Would you ever be interested in phones + game consoles converging?

[twister926]

No. The best portable console I've used is 2DSXL and it's ergonomics are terrible for a modern smartphone. If the design would go Switch route, it would be clunky to carry on a daily basis. A phone should be comfortable to carry in a pocket, what to do with the controllers?

 

[Iztok]

The main issue I see is having a terrible hardware baseline target.
Consoles are already just barely acceptable in terms of hardware power, if it ever came to pass that even triple A had to target mobile hardware, I'd be out completely. I've got tons of reasons to abandon this walled garden hell already, but this would be a no-brainer, just instantly out.

 

[PachaelD]

Well the business models are converging so might as well

 

[beebop]

I want the same content and progress wherever I am, whatever I happen to have access to. I just don't necessarily want a good internet connection to do it, so being able to do that natively on my phone is appealing. Converge away.

 

[Kazooie]

So which way are you talking? Adding the option to make a phone call to a handheld console? Seems to be pretty superfluous. Adding more game features to a phone? Probably a hard sell to the current phone market *and* to video game fans. I do not really see much potential here.

 

[Kyubajin]

Consoles = rest, play, fun
Computer, phone = work

 

[StrappingYoungLance]

A phone capable of playing console-style games? Sounds like a cool thing to exist. A phone being my core gaming machine? No thanks. I don't even like playing games on my phone, I'd rather conserve the battery for everything else it does.

 

[Siri]

If I'm going to be interested in anything, it's going to be someone hashing out a means to hook up my Steam library and push those downloaded games through a translation layer, like it's a mini Steam Deck.

I like what Winulator and Box86 is capable of already, but the SOCs in these phones needs more open source driver support, and an easier way to get games in the environment.

 

[DJtal]

No, I barely use my phone (except phone calls, podcasts when commuting).

 

[Jon God]

Sure I'd like console ports of some mobile games. ;)

 

[Mechaplum]

Fuck

small

screens.

 

[Zaimokuza]

No, I'd actually prefer smart watches to kill smartphones, but it will sadly not happen in the next, like, 10 years

 

[JigglesBunny]

My phone is a phone. It's also part music player and part web browser. I'm not using it to play video games when nearly every other expensive piece of technology I own is used to play video games too.

That being said, I have an M4 iPad on the way that I'll definitely be barreling through Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil Village on just so I can maintain my streak of beating those games on every platform they're available on.

 

[DarthMasta]

Future is now, at least for Android:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9iKvcPNnKU

Probably not a great idea if battery is a concern.

 

[OrangeNova]

Separate devices.

I bought a Playstation Portal, and really that should say it all.

 

[Mung]

I generally hate convergence as a principle as I prefer specialised devices designed for specific applications, so I'd be totally against.

Generally hate the phone gaming experience as it is. Find it mostly low quality, predatory in monetary sense, addiction-based with awful controls and experience. Wouldn't want any sort of convergence that involves that.

 

[SwampBastard]

I have zero interest in handheld gaming in any form.

 

[dose]

No, I'd actually prefer smart watches to kill smartphones, but it will sadly not happen in the next, like, 10 years

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Lol that will never happen. Can you really see people moving over to smart watches to browse the likes of Instagram, other social media and shop?

 

[Normanski 2.0]

Sony did though without the PlayStation name. It bombed.

Xperia Play - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Nyandeyanen]

No, if anything I wish phones would get simpler/dumber. If it can do messaging, calls, browsing, reading manga and watching videos then that's all I really need from a phone. I'd rather get separate devices for stuff like gaming or taking photos so that I don't bloat my phone with tons of stuff and don't have to rely so heavily on just the one battery (power banks are a poor solution to this).

 

[BalisticEmerald]

ngl making a phone that is also a game console would hopefully force the phone maker to actually support their devices for a meaningful time. It's absurd how you can rock a 10 years old laptop and do well, meanwhile your 5 year old phone is already labeled obsolete and a case for the bin

 

[digit_zero]

By far the biggest issue with this idea is battery life. Last thing I want to be worried about gaming on the go is making sure I preserve enough battery to use google maps to get home or something.

The other big issue I don't currently see an issue for is ergonomics, the needs and form factor of a usuable phone are pretty drastically different than a gaming device. Once you start putting joysticks on it, good luck getting it in your pocket. In absolutely no world would I ever want a Nintendo Switch as a phone.

 

[Xiofire]

While I feel it's inevitable with how much mobile gaming revenue dwarfs dedicated consoles and games sales, I'd much prefer it didn't converge and become one in the same.

Then again, I'll go where the games are and make it work regardless.

 

[Zaimokuza]

Lol that will never happen. Can you really see people moving over to smart watches to browse the likes of Instagram, other social media and shop?

Click to shrink...

You must not remember the time Instagram photos were squares. You can also do squared tiktoks and other media. Content adapts to the device, just look at vertical videos

 

[Wesker]

No, if I hate one thing more than greasy input devices it's hot input devices, e.g. a phone that plays a AAA title.

