I just now realized why I have a portable gaming obsession..

[zektor]

For quite some time now I have become something of a "Portable Freak". Seeking any portable game system...from Gameboy, to DS, and now PSP. I never used to be this way. I was all about big consoles with controllers, lightguns, and wires everywhere. So, why the change?

I wondered that myself. I don't really go anywhere with these portable units but around the house. From one room to the next, or if I'm feeling adventurous, maybe on the porch! :) So, why limit myself to a smaller screen and less power than the non-portable console?

Well, I have a baby now for one. She is into EVERYTHING. I know for a fact that if I had controllers and consoles within any kind of reach, well, she would be all over them. It doesn't matter how many toys she has strewn all over the living room...if she sees the IO controller she bolts for it. Guess she just loves electronics..just like daddy :)

Second reason is because sometimes I just want to walk away and play a game. My fiancee sometimes (or most of the time) has friends over, bugging the crap out of me.....or her mother asking me questions...sometimes I want quiet time with a good game. It is so much easier to pick up the handheld and say something like "Ok, I'm going to the bedroom to take a nap", then simply scoot away to the bedroom with my handheld and get going with a good game. I just love the ability to do that.

I'm sure the majority of portable game players are actually taking their system's to work or whatnot, but how many just play them at home like I described? I can't be the only one :)

[jonjandran]

I have a MAJOR OBSESSION with portables right now. X_x

I have in my posession rigt now :

GP32 Blu
PocketFami
GTA
N-Gage QD
Gizmondo
PSP U.S.
PSP Japanese
TapWave Zodiac 2
GBA (5) w/Afterburners installed
GameBoy (2)
GameBoy Pocket (2)
GameBoy Light
GBC (2)
GBA SP
Nintendo DS (2)
Nomad
GameGear (2)
Wonderswan
Neo Geo Pocket
Neo Geo Pocket Color
Virtual Boy

Ireally need Professional Help.
:/

*edited* I had more I had forgot about x_x

[Ed Oscuro]

Just got a GB Pocket, that's doing enough damage as it is LOL

[zektor]

WOW! I am jealous of that collection! You live in portable heaven my friend!

I notice you have a Gameboy Light in that collection. I wanted one of those so bad for the longest time. How is the backlight?

[Ed Oscuro]

My question is - does the Nomad really count as a portable? LOL

[zektor]

My question is - does the Nomad really count as a portable? LOL

Well, I would say that does, but the one "portable" I don't see on that list is the Virtual Boy. Yep, that was considered a portable unit as well!

[Nesmaster]

i play my ds around the house, and the odd time during a car ride. kinda hard though, either the car moves too much or the lighting sucks. (glare, cant see)

[Cryomancer]

I tend to play pokemon or cardfighters clash when I'm going to be in the bathroom for awhile. I also tend to fire up the DS before bed. If I'm going on a trip, even a short one, anything where i think there will be "downtime" I take along some select GBA titles.

[zektor]

i play my ds around the house, and the odd time during a car ride. kinda hard though, either the car moves too much or the lighting sucks. (glare, cant see)

I think this is a problem with many portables. I recently took the Tapwave Zodiac 2 to work (first time out of the house!) to show my boss. We were outside and I could not see the screen for the life of me. We had to go inside just so I could show him things. I was actually shocked that it was that bad in daylight...mainly because I have never used the handheld in true sunlight before.

[jonjandran]

WOW! I am jealous of that collection! You live in portable heaven my friend!

I notice you have a Gameboy Light in that collection. I wanted one of those so bad for the longest time. How is the backlight?

Interesting to say the least.

It's definitely better than no light at all. Wonder why they didn't release it here ?




Well, I would say that does, but the one "portable" I don't see on that list is the Virtual Boy. Yep, that was considered a portable unit as well!

Edited my original post to reflect my owning of the PORTABLE Virtual Boy. LOL

[classicb]

I play most of my portables at home or while doing laundry. I also have a bunch of roomates that watch crappy tv shows that makes for good handheld time. I love handheld gaming and I have over ten handheld systems all of which mostly get played at home except the N-Gage which gets played everywhere. Not the best handheld but deffienetly the most portable.

[Ed Oscuro]

My question is - does the Nomad really count as a portable? LOL

Well, I would say that does
Sure - it's just that I'm always tethered to a wall/TV when I'm using it! LOL Ah, but the TV-out option is grand. Love that.

[Julio III]

I play portables mostly at home. If i'm going on a long train journey then I will bring it but most of the time just at home. I also like to play them lying in bed.

[bluenote]

I got a GBA SP, and I'm hooked. I only play it at home, and is perfect for quick gaming sessions. As well, I don't always have the luxury of spending a lot of time in the spare bedroom playing games, so handhelds are perfect. I'm actually thinking of giving up consoles just for handhelds. I really don't have the time, nor the money to keep up with all the consoles, especially with the new ones coming out.

