Play Your Favourite Games on the Go! 10 Best Portable Gaming Consoles You Can Buy in 2020

Portable gaming console, also known as a handheld gaming console, is a small video game console that is self-contained and has a built-in screen along with game controls and inbuilt speakers. The portable gaming console is smaller than the home video game consoles, and it has the console, the screen, speakers, and controls, all in a single unit. These handheld video game consoles are easy to carry, and one can enjoy their favourite games while travelling or even at a remote place as they don't need an internet connection and run on rechargeable batteries.

The first portable electronic game was 'Auto Race,' which was released by Mattel in the year 1976. Later, companies like Milton Bradley and Coleco made their version of single games or handheld gaming devices, but it was in the year 1989 when Nintendo released 'Game Boy' which revolutionized the portable gaming console market and till date Nintendo is dominating the handheld gaming console segment.

Some other popular portable games over the years are Atari Lynx (1987 – 1991), Sega Game Gear (1990 – 91), Watara Supervision (1992), Hartung Game Master (early 90s), Nintendo - Neo Geo Pocket Color and the WonderSwan Color (late 90s), Game Boy Pocket (1996), Nokia N-Gage – a combination of cellphone, MP3 player, radio, PDA and gaming device (2003 – 2008), Nintendo DS (2004 – 2010), Game King (2004), Playstation Portable (PSP) – (2004 -2005), Gizmondo (2005 – 2006), PSP Go (2009 – 2011), Pandora (2010), Nintendo 3DS (2011), Razer Switchblade (2011), Nvidia Shield (2013), and Nintendo Switch Lite (2019).

Gone are the days when gaming consoles were only used for playing games. With increasing internet penetration, gaming consoles are also used for watching movies or internet-based content. You need to have an entire setup including TV, internet, wires, and electricity to play on gaming consoles, and most of the standard consoles won't run the games of other manufacturers, e.g., PSP games wouldn't work on X Box 360 and vice versa. On the other hand, portable gaming consoles don't necessarily require an internet connection, electricity, or a separate setup and can be carried anywhere along. A portable gaming console will easily slide in your pocket, whereas a standard gaming console can be played only at home.

However, a portable gaming console has its limitations, like most of them can't be connected to the internet, so you may have to play solo games. The screen of a portable gaming console is small, whereas you can enjoy the standard gaming consoles even on 4K TVs. Lastly, the sound effect is limited due to the mini speakers (though you can use headphones, still won't get the impact of a music system which can be connected to your TV while you are playing a standard gaming console).

Launched in Mar '17 by Nintendo, Switch is a hybrid console by Nintendo, which can be used as a home console and portable device. It has wireless Joy-Con controllers, which can be used along with the device or wirelessly while the device is being attached to a TV or monitor. These controllers have standard buttons with motion sensing, tactile feedback and can be attached or detached on both sides of the console. Both the sticks can be used separately to support multiplayer mode.

Nintendo Switch software supports online gaming via the internet connectivity and ad-hoc wireless connectivity. The software are available in the physical form of flash-based ROM cartridges and can also be purchased online via Nintendo e-shop. The most famous 'first party' games of Switch are Super Smash Bros Ultimate, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Pokémon: Let's Go and Pokémon Sword and Shield. Nintendo Switch with Joy-Con 32 GB comes with a 6-month seller warranty and can be ordered from Flipkart for Rs. 29,999.

The sixth in series of the family of handheld consoles of Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 2D S XL was launched worldwide in 2017. This is an improved version of the Nintendo 3DS, which has updated processor, near-field communications support for Amiibo, additional controls, and support for additional titles leveraging its hardware improvements, but it lacks the autostereoscopic 3D display.

The device is more ergonomically designed than its predecessor and has better aesthetic appeal. The handheld portable gaming device is Poke Ball themed, and the cool gaming device can be used by gamers of all ages. The camera is provided in the middle of the two screens and can be used for camera-compatible games. All Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS, and most of the Nintendo DS games in 2D can be played on this gaming console. It is available for purchase on Amazon for Rs. 27,999.

The fifth generation of iPad Mini was launched in March'19, and it also supports Apple Pencil. The first generation iPad Mini was launched in 2012, and since then, there have been continuous improvements in this product with every passing year. Apple iPad mini has many pre-installed useful apps, which include Siri, Mail, Photos, Safari, Video, Music, iTunes, Maps, Notes, Calendar, and Game Center.

What makes us put this tablet in the category of the best portable gaming device is its not-too-big size of 7.9 inch, which makes the tablet easy to hold; the ample screen size which is bigger than any other handheld gaming console, the full HD retina display which allows you to enjoy under any lighting conditions and A12 bionic chip for lightning-fast performance. Also, the 7 MP front camera is helpful for games that are camera compatible.

Few famous games which can be played on iPad Mini are Alto's Odyssey Ticket to Ride Leo's Fortune, Invisible Inc., Minecraft: Pocket Edition, Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery, Stranger Things 3: The Game Mini Metro Red's Kingdom, The Witness, etc. The Apple iPad Mini (2019) 64 GB 7.9 inch is available on Flipkart for Rs. 34,900.