 

[AJUK]

I've always thought it would be cool to have a game linked to console/pc and mobile where the phone game isn't the same but you can do things to help you in the full game.

 

[Keziaka6591]

No - I often put my phone on silent when gaming so I can just escape into my video game for a bit. Keeping them separate is really great for my mental health. I need escapism to cope with the world tbh.

 

[ALXJ]

i voted "yes, converge".

I think that if chips can handle it, there's no reason to gatekeep content in a platform. But the chips being able to handle it is big part. On Apple devices, with RE 4 Remake, AC Mirage and Death Stranding, i don't think that their devices are ready to handle these games at acceptable levels considering the price. Apple needs to hugely improve the base storage capacity to be feasible. I know that their most expensive devices (like the m4 IPP) would run flawlessly, but these games are coming to slower devices so the experience is bad for a lot of people

 

[Jerm]

I would say they're already building the foundation for this but it isn't completely feasible yet. I think mobility will be a MAJOR factor in the console industry moving forward, with potentially different players providing the hardware.

 

[Jamesac68]

The screen is too small and touch-screens suck for just about everything but a very specific number of games. Plus the need to have all the hardware in a handheld format even smaller than a Switch would be a problem too. There's ways around the controller issue, as shown in the original post, but it doesn't look all that ideal. As it is, sometimes when gaming at night and my eyes are tired even the Steam Deck can be hard to focus on.

Solution to that last one- Go to sleep! Only reasonable response- Don't wanna!

 

[Ananasas]

Recently played Torchlight infinity on my samsung s22+ and it was the first full game that I felt was a normal game, literally like Path of Exile just on a phone (with small p2w), quite good controls, played over 100h+ on the phone alone easily, would love to find more good mobile games

 

[RUFF BEEST]

No, because phones aren't going to get bigger and chunkier and add buttons, so a "convergence" would just mean consoles go away while phones remain.

Click to shrink...

Nope, I'll just quit gaming if it became the only option.

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See I was thinking it would be a different hardware class, not necessarily a replacement -- similar to how the Game Boy line co-existed with Nintendo's main consoles. There would be limitations, sure, but a phone is a larger-screened and more graphically capable device than anything like a PSP Vita or New 3DS.

Also if you allow it to be a separate hardware class and accept that, as impressive as the latest Snapdragon or whatever SOC it's based on is, it's not gonna be as powerful as a dedicated fan/GPU-bearing beast like the Lenovo Legion Go or ROG Ally or something, then I do see possibilities. The people saying no because of how onerous it would be to cram laptop GPU + fan into one of these things are actually imagining something more intense than I was. I would just want it to have the absolute latest and greatest and most powerful SOC.

No.

Any kind of actual convergence of hardware platforms, where all the different devices are running the same compiled code, is never happening. Microsoft can't even manage that between two of their own operating systems that are technically both Windows. And without that, developers would need to put in more active work to make the cross-platform dream work at all. A dream that's only really had by a tiny handful of users.

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Yeah I didn't touch on how the software stack would work but I feel like a similar thought would have to apply there, as well. If it's meant to be a "phone that games" it would have to be built on the iOS or Android platform and, again, be a totally separate product line than the main console line (though of course it should be able to stream those libraries).

 

[AgeEighty]

See I was thinking it would be a different hardware class, not necessarily a replacement -- similar to how the Game Boy line co-existed with Nintendo's main consoles. There would be limitations, sure, but a phone is a larger-screened and more graphically capable device than anything like a PSP Vita or New 3DS.

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But you have to think of it from the perspective of the phone market. A new type of hardware to support gaming would make the device larger and require physical buttons. Would non-gaming phone users ever want or accept such compromises?

Or if it's a different product still, why would gamers want it to be more like a phone? The only real benefit is always-on internet... but the Vita tried that and it didn't work out well. It would require adding an extra device to your phone plan and paying for it.

 

[j7vikes]

Nah but that's because I've been gaming on consoles since like 1985. I like sitting down in a chair and holding a controller while looking at my TV. Playing games not on a TV just isn't appealing to me.

 

[Wil Grieve]

No, I'd actually prefer smart watches to kill smartphones, but it will sadly not happen in the next, like, 10 years

Click to shrink...

Ewww

 

[revengeofgibbon]

No, I want to spend less time on my phone, not more.

 

[bananab]

I like easy but completely dismissible access to a second screen that has everything other than the game. I like being able to completely forget about my phone, but then if I need it for something, just grab it without it affecting the game at all. I don't feel I'd get that on a single screen with app switching/focus modes/do not disturb/notification management or any other configurations that would try to get close.

 

[Roshin]

Not going to happen, until battery tech gets a massive upgrade.

 

[Faceless_Caesar]

I prefer precise controls and not smearing my fingers all over the screen my game is being played on. Mobile games also have more predatory monetization than most console games do. Of course not counting crossover games like Genshin Impact that have the same predatory monetization no matter where you play it.