Poll Handheld Or TV - How Do You Play Retro Games?

I've a couple of retro handhelds like the rg353p which is great for throwing into a bag for travelling etc but mostly play on the TV with a pi4. Been making my own barebones image and it's great with he sinden

I have the retro comteollers for switch so i use them at times. Have an analoguenpocket for the perfect experience ans a miyoo mini plus in my workbag for casual play during commute

Retro games just work so well on handheld. Whether it’s official means like NSO on Switch, fan made solutions like EmuDeck for the SteamDeck or devices like the Miyoo Mini or Analogue Pocket it’s just such as easy way to consume them.

I’d give a super strong recommendation for the Miyoo Mini for everything up to PS1 as long as you install OnionOS. I actually prefer it to the Analogue Pocket for playing ROMs. Nothing beats the Pocket with original carts though.

Steam Deck is really on another level with EmuDeck. Playing PS2, GameCube and even Wii U games in higher resolutions and more stable farmerates on the go with the ability to dock is brilliant. I may have all the HDMI mods and dongles needed to get a good picture but the simplicity of the Deck running EmuDeck for retro systems is pretty unparalleled.

My eyes are from the early 70s. Even with help from reading glasses, at this point they have a hard time seeing tiny screens.

The Switch, Wii U, and arcade mini’s I’ve bought all offer portable play, but I play on TV almost all the time.

My guess is that most of us still playing video games in our mid to late-40s and beyond are going to increasingly prefer our large flatscreens.

Wherever you enjoy them. I love them on a 90s CRT on real hardware - gives me the nostalgia hit I love.

I prefer playing on T.V. Especially when there are CRT / vintage filters like M2 implemented for the Sega Ages range. It’s done to great effect with the curvature at the corners.
However, due to the graphics of 8 and 16 bit games, they do work well on handheld consoles as well.

When I play old games, generally I just play ports and things like the playstation classics or what-have-you, even if they don't work so well, as they're quite often rather cheap. I don't really have a lot of money to spare. So mostly I use them wherever it's cheapest for me, on the vita.

I got the best of both worlds. I play my Saturn & GameCube on my JVC crt TV. And my Ds OG for Ds & GBA.

It's a mix. I play games on my Retroid, particularly translation-patched games. Plus the machine translation feature on RetroArch is just incredible. However, there is never a substitute for real hardware, so I do play the OG consoles quite a lot, either on a CRT or with upscaling HDMI cables.

I prefer DS and 3DS games on their actual consoles.
Otherwise, I use a MisterFPGA nd a Steam Deck.

@Scooby-Doo the playstation classic is surprisingly decent at emulation and really easy to mod if you haven't already

Primarily handheld for me via Switch's NSO and original hardware. I will say that it is exceedingly rare for me to see Game Boys and DSes out in the wild; I've seen people playing a DS three or four times over the past few years and I've never seen a Game Boy out there. I once played my Game Boy on the bus during a commute and got heckled for it.

Depends. I try to immerse myself in games, even pixelated ones, so I'll usually play on a TV, but it's also easier to focus on the entire screen when playing handheld (shmups, for example).

So 50/50 with my Switch. Still playing a lot of Out Run and Baldur’s Gate I&II.

Been playing my RG35XX too. ZX Spectrum games look gorgeous on it. Head Over Heels and Chuckie Egg.

And, my mini NES, SNES and Mega Drive are always set up.

Also, my WiiU is always set up (currently playing Metroid Prime Trilogy).

And, my PS4 - Mass Effect Trilogy atm.

And countless hours playing WoW on my laptop. Is that handheld?

Actual hardware is my number one choice. Got everything going back to Spectrum 48k, but portability is a great option. I’ve got about 10 different Android handhelds, from the GPD XD+ to the Ayn Odin Pro. I’ve just bought an ROG Ally and really enjoying it. Although I haven’t touched emulation with it yet, but I hear amazing things about it.

@Deljo I was talking about the PS1 & PS2 games that you could download for the PS3 off PSN, which for some reason, also seem to be named Playstation classics. I don't actually have a PS classic. Sorry for the confusion.

Prior to the Switch I was not a handheld gamer. Dont get me wrong; I loved any time I could get my hands on a Game Boy/Gear at a friend's house, but I never owned any of them or a DS.

Before the Switch this would have been TV only all the way; and for most games it still is, but NSO and things like the Konami Anniversary and MM Legacy Collections have changed that. 10 year old me would be pleased to know he would be playing NES/SNES Mega Man and Castlevania in bed or on the can lol

Mix of both, but leaning toward big-screen play as I get older.

I've always liked playing slower-paced games like RPGs on handheld devices. They lend themselves to curling up and enjoying them like a good book. Although my middle-aged eyes are starting to struggle with the smaller screens, it's nothing that reading glasses can't fix.

But I prefer playing bigger action-oriented titles on a larger screen with the benefit of a more comfortable controller. My hands were more resilient when they were younger, but nowadays extended play makes my thumb joints ache something fierce. Plus, I really appreciate niceties like the back paddles on my Elite and 8BitDo controllers.

One of my favorite things about the Switch, though, is how easily it lets me hop to whatever mode of play I like. It's a great concept, and I hope Nintendo sticks with it from now on.