Developed on the platform of Sony PSP, the PSP Game console by Marklif comes with 1000 preloaded games, alarm, music, camera, calculator, SD card slot, and a cartoon earphone. This affordable gaming console can come quite handy if you don't want to use your phone for gaming purposes and want a separate but an economical, portable device for gaming. The speakers are inbuilt, and the screen size is 5" x 2.5", which is apt for gaming. Children can enjoy games like Mario, contra and Tekken 3, etc. on this PSP. The package contains a PSP game console, 1 USB cable, 1 charger, 1 earphone, and a TV output cable by which you can enjoy your games on a big screen. The Marklif INext PSP Game console can be ordered from Amazon for Rs. 2,399.

The first PSP model was launched in Japan in Dec'04, and since then, many revised models have been launched with PSP. Though they stopped production of PSPs in late 2016, if you are lucky, you can still get one on online platforms. The PSP 1000 model has a screen size of 4.3", color display of 16.7 million and display type is TFT. It has a monaural speaker, Li-Ion rechargeable battery of 1800 mAh, which runs on 3.6 V DC, read-only universal media disk drive, and weighs 280 gm. The other important features are DC in (5V) and DC out connector, 6W power consumption (during charging), headset connector, AC 100 - 240 V adaptor, USB 2.0, IR port, and charging terminals. Another famous model is PSP Go, which you can purchase from ibhejo.com for Rs. 12,779.

Mitashi GameIn Smarty Pro 2.0 comes with a 4.3" TFT LCD screen and 3000 inbuilt games. The device has many extra features like a digital camera for photo capture, video recorder, and webcam. You can also play music and watch your favourite movies on this portable device as it has an inbuilt speaker, AV output, earphone output, and supports MP3 music files and video files like AVI, RMVB,3GP, MPG. You can also use it to store your photo album in jpeg mode and keep your notes in the E-reader in .txt format.

The portable gaming console by Mitashi has an inbuilt flash memory of 4 GB, expandable memory of up to 32 GB by using SD card, and also supports USB 2.0 for fast transfer of data. The built-in Li-ion battery is rechargeable and provides adequate backup in one full charge. The box contains 1 USB cable, 1 handheld device, 1 AV cable, 1 earphone, 1 AC charger, and a warranty card valid for six months. The portable gaming console weighs 500 gms and can be purchased from Flipkart for Rs. 3,999.

The Lorchwise handheld game console has a 5.1-inch large screen, 128 - Bit 8 GB inbuilt memory, and this portable double rocker game machine can be connected directly to your TV so that you can enjoy the games on the big screen. The game console supports different video formats like BMVB, FLV, AV, MP4, 3GP, and also supports 1080 x 720P (video playback). You can also enjoy music on the go with inbuilt speakers or headphones as this device is compatible with music formats like MP3, WMA, WAV, etc.

The different games supported by Lorchwise portable gaming console is C, GB, GBA, GBC, MD, NES, SFC, PS, and arcade games. The memory can be expanded via an SD card, and the built-in 2000 mAh lithium battery allows you to play continuously for four hours. The Lorchwise Handheld Game Console can be ordered from ubuy.co.in for Rs. 4,714.

The Jxd V1000 sports a 4.3" LCD screen, has a built-in 300 KP camera which supports photo capturing and video recording as it is compatible with JPG and RM / RMVB / 3GP / MP4 respectively. The inbuilt microphone helps in voice recording, and you can play your favourite numbers in MP3 and WMA formats by the inbuilt speaker or via earphones.

The AV output (NTSC / PAL) can be used to connect this device to the TV and play your favourite games on a full HD screen. It also has FM radio, mini USB, and an SD card slot, which supports up to 16 GB. The lightweight (201 gm) console comes with a 100 – 240 power adapter, a USB cable, and one pair of earphones. This portable gaming console can be purchased for Rs. 2,495 from shopping.rediff.com.

The 32 Bit PSP gaming console from Game On has an internal storage of 4 GB, a display of 4.3" and is ergonomically designed to fit in the hands smoothly. The internal micro SD card slot allows you to store all your favourite games as it can be expanded to 16GB. A 5V DC connector, DC out connector, and charging terminals are provided for easy charging, and the headset connector lets you enjoy the games without interrupting others. The inbuilt rechargeable battery can be charged with the AC adapter, which runs on the power of 100 V to 240 V. The GAME ON PSP 32 BIT Gaming Console can be purchased from Snapdeal for Rs. 1,700.

Loyalfire portable gaming console has a 4.3" display, runs on a 64-bit processor, and has an internal memory of 8 GB, which is sufficient to run and store multiple games. This device supports gaming formats like GBA and NES, comes with TV output, LED flashlight, music and video, etc. and can be ordered from kiron.co.in for Rs. 8,390.