The Ultimate Showdown of Handheld Game Consoles: Which One Will Win?
Top Handheld Gaming Devices in 2023
2023’s Best Handheld Game Consoles
Updated on Oct. 30, 2023 | Written by Scott Stein | Editor at Large
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Scott Stein Editor at Large I started with ENBLE reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR/AR, tablets, gaming, and future/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles, board games, cooking, improv, and the New York Jets. My background includes an MFA in theater which I apply to thinking about immersive experiences of the future.
Expertise: VR and AR, gaming, metaverse technologies, wearable tech, tablets Credentials: Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps See full bio
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Over the last few years, we’ve witnessed the revival of handheld game consoles – thanks to the convenience of on-the-go gaming and streaming technology. Additionally, there’s no doubt that the 2017 success of the Nintendo Switch also contributed to the shift. These days, there are even more options: Steam Deck, indie and retro consoles like the Panic Playdate, Analogue Pocket, and Evercade EXP, and mobile streaming devices like the Razer Edge and Logitech G Cloud. Here are the best dedicated handheld game console options and why they’re worth considering.
Phones and tablets already do a fine job of playing tons of great games and streaming games from consoles or the cloud. Dedicated devices can provide unique features, exclusive games, or extra power to do things your phone can’t. It almost feels like a return to the mid-2010s era of the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita.
Nintendo Switch: The Champion of Handhelds
The Nintendo Switch has been the best and most affordable portable game system for years and continues to be ENBLE’s clear top pick. At $300 (or $350 for our favorite model), it can play a huge variety of Nintendo games and indie games, it can dock with a TV, and can even play some fitness games. But Valve’s Steam Deck offers a unique proposition for those with deeper pockets: It’s large, and it can double as a full gaming PC. A year later, it’s still great (and arguably even better than before).
Analogue Pocket: The Retro Gamer’s Delight
For those who miss retro game handhelds like the Game Boy, you might consider putting yourself on the waiting list to order the Analogue Pocket or Panic Playdate too, but both of those systems are more niche – and more indie- or retro-targeted – than the Switch and Steam Deck.
Panic Playdate: The Tiny Indie Wonder
The tiny, yellow, black-and-white-screened Panic Playdate looks like a weird Game Boy with a mechanical crank sprouting from its side. But this system, made by the indie game company that developed Untitled Goose Game, plays its own tiny season of 24 indie-developed games, which come included with the purchase and appear over time like weekly presents. The Playdate has Wi-Fi and can download games or sideload other indie-developed titles from sites like itch.io, but you’ll have to learn to love the experiences you discover. We’ve loved playing on it so far, but alas, the Playdate doesn’t have any backlighting – you’ll have to find a lamp instead.
Evercade EXP: A Blast from the Past
The Evercade EXP only plays its own dedicated collection of game cartridges. The cartridges include a mix of retro console or arcade games from some niche players, such as Irem, Toaplan, and Jaleco, as well as Capcom, Atari, and Namco. There are even platform-focused collections like Intellivision, Commodore 64, and Atari Lynx.
Razer Edge: The Android Gaming Visionary
Razer’s Android mini-tablet handheld (don’t call it a phone) has a crisp, high-res 6.8-inch AMOLED display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon G3X gaming-dedicated mobile chip, and can play a wide variety of Android games. At $400 for the Wi-Fi version, it’s less expensive than many phones and comes with its own snap-on game controller that normally costs about $100.
Game and Watch: The Budget Pick
Nintendo’s teeny-tiny Game and Watch reboots, which have either a mini compilation of Super Mario or Legend of Zelda classic games on them, are still around. At $50 (or even less), they’re considerably less expensive than other handheld options. Sure, they only play a couple of games. But they’re portable, and for kids or collectors, they could be a perfect little travel toy.
Should I just use my phone or iPad instead?
Tablets and phones are extremely valid game consoles: The iPad has tons of games on the App Store, and hundreds more on Apple’s subscription-based Apple Arcade. The iPad can pair with Bluetooth game controllers too. iPhones and Android phones have tons of games as well, obviously, and a number of great game controller cases are available, including the Backbone and the Razer Kishi.
Phones and tablets also offer other advantages, including the ability to cloud-stream games on a growing number of services including Microsoft Game Pass Ultimate and PlayStation Plus.
The handhelds listed above have other advantages: unique game libraries, a chance to connect to a TV and play with others, and the capability to play higher-end PC games or classic game cartridges.
Should I wait for something else?
The Nintendo Switch Pro, a long-rumored upgrade to the Switch, could eventually offer 4K gaming and perhaps upgraded controllers, although the existence of such a device is entirely speculative. Odds are that Nintendo will instead just keep slightly improving the Switch via new models every couple of years, similar to how it kept upgrading its Nintendo DS and 3DS line over time.
The Steam Deck has been on the market for just over a year, but it’s unclear when and if Valve will ever choose to upgrade it with better processors or newer features. And right now, Microsoft and Sony have stayed out of the handheld gaming picture.
Razer’s Android-based gaming tablet, the Razer Edge, shows where a wave of new gaming tablets could emerge to become the Steam Decks of the mobile world. The Edge is more Android device with a controller attached, however, and isn’t much better than a controller you could just buy for your phone.
Logitech’s streaming-only G Cloud handheld is a similar proposition, but with its controls attached to the device. These handhelds could be pointing to how more console/PC accessories could pop up as home handhelds to stream games away from a TV, but right now you’re probably better off using your phone or tablet and a game controller to do pretty much the same thing.
What’s best for kids?
My kids alternate between iPad gaming and the Nintendo Switch. The Switch is without a doubt the best kid console, with the most family-friendly game library and best parental control settings. Still, be prepared to get annoyed at buying multiple copies of games and trudging through the process of creating multiple Switch family accounts.
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Are you ready for the ultimate handheld game console showdown? Which one are you rooting for? Let us know in the comments below!