Whilst I will play retro games from time to time on modern systems on a 4K tv, normally everything up to and including the Wii (which is hacked with every virtual console game available on it) is played on a 28’’ wide screen crt tv (similar to the one I had in my 20s). Anything with HDMI is played on the 4K tv.

I never play Switch handheld. For me, those grand kinds of games lose their fidelity sort of.
I always preferred the big screen, a proper controller, and the couch when gaming. I don’t even like gaming on a computer (screen) all that much.

That being said, the Analogue Pocket and dock has been a game changer, even moreso than a Switch for me. I almost play retro games exclusively so having my library mobile and on the TV all while having the same save file between both has been so amazing. No internet connection required, no installing, no nuances. It’s totally backwards but the Switch for me is like a proof of concept, i.e., the Switch walked so the Pocket could run.
I love the Switch but if I had to choose between the pocket and the switch, you’ll find me with the smaller device over in the corner.

I'm fickle when it comes to playing games without their OG controllers, which means I play on TV. It just feels odd trying to play a Genesis game with a SNES style button layout, or a Saturn game with a DualShock controller, etc. I can't even use the RetroFighter Brawler 64 controller because it doesn't feel right to me, to what I'm used to.

I usually try to game on real hardware, whether it's a console game (particularly N64 or GC) or a handheld game (GB/GBA). I have a couple of systems still working, but unfortunately no CRT TV for that legit experience on consoles.

For me, I seem to do pretty much all of my retro gaming on handhelds these days. Most old games don't look that good when blown up on a modern 55"+ 4K OLED, but they sure look great on a handheld screen with a resolution that scales well for them.

Exception for me is when we start getting into the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox generation, heck even the Dreamcast can be included. That's about the start when graphics and hardware got capable enough to look great on modern displays when enhanced with modern emulators/adapters. *maybe the N64 is the first console I could include on that list.

I’m a bit of both. I play a lot of retro games on my Switch Lite, so that has to be handheld by definition. My other retro gaming is done through Evercade, so I have the EXP for handheld, which can also output to the TV, handy for the Namco cart collections.

I’ve also got the VS, which is tv-output only, so it does depend on my mood which screen I use.

As an older gamer, I am conscious of small text on the Switch, so will get the Super Switch 2 whenever it’s released so I can ease the squinting!

@Scooby-Doo ah sorry bud, my mistake 👍

@JayJ to be fair by increasing the resolution older games can look great on an oled. Psp games for example look great even at 2x

I enjoy a mix of console, handhelds, handhelds with TV support like a PSP with a cable (don't own a Nomad but still closest I'll get) or Vita remote play.

Wii U for dual screen/off tv with some virtual console.

I don't own any of the modern retro consoles or emu handhelds. Good enough with emu other ways.

TV, hands down. Old 2D games look so much better using real hardware on a CRT TV, and 3D games hold up surprisingly well on modern screens via emulation.

I find handheld systems in general to be really uncomfortable to play on, so I usually end up playing those games on a larger screen as well.

Mix of both, but big screen mostly. Kills the eyes in handheld sometimes. Or I play on my arcade cab.

I use a TV for retro games. I have a 32” that is nice for 4:3 games, and sometimes play on the arcade cabinet too.

I prefer my original hardware on a CRT, but I also have the RetroUSB AVS, Analogue Mega SG, Super Nt, pi3, modded Wii and Xbox with CoinOps for a mix of new and old displays.

@themightyant I don't want to assume too much, but I've found retro games can look very good on large, modern TVs with the right settings. Of course, that depends on a few things like whether or not the right options exist for a particular application. Also, it depends on if we have similar taste in visuals. But I have found good CRT filters and scanlines to do a good job making the games look pretty much as they should. Those are not always available with certain offerings. If you're doing your own emulation setup, then that sort of thing is easier to get right. There are those who insist on raw, unfiltered pixels for retro games on HDTVs, and I think that's a bit odd, and I personally think the games look awful that way.

I know I'm a contrarian minority, but I HAAAAAAATE playing hand held anything. I got tired of tiny screens and uncomfortable neck positions somewhere around 2001. I have zero games on my phone as well and probably never will.

There use to be a time where I'd divide my gaming time equally between portable handhelds and home console gaming, depending on the circumstances. But now, I play EXCLUSIVELY on handheld devices.

If you had told me as a child that one day in the future, I would be able to play all these classic games I originally missed out on, on my favorite system of all-time, my response would have been "So did they invent the Time-Machine yet?" Which, now that I think about it, jailbreaking my 3DS was probably the catalyst that started my interest in home console gaming to wane.

That being said, I now mostly do all my classic retro gaming on the PS Vita - a nifty little device in its own right - so long as a game isn't already available to play legally on my 3DS or Switch (i.e. Virtual Console, NSO, Classic Gaming Collections). After all, it's small, thin, and lightweight, so I don't have to worry about it taking up much room and weighing me down when it's in my pocket. It plays Vita games natively, is backwards-compatible with every PSP and PS1 game in existence, and can even emulate almost-anything that is less powefull than THAT at full or nearly-full speed. And if you use an official Memory Card in conjunction with an SD2Vita adapter, you can maximize storage by placing all your Vita, PSP, and PS1 games on your "main" card, and all of your classic retro games on the other, which would essentially go unused.