Background
The first commercially successful handheld game console was Nintendo's Game Boy, released in 1989. The original Game Boy featured a monochrome LCD screen and relied on cartridges. Later handhelds added color screens, integrated lighting, clamshell designs, and touchscreen controls. Popular handheld consoles over the years include the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo Switch.
There are now many handheld gaming PCs, Android gaming devices, and retro emulation consoles being produced by companies like Valve, Logitech, ASUS, Razer, and Analogue.
Identification
These devices come in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. Portable gaming PCs like the ROG Ally and Steam Deck are modern-looking devices with built-in controls that surround a screen, while pocket-sized devices like the Panic Playdate emulating the look and feel of retro handhelds, with some like the Analogue Pocket designed to play physical cartridges.
