The year 2020 was one of big, high-powered game consoles: the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series X and Series S (and, for me, the Oculus Quest 2). But 2021's new game systems are all about fitting in your hand. Welcome back to Portable Gaming World.

Handheld games have been around for decades: the Nintendo 3DS, the DS before it, the PlayStation Vita, the PSP, the Game Boy and Game & Watch. But there's something of a renaissance going on at the moment. A big part of that involves unique boutique devices that have been promised for several years, and are finally being released after 2020's COVID-related production delays. 

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But more than anything else, the Year of the Handheld is being anchored by two products: Valve's surprise Steam Deck, a handheld, Nintendo Switch-like PC gaming device; and Nintendo's newest version of the four-plus-year-old Switch, which adds a larger OLED screen.

I've always loved handheld gaming. I don't enjoy being parked in front of a TV, having to choose a room to play in. When I commuted to work, I could take games with me. At home for a year-plus, I can pick the room or place I play in.

Phones and tablets have already made most people handheld gamers for well over a decade now, but this new wave of devices splits along two clear lines: novelty or specialist products, and flexible or switchable products.

The Steam Deck, like the Switch, can play games on the go or docked into a TV or monitor. So, too, can the Analogue Pocket, an upcoming handheld designed to play throwback game cartridges (Game Boy Advance, Game Boy and more) on a monitor or TV.

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