpress
    The TurboExpress had a back-lit display which means the screen lights up. Games on this system often rely on passwords to save progress since this console isn't capable of saving. It was made by NEC Home Electronics. A game that came out for the TurboExpress was Bomberman'64.
  • Atari Lynx II

    Atari Lynx II
    The successor to Lynx 1, the Lynx II had slightly hardware, better battery life, and a sleeker look. A game you can play on it was Crystal Mines 2.
  • Genesis Nomad

    Genesis Nomad
    The Genesis Nomad was originally made to play Genesis games on the go. The Genesis Nomad was SEGA's last handheld console. It is capable of running Sonic the Hedgehog.
  • Gameboy Color

    Gameboy Color
    The Gameboy Color like the name suggests can play Gameboy games in color. It has access to 32,768 different color pallets. Pokemon Crystal came out on it.
  • Neo Geo Pocket

    Neo Geo Pocket
    The Neo Geo Pocket was made by SNK who mainly made arcade games. The Neo Geo Pocket could only play games in black and white and one of these games were King of Fighters R-1.
  • WonderSwan

    WonderSwan
    The WonderSwan is a handheld console made by Bandai. The WonderSwan was marketed as being low-cost and having a 30-hour battery life. A game released for it was Rockman & Forte Mirai kara no Chosensha(In japan, Megaman is known as Rockman). The WonderSwan was never released outside of Japan.
  • Neo Geo Pocket Color

    Neo Geo Pocket Color
    The Neo Geo Pocket Color was made by SNK to compete with the Gameboy Color. This was the successor to the Neo Geo Pocket. A game that can be played on it is Capcom vs SNK The Match of the Millennium.
  • Gameboy Advance

    Gameboy Advance
    The GBA(Gameboy Advance) was marketed the successor to the Gameboy Color. The GBA was also capable of running games that originally came out for the Gameboy. The GBA cartridges were half the size of the ones that were for the Gameboy. You can play Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga on it.
  • Nintendo DS

    Nintendo DS
    The Nintendo DS was a system that has dual screens with the bottom one being a touch screen and having a clam-shell design. On top you can insert DS games and on the bottom you can insert GBA games. To this day the DS is Nintendo's best selling system at 149 million sold. You can play Mario Party DS on it.
  • PlayStation Portable

    PlayStation Portable
    The PSP(PlayStation Portable) was a handheld system made by Sony and could connect to the PS2 and PS3 and at it's time was the most powerful handheld system ever released. It can play both media and games. LittleBigPlanet was available to play on it.
  • Gameboy Micro

    Gameboy Micro
    The Gameboy Micro was the last console Nintendo ever made for the Gameboy lline. The Gameboy Micro is a redesign of the Gameboy Advance making it look very similar to a Game and Watch. Overall it could play the same games for example it can play Pokemon Emerald.
  • Nintendo DSi

    Nintendo DSi
    The DSi while being very similar to the DS, the DSi would allow the user to connect to the Nintendo Eshop and purchase games online one of these games were Photo Dojo. The DSi also had two cameras one on the inside and the other on the outside of the console.
  • Nintendo 3DS

    Nintendo 3DS
    The 3DS was the successor to the DS and is able to play games in 2D or 3D as long as the game originally came out for the 3ds. It's able to play DS games and can notify the user if other 3DS systems are around using the streetpass feature. The 3Ds started selling better after Super Mario 3D Land came out.
  • PS Vita

    PS Vita
    The PS Vita is the PSP successor and similary it could connect to the PS3 and PS4. The PS Vita Primarily Competed with the Nintendo 3Ds. The PS Vita ended up not being very popular in the west, but moderately popular in Japan. Games for the Vita included Uncharted:Fight for Fortune.
  • New Nintendo 3Ds

    New Nintendo 3Ds
    The New 3ds while looking very similar to the 3ds it posses a C-stick to control the camera, scan Amiibo, and improved performance. Some games could only be played on the New 3ds like Fire Emblem Warriors and various SNES games.
  • Nintendo Switch

    Nintendo Switch
    The Nintendo Switch is Nintendo's newest console and it can be played in handheld mode or it can connect to the tv. A major game that came out for it is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.