By Jack Cranmer

Xbox CEO Phil Spencer announced in a recent interview with Bloomberg that an Xbox handheld console was indeed in development. He insisted that this was still a few years away from a release.

Portable gaming post the PSP and Nintendo DS heydays of the mid-to-late 2000’s hit a real lull until the 2017 release of the Nintendo Switch which revitalised the portable gaming medium into the powerhouse it is today.

The first ever portable gaming console/handheld gaming console was released all the way back in 1972, with a very simple version of Tik-Tac-Toe being released by Japanese toy manufacturers Waco.

With the first real console release being developed by Smith Engineering and released in 1979 under the name Microvision, the first console of its kind to have interchangeable game cartridges.

The industry has gown leaps and bounds in the over 40 years since then and there have been many ups and downs in that time, but throughout both there have been exceptional portable releases.

Here are our picks for the top ten portable games consoles of all time:

10. iPhone/IOS

*Image: iPhone 6 with mobile game playing (Source: Wikicommons)*

We’ll get the cop-out answer out the way first. While you could argue that due to it being a phone first and foremost that it shouldn’t count but anybody who was of school age between the years of 2010 and 2017 will be unable to deny the cultural and social impact of some of the Apple Store’s biggest titles.

Angry Birds was a phenomenon that has spawned movie series, animated series, comic books and various console and pc iterations of the initial mobile release.

Other popular titles of the time include sadly lost titles such as Paper Toss and the immensely popular and addictive Flappy Bird as well as others that are still going strong to this day like Temple Run, Candy Crush, 8 Ball Pool and New Star Soccer.

9. Neo-Geo Pocket Colour

*Image: Neo-Geo Pocket Colour (Source: Wikicommons)*

Probably one of the lesser-known inclusions on this list due to its age, the initial Neo-Geo Pocket console was released on 28 October 1998 to a limited Japan and Hong Kong release and was discontinued shortly after in 1999.

Its successor however, the Neo-Geo Pocket Colour was released to much more worldwide success in the same year and is mainly known for featuring the popular fighting game series SNK vs. Capcom.

While the console was received with praise, it struggled to compete in the North American market dominated by Nintendo at the time and was sadly discontinued in late 2000.

8. Sega Game Gear

*Image: Sega Game Gear (Source: Wikicommons)*

Released by Sega initially in 1990 the Game Gear sold a massive 10m units in a period before household video game consoles became the norm.

This was Sega's first portable games console and was in direct competition with Nintendo's Game Boy and Atari's Lynx as the big three of the time went to war in the portable market.

Mainly known for its various Sonic titles the Game Gear slowly but surely fell behind Nintendo’s behemoth Game Boy and was eventually discontinued in 1997 – giving it a respectfully lengthened run for a console.

7. Ps Vita

Underrated in its time, the PS Vita was blamed somewhat unfairly for the decline of handheld gaming in the early 2010’s. Released initially at the end of 2011 it underperformed in sales compared to its PSP predecessor with only an estimated 10-15m sales compared to the PSP’s 80m.

The release of the Nintendo Switch in 2017 caused further decline in player base and the console was eventually discontinued in 2019.

A new PlayStation handheld release has been rumoured in recent years, but no official announcement has yet been made. The closest is the accessory for the PS5, named PlayStation Portable.

6. Steam Deck

*Image: Steam Deck (Source: Wikicommons)*

Released in 2022 by PC gaming juggernaut Valve, the Steam Deck has a sleek design and powerful hardware along with an extensive list of releases but has struggled to compete with the Switch with only 3m sales so far. It also struggles with a higher price point due to its advanced hardware.

It can run AAA games on the go, and for those who can afford is an invaluable piece of tech.

5. PlayStation Portable

The previously mentioned, more successful predecessor to the Vita, the PlayStation Portable, more commonly known as the PSP was revolutionary at the time.

Released in 2004 it received not only ports of PlayStation 2 and 3 titles, but its own individual, PSP centric releases. It also was able to run movies and music as well as containing its own web browser which was new at the time but taken for granted now.

It released over 1300 titles over its decade long lifespan before finally being discontinued in 2014.

4. Game Boy

*Image: Original Game Boy (Source: Wikicommons)*

Spoiler alert! This is where we move on to the Nintendo releases and we won’t be deviating from them for the rest of this list. Released initially all the way back in 1989 it was initially designed as a ‘game and watch’ console but was redeveloped into was Nintendo’s first handheld console and revolutionised the industry.

Mario and Pokémon were the franchises that would carry Nintendo through this period and continue to do so in a sense.

It sold a whopping 118m consoles across the initial, light, pocket and colour editions and had a massive lifespan with variants of the system being released all the way through the 90’s until 31 March 2003 when the Game Boy was finally put to rest in favour of the upcoming Nintendo DS.

3. Game Boy Advance

*Image: Game Boy Advance (Source: Wikicommons)*

Nintendo only went from strength to strength, releasing the Game Boy Advance in 2001, advancing on the hardware from the Game Boy Colour.

The colour scheme matched the main Nintendo console release of the generation, the Nintendo GameCube and featured many of the same franchises as the previous generation with Mario and Pokémon still prevalent along with titles in other series such as Castlevania, and Rayman.

The Advance was discontinued in late 2009 bringing an end to 20 years of Game Boy history with no follow up in the series announced or in development as of 2024.

2. Nintendo DS

*Image: Nintendo DS Lite (Source: Wikicommons)*

Released in 2004 the DS was the successor to the Game Boy series, changing the design and upgrading the hardware significantly the DS still contained the traditional Nintendo two screens and buttons but spread them across in a rectangular shape rather than the square Game Boys.

It sold well over 150m units worldwide across its various releases such as the DSi with an inbuilt camera and the 3DS which offered 3D gaming experiences. It also offered XL and Lite versions offering larger or lesser storage data in each.

As of this day it is still the best-selling handheld console and the second best-selling console of all time behind only Sony’s PlayStation 2.

Its 2006 exclusive release of New Super Mario Bros sold a whopping 30m copies worldwide leaving the little Italian plumber as the generation’s poster boy.

It was discontinued in 2014 to make way for our number one entry which was in development at the time.

1. Nintendo Switch

*Image: Nintendo Switch in Docked Mode (Source: Wikicommons)*

Released in 2017 to huge acclaim the Nintendo Switch revolutionised the portable market with the ability to play both on-the-go and on the big screen.

The switch mastered the art of being the all-in-one piece of kit for gaming, it can be played out and about, in the home and it can handle the traditional simpler handheld games as well as the big AAA releases that get ported onto the system.

A family favourite throughout the world the switch has rejuvenated the genre and has seen renewed interest from Sony and Microsoft in getting back into the genre.

If they do however, they will face competition as Nintendo recently announced that the Switch's successor will be announced during early 2025.

We will wait with bated breath to see if Nintendo can continue to be kings in this industry or will they fall off and let one of their competitors back in the race? Time will tell but for now the Switch remains the king of on-the-go gaming.

The greatest portable consoles of all time