"Console Quality" In Relation to Handheld Games

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Zekkyou said:
I've always considered "console quality" a reference to the compromises necessary with a handheld. When you make a handheld console you are restricted by a lot of aspects. You need to fit everything from the screen to the controls into a small device, which has always resulted in a product with worse graphics and controls than a home console.

A good example is Killzone: Mercenary, which both does and doesn't fit the term. Graphics wise it's certainly deserving of the title "console quality", because it really does look as good as many PS3/360 games. On the other hand it's controls are unable to match those of it's home console equivalents, thus can be considered to have "handheld quality" controls.

To put it in simple terms, a PS3 could do almost anything a 3DS can (except the touch controls obviously), but the 3DS wouldn't be able to mimic a lot of what modern PS3 games do. Imagine TLOU on the 3DS :P it would be rather different that's for sure.

Ah, this is much closer to what I'm looking for. There are compromises to be made when developing certain kinds of games for handhelds, sure. It's essentally like developing games on older hardware, I'd say. Although, the gain is portability and the conievence of being able to stop and continue a game at virtually any time. From my perspective, these factors enchance the game and help make up for the defecit in other areas. So I do find it unfair to view one means of gaming as objectively superior to the other, because the trade-offs have a ton of potential subjective value tied to them, especially from a cultural standpoint (see: Japan's love for handhelds).

But, my problem is mainly with the term itself and how it's used, not the purported definition. As it stands, I see "console quality" being used as some sort of standard that handheld games should be striving for, and that drives me nuts. Quality is not dependant on hardware (or at least not hardware alone). You will get advantages and disadvantages on each platform, but creativity (and good game design) is born from placing restrictions on one's own capabilities. I'd much rather see terms like Killzone, Uncharted, or AssCreed being "handheldized" rather than imply that the overall quality will, by nature, take a hit.