[boatofcar]

Boy, and I thought I was the only one! I play my GBA SP while I'm riding my exercise bike, before bed, all over the place. It's just to much quicker to get in a game of anything. I agree about the wanting to escape factor too...pretend you're going to take a nap and sneak away to play....that's me :)

[Avatard]

I'm obsessed with my DS. I can walk around and do chores while playing it. I can lay in the bed and play it, and just before I fall alseep I can turn on its alarm to wake me up. I can't wait untill the wi-fi network goes live. I'm interested in seeing how in the world they are gonna pull that off.

Also I can't wait to go on vacation this summer and see if 2 cars in a caravan can play wirelessly with each other.

[bargora]

Yeah, I carry my GBA SP everywhere, but it mostly gets played at home. The Pinball of the Dead just absolutely rules, and I seem to do best at it in the kitchen (???). Plus, it's really easy to stash if your wife comes rolling up the driveway. :angel: ;)

[le geek]

I play my portables mostly at home as well. The DS and GBA SP get the most face time.

I have my GBC at work for when my computer is rendering, but I mostly play Text Twist on my Cell Phone instead. I also have a Lynx 2 and a Turbo Express(that sadly needs the audio speaker repaired).

I'm hoping to pick up a Neo Geo Pocket Color soon :D

Cheers,
Ben

[Drexel923]

The only time I play portables outside of the home is if I have a doctors appointment or I'm on an airplane. The rest of the time I just sit right in front of my TV like I would for any other game.

[Jive3D]

I've always been a handhelf fanatic, ever since the first release of the Gameboy. From then I think it went something like this...
Gameboy, GameGear, Turbo Express (I love you turbo express). I never picked up a Lynx, though I was always curious. Then handhelds kinda dropped off for a while - sure the GBC came out but that thing never impressed me and all of the different colors REALLY turned me off (the console colors, not the color on screen). When the GBA came out again, I was hooked. I had to import the thing from Japan at their launch. And since then I've been hooked again. GBASP, DS & the PSP.

One thing that I never did though that I have always wanted to do - is that I hear that with the right cable you can use the Turbo Express as a portable screen for the Sega CDX. So in theory, you could be sitting anywhere with both systems running off batteries. You need the Turbo Express TV tuner since it has the mini-video input. Get a Genesis controll and you're set: portable Sonic CD! I've never done it though. Can the Sega CDX work on game-playing-mode off batteries alone, or is that only for the CD-audio player function?

[roxybaby]

I love having a Nomad for long plane flights. Other than almost going blind playing the thing, it's a lifesaver. No having to buy games for another system since I already have a Genny. I can use a controller in it. Now if it just came with a tranquilizer to calm me down on planes...it would be perfect.

[suppafly]

I love all portables too. I have much love for my NOMAD and GBA. The PSP is cool, but I need to play it more!

[PDorr3]

while I do not prefer portable games over console games, the days of being able to take pokemon around with me in my gameboy pocket were awsome....gaming on the go!

[Cirrus]

Lately, I've done nothing but play my DS, as I have put probably near 100 hours into Astroboy, Golden Sun, and Golden Sun: The Lost Age in the last few weeks. I have really done very little aside from working my way through the Golden Sun games for the third time.

Those are really amazingly fun, if you haven't played them yet.

[portnoyd]

I can't put down my damn DS. Believe me, I never saw that coming at all. Now doing Minnish Cap and Warioware Twisted. Thank god for rechargable batteries.

dave

[legov8]

I play portable games around the house all the time. I use my Advance a lot. And I also do what portable systems were built for, taking them to other places.

[Milk]

Portable gaming is a godsend if you spend a lot of time on public transportation. They're also very nice if you can't afford to drop 50 dollars on the newest games. I spent two summer vacations buying and playing Dragon Warrior III Remix, Pokemon Gold, Super Mario Brothers DX, Dragon Warrior I & II, and Oracle of Ages. This was on a 10 dollar a week budget, and I managed to get them all new.

[Windy Miller]

...but how many just play them at home like I described? I can't be the only one :)

My handhelds (GBA SP,DS & NGPC) certainly get a lot of use at home, mainly because there are some cracking puzzle games on them. Infact the handheld is the perfect puzzle game format, for me anyway.

I do sometimes take my GBA SP out into the garden if I'm going to sunbathe & occasionally if I'm out & about in my car.

[Nature Boy]

I really started playing my GBA at home after ... having a baby. Well okay, my wife actually gave birth, but I was there. :)

Anyway, yeah. I found that, when I rocked him to sleep at night, just sitting there in the dark made me anxious to leave and *do* something, even when he wasn't quite asleep. In the early going an extra 5 minutes of rocking meant a good few hours of sleep (for him *and* me). And after Xmas, where I received an SP since DSs were sold out, the problem resolved itself. Not only was my son getting to sleep easier, I started playing lots of those GBA games I had bought months ago but never used to play except for trips. Win-win situation! :)

[Windy Miller]

I like the fact that I can be playing on my GBA SP whilst still being around my family if they're reading or watching the television. I'm not *locked* away in my room all by myself.