Freedom From the Tyranny of the Television

When purchasing a computer, you used to have two options, each with their own set of compromises. A desktop that had power and expandability, but could only be used in a single area. Or a laptop that was portable with everything you needed to use the computer, but was much less powerful and capable than a desktop.

As technology progressed and hardware become more powerful and miniaturized, laptops were able to meet the demands of most users, even for more complex tasks.

In 2008, laptop sales overtook desktop sales for the first time^[1]. Today most people use laptops, and they often are powerful enough to be full-on desktop replacements. Yes, some users need the full power and configurability of a desktop. But for the majority of users, the laptop is a desktop replacement. I’d argue that when most people think of the term “computer,” they think of a laptop.

The videogame industry seems to be following a similar parallel trajectory. Throughout most of its history, mobile/handheld and console games were wildly different. Home consoles plugged into the television, were more powerful, and had larger, more “premium” experiences. Handheld consoles were considerably less powerful, with their games having to be tailored to the constraints of mobile hardware. You couldn’t make the same game on a Game Boy or Game Boy Advance as you could on a NES or PS2.^[2]

We’ve had solutions to make home consoles more portable in the past. The PS One came with an LCD display that let you play it anywhere there was a power outlet. The Nintendo GameCube had a third-party screen add-on that did the same thing. The Wii U took it a step further by letting you play games on the gamepad, as long as the console was plugged in and turned on. This illustrated that yes, people were interested in playing videogames in the comfort of their choosing, be it the TV or otherwise.

But it has only been within the last 10 years that we’ve seen an accelerated trend in taking the home console experience, and miniaturizing it into a portable. The Nintendo Switch is the most obvious example, but we’ve seen the PC miniaturized into a handheld through the Steam Deck and its many imitators. Tablets and smartphones have incredible processing power, with certain major game franchises like the Resident Evil, Assassin’s Creed, and Civilization appearing on these devices (particularly, high-end iPhones and iPads).

To address the elephant in the room: yes, these devices are not as powerful as a dedicated box drawing hundreds of watts of power with massive cooling systems. Yes, these versions of the games don’t look or play as well as their console counterparts. But that doesn’t matter. They are often good enough, and downright impressive for devices that you can take anywhere with you.

We’ve gotten to the point where the technological and graphical gains between generations are seeing diminishing returns. The leap from the PS3 to the PS4 wasn't as profound as the leap from the PS2 to PS3, and that wasn’t as great of a leap as moving from the PS1 to the PS2. And that itself pales in comparison The leap to the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S has been even smaller, with many major first and third-party games releasing on the previous generation of consoles. But these still pale in comparison to the generational leap in graphics when the industry transitioned from the 2D to 3D graphics in the mid-90s with the PS1, Nintendo 64, and Sega Saturn.

And that’s fine. Videogame hardware doesn’t need to be engaged in a graphical arms race. As I’ve detailed before, there’s nothing wrong with pushing the technological envelope. That’s how progress is made. There will always be a place for consoles that want to be on the bleeding edge of graphics, just like how desktop PCs are available to users who need or want them. That doesn’t mean that there can’t be a portable variant of those consoles that can play the same games with reduced graphical effects, resolution, and frame rate. Phones and tablets do this. The PC market has been doing it for decades. Even consoles have been doing it since the previous generation with the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. Developers do this today with the PS5 Pro and the Xbox Series X|S, scaling games to specific hardware and offering users options to customize their image quality and performance profiles.

Both Sony and Microsoft are trending in the direction of at least experimenting with creating handheld variants of their consoles. Sony has the PlayStation Portal, which allows users to stream games from their PS5 and the cloud to a portable device. It doesn’t render the games natively, but it’s an admittance to the philosophy that people want to play their games outside the confines of the television, be it a bedroom or the toilet; however, there are rumors that Sony is working on portable hardware similar to a a handheld variant of the PS5. Microsoft has confirmed that they are planning on releasing a portable Xbox... eventually. You can currently stream games via Xbox Cloud gaming to phones, laptops, and even the Steam Deck. There are options to play both modern consoles on the go, but the huge variation in internet speeds and latency make streaming games from the cloud a less appealing option than a dedicated handheld.

So while not all these devices are strictly portable, and those that are in development likely appear to be years away from an official release, it does reveal a trend. People are willing to sacrifice performance and the highest-end gaming experience for a more comfortable, liberating gaming experience. That’s why the Nintendo Switch has sold over 146 million consoles. A lot of these graphical and performance downgrades disappear on a smaller screen, and with generational leaps shrinking, games are able to look and perform relatively similarly across a range of devices. Infinity Nikki is a great example, looking fantastic on both the PS5, and on a smaller iPhone. It’s the same game with the same core experience, tweaked to work within the strengths and constraints of the particular device.

Furthermore, online account systems are robust enough that players can play the same game across a range of devices with minimal effort. Steam is the perfect example, with games on the service being playable across PCs and the Steam Deck. An Apple Account lets users play supported games on devices ranging from the iPhone up to Mac computers.

Videogames are getting to the point where we are no longer subjugated to the tyranny of the television. Similar to laptops, we’re able to cram more and more power into a device that you can take with you on a plane. The Nintendo Switch 2 is an evolution of this trend. The jaw-dropping Final Fantasy VII Rebirth -- a PS5 console exclusive -- is confirmed to be Steam Deck verified. Devices like the iPad Pro and iPad Air contain a desktop-class, system on a chip (SOC) capable of playing massive games like Death Stranding and the Resident Evil 2 remake. We’re finally able to play uncompromising, modern console games on more devices than ever before.

We’ve come a long way since the Microvision.