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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Are Handhelds = Consoles?

 

Are Handhelds = Consoles?

Yes 184 50.14%
 
No 126 34.33%
 
Its more complicated than that 37 10.08%
 
Who gives a shit! 20 5.45%
 
Total:367
Dr.Henry_Killinger on 24 September 2015
Intrinsic said:
I went with "its more complicated than that"

Handhelds are consoles by definition. However home consoles and handheld consoles (aka portables) should not be grouped together. The only thing they have in common is that they both play games.

A handheld has more in common with a smartphone than it does with a home console.

Incorrect. The only difference between a home and a handheld is external power supply. You could argue the need for external video ouput but the Wii U doesn't need that.

Older cellphones are closer to handhelds than smartphones, smartphones are more analogous to PCs than any console at all.

All squares are rectangles, not all rectangles are squares.



In this day and age, with the Internet, ignorance is a choice! And they're still choosing Ignorance! - Dr. Filthy Frank

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Goodnightmoon on 24 September 2015
vivster said:
Goodnightmoon said:

The Op is about handhelds being consoles, when not even the question makes sense, of course they are, how can anybody think they are not? They do everything a console is supposed to do, they are focused on gaming, they report benefits selling hardware and software for video game companies just just like the rest, they are only consoles to play on the go, nothing less, nothing more, you cans ay they have different prices and that jazz but homeconsoles are not priced the same and some hadels have been way more expensive than Homeconsoles (3DS and PSV were more expensive than GC and Wii)

Also their demographics and use cases are completely different. But sure, they're completely the same and should be treated exactly the same.

Just like breast pumps and refridgerators are both electronic devices and as such should be treated as equals on their ability to mow my lawn.

The demographic of a Nintendo homeconsole is way different to the demographic of a Sony homeconsole, that does not make any of them less of a console or impossible to compare.

Breast pumps and refrigerators are used for completely different things, while hadhelds consoles are used for the same purpose than homeconsoles, gaming, because they are the same on its core, just less powerfull for the obvious limitations, but used for the same exact purpose, and this has been like this for the last 25 years.



pokoko on 24 September 2015

The trouble seems to be that a lot of people think the word "console" is specific to video games. That surprises the hell out of me but I guess it shouldn't.

Home video-game consoles are only TYPES of consoles, they are NOT where the term originated and they are certainly not the defining principle.



Dr.Henry_Killinger on 24 September 2015
vivster said:
Dr.Henry_Killinger said:

This is irrelevant. You are assuming because they are part of the same class, they are compared the same. The reason the term handheld exists is to distinguish it from home consoles, for easier analysis. As a whole, they are both part of the same class, dedicated gaming devices aka consoles.

All squares are rectangles, not all rectangles are squares.

Wasn't that the exact thing I just said? Or you meant to replay to someone else?

They can both be in the same category but that doesn't make them the same. As such they shouldn't be compared as the same. Refer to any of my otehr posts in here to get a better picture of my point.

Simplification + Clarification.



In this day and age, with the Internet, ignorance is a choice! And they're still choosing Ignorance! - Dr. Filthy Frank

FromDK on 24 September 2015

Yes.. becourse so does amazon.. and they have always right..

(is a walkman still a casetteplayer.. )



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Neodegenerate on 24 September 2015
AlfredoTurkey said:

It all depends on the person. If it's a Nintendo die hard, of COURSE they are. Sony diehard with say of COURSE they aren't.

Everyone else knows better. This is why sales data is NEVER combined. They are separate markets that sell to mostly different demographs.

I've said this a billion times, and I'll keep saying it. Handhelds and consoles are like motorcycles and automobiles. A motorcycle does the same basic thing, but is much cheaper and is used by a completely different demograph and thus, don't compete head on with automobiles. The same is true with handhelds.

The sooner you guys accept this, the happier you will be because the people who do sales analysis will NEVER lump them in together and you will ALWAYS be on the losing side of any argument.

Your example actually fits better like this: Handhelds and home consoles are both consoles the same way that a motorcycle and an automobile are both vehicles.



Dr.Henry_Killinger on 24 September 2015
pokoko said:
The trouble seems to be that a lot of people think the word "console" is specific to video games. That surprises the hell out of me but I guess it shouldn't.

Home video-game consoles are only TYPES of consoles, they are NOT where the term originated and they are certainly not the defining principle.

With regard to gaming, the assumption is that the discussion is about video game consoles. The debate, its not a debate honestly, is whether or not Handhelds are considered consoles. The issue is by assuming home console is the only console, then we have to use retarded terms like dedicated gaming device to describe both handhelds and consoles despite the fact that this is what a video game console is.

 

All squares are rectangles, not all rectangles are squares.



In this day and age, with the Internet, ignorance is a choice! And they're still choosing Ignorance! - Dr. Filthy Frank

estebxx on 24 September 2015

They are both gaming devices but they belong in different categories, one is stricktly for using at Home and even needs a display and the other one is made so you can use it outside.

its like comparing home phones with smarthphones, yes they both fill the same need of comunicating with others but they couldnt be more different.



DerNebel on 24 September 2015
Luke888 said:
DerNebel said:
KLXVER said:
Who is saying that handhelds are consoles...?

I've seen it argued a couple times by Nintendo fans trying to argue that Sony has to overtake the 3DS with the PS4 to become the market leader in Japan. Then arguing that in that case smartphones/tablets should be counted in as well results in a lot of spinning about why consoles and handhelds should be counted as one group in Japan while smartphones/tables are totally seperate and way too different to count.


As a Nintendo Fan: Yes, Sony is leading in Japan because they are earning more money. you have to think as I said previously that the revenue taken from an Handheld is like 75% of a Home Console if not even less, but this doesn't mean Handhelds aren't consoles

I can say that there's always been a distinction that's been made between consoles and handhelds and that suddenly disregarding that distinction (while at the same time still insisting on the distinction between consoles/handhelds and smartphones/handhelds) to win a sales arguement in one market is just desperate.

In the sense of the thread that this thread here is referencing it's pretty irrelevant, the user was clearly talking about Sony/Nintendo gaming hardware and just chose to use the term "consoles".



Puppyroach on 24 September 2015

Although there is no doubt that portable are consoles, it kind of sucks that XBox is a distant third every generation :P